We all have those special games from our childhood, which bring back memories of our early lives.
For me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 on the NES, personifies that. It’s the game that got me into Nintendo.
I can still remember being four years old and playing it for the first time. The cartridge I had was a rental, which my mom, would occasionally check out from our local video store.
This was back during the mid 90s, when it was still possible to find games like this.
At the age of four, my nemesis was the dam. I could beat the first level easily enough, but the dam stopped me cold.
Like so many kids, who’ve played this game, I died all over the place. If the radioactive seaweed didn’t get me, then the bombs would.
As time went on, the video store liquidated their inventory and no longer carried the game.
Most of my friends, moved on to the newer console systems. But I stuck with the NES and Super Nintendo. It’s peculiar in a way, that I’ve always gravitated towards older games.
In 1999, I met my friend Jacob, who owned a Nintendo and a whole assortment of games, including TMNT 1. He showed me how to beat the dam, along with the following levels.
Jacob, had gotten to the end of the game, but he couldn’t get past the final hallway leading to Shredder. This stretch was known as the “Hallway of Death.” An incredibly challenging plat-forming section, which was packed with the game’s toughest enemies.
“It’s impossible, without a game genie.” He said.
In the summer of that year, I bought a Nintendo from Funcoland, along with a copy of TMNT 1. I was determined to finish the game.
Being a bit older, I could now get through the dam, without much trouble. The next two levels, didn’t take long either. But finding the Technodrome in Area 5, proved to be no small task.
The enemies were changed in this level to a much stronger set. I had a hard time keeping the turtles alive, long enough to reach it. Not to mention, the Technodrome itself, is a very difficult boss fight.
After a lot of trial and error, I learned the pattern for defeating it. Watching as the giant machine exploded only to have the turtles jump inside to take on Shredder.
I’d made it to the last level of the game. As hard as the previous levels had been, they paled by comparison with this.
The enemies, were ridiculously over-powered. I had no idea how to reach Shredder, and whatever path I took always killed me.
Once I learned where I was going, the stage became a lot easier. Eventually, I got good enough to make it to the hallway before Shredder.
That was as far as I could go. The following area proved to be far too difficult and I would only occasionally reach the narrow section.
In 2002, Jacob gave me a cd with the TMNT 1 rom and a jnes emulator on it. Now I had access to save states. It still took a while, but I was finally able to complete the game by using save states for the hallway section.
In some ways, this victory over the game felt cheap. After-all, I really hadn’t “beaten” it. Just resorting to save states, so I could see the ending.
I continued to play the game over the years, getting progressively better at it until, late one night during the summer of 2010, I decided to beat it for real.
I hooked up my old NES, which hadn’t been used in years, and popped in the game.
In the time since, I had learned about using the scrolls. Which can be acquired in Area 3. Getting through the ending, would require me to arm each turtle to the brim with this weapon.
Admittedly, the scrolls made the game MUCH easier and I tore through the rest of the game. Finally, reaching the “Hallway of Death.”
I was now back to the part where I had left off as a kid. Despite having scrolls equipped on all of the turtles, I still felt nervous about this section.
Even with the scrolls, it wasn’t easy. But I made it through the hallway, killed the helicopter guys, then beat the last jet pack foot soldier, and now it was onto Shredder.
Unlike the section leading up to this, Shredder was actually pretty easy. He’s always easy, if you know what you’re doing. I preceeded to knock him off the platform and then hit him with the scrolls, whenever he jumped.
I watched as he went down in flames. Feeling a sense of accomplishment and completion. Finally, I was done with this game.
Or not?
I recently decided to make an LP/walkthrough for Turtles 1. Knowing there’s still plenty of people, who haven’t beaten the game, I’d like to share my knowledge with you.
Let me know if you’re one of those people or what you think of my strategy guides. I hope you find these videos useful and entertaining, and I’ll be back with more retrospectives in the future.
JoshDragon
joshdragonsblog 