Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue

You've seen Turtles before, but not like this. New moves, a wickedly intricate maze, and a bevy of big, bad, bodacious bosses make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue a worthy successor to the Turtles' legacy. Game Boy carts don't get much better than this.

Turtle Traumas

The Radical Rescue mentioned in the title is the one pulled off by Michaelangelo. When the other three Turtles, Splinter, and April are kidnapped by Shredder (who else?), it's up to Mikey to find 'em and free 'em. Standing in Michaelangelo's way, unfortunately, is a formidable Fortress populated by nasty bats, vicious guards, and Turtle Terminators with pleasant names like Dirtbag and Scale Tail. It's enough to make a Turtle draw into his shell.

Fortunately, our hero has nimble ninja skills. What's more, Michaelangelo has a new Helicopter move that enables him to get serious hang time when he jumps. The other greenies also have new moves - Leonardo can bust through solid concrete, Raphael can squeeze out of jams in his sliding shell, and Donatello can stick to vertical walls. However, you have to find these other members of the Green Team before you can play as them.

Lookin' Green, Soundin' Mean

The Turtles' games have always had impressive graphics, and this one doesn't disappoint. Good-size sprites, detailed backgrounds, and quick, imaginative enemies make this Rescue radical. (For once that greenish Game Boy screen actually suits the characters!)

There's good news from the sounds, also. The bouncy music changes for each area, and it gets appropriately creepy at the right moments. More and juicier sound effects would've spiced up the action, though.

Pizza My Heart

The challenge of the game is the maze. The fighting is pretty easy, and the controls are so smooth and responsive that even beginners will whip through some of the levels. But, not only do you have to work your way across, down, up, and through the puzzling Fortress in search of pizza power-ups and pals, you also have to rescue everybody in the right order if you want to serve up Shredder as Turtle soup. Thankfully, passwords enable you to pick up close to where you left off.

Despite the stiff challenge ahead, there are so many good things to be found in the search that you'll be playing 'til your thumbs go green. This Rescue's fun enough to make anyone a dedicated fan of the Turtle clan.