TMNT Tournament Fighters!

 Tournament Time!

The COWABUNGA Collection!

 Got my copy! COWABUNGA!!!

TMNT II: The Arcade Game!

 Been about 30 years, but I finally beat TMNT II: The Arcade Game for the NES again! I feel so accomplished dudes!!

Shredder's Revenge ETA?

 Has anyone gotten their copy of Shredder's Revenge from Limited Run Games yet? So badly want to play this!!!

Shredder's Revenge

 Ordered mine on the Limited Run Games website! Can't wait to get my copy for the Switch!!

The Eternal Struggle!

 Heard these were going for $30 at Walmart. Mine has them listed at $49! Should I get it now or wait for it to drop in price?

Game Player's Magazine: December 1989

Back in the day, before the fancy interweb was a common household appliance, we had to get our video game tips from our friends on the schoolyard. Most of the time these so called "tips" were complete BS. If you really wanted to take your game to the next level you had to pony up some scratch and purchase a magazine like Nintendo Power, Game Pro and even to a lesser extent Game Player's Magazine. I picked up the issue above all the way back in the golden ages of December 1989. Obviously, the main reason I grabbed this specific magazine was to get tips on how to beat one of the hottest games at the time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This issue did not disappoint! It gave us 10 whole pages of coverage on this blockbuster game that I am about to share with you....NOW!

Hopefully this extensive guide gave you the tips and tricks you needed to defeat The Shredder and save your beloved sensei, Master Splinter! I know it didn't help me much, the farthest I ever got was to the giant Mouser! Anyway, Game Player's Magazine didn't just cover games, but it gave us an in depth look at how some of Hollywood's biggest stars enjoy their games.

Wow! That's some great info about Married With Children star David Faustino! Who knew his favorite game was Double Dragon and his biggest thrill as an actor was being on the cover of TV Guide? What's that you say? You want more tips? Game Player's Magazine has your questions answered!

Great stuff! Even though the game content is exquisite, I can't in good conscience finish this post without showing off some of those classic advertisements!

I could do a whole month of posts on the ads! So chock full of greatness! Thank you for going on this journey with me through a 30 year old magazine about retro video games. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! What was your favorite gaming magazine from back in the day/ Let me know in the comments below!

Game Players Magazine

I think this Friday I may post some images from inside this old video game magazine? What do you think?

It Came From The Attic: Part III

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Valentines

Well, here we go, one last time! Staying with my Mom at my childhood home for a few weeks brought back a ton of memories and nostalgia, but looking through all the totes of stuff I own that have been stored in her attic really kicked those feelings into high gear. Today I will share a few of these TMNT items I have saved for decades with you.These Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Valentines are from the early 90s and there actually were still a few uncut cards left in the box. Was I the only one who picked out my favorite Valentine card from the box and gave it to myself? Also, why don't they include "Teacher's cards" on packages anymore? What up with that?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pencil 

I remember getting this from a local Hallmark store back in the mid-90s. It was quite a tough decision on which Turtle to pick. I usually go with my favorite, Donatello, but this time I went with Leonardo. Not sure why? I remember my Mom bought it for me to use for schoolwork, but it was used sparingly since this thing was like gold to me!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Burger King Toy

I remember these being a big deal on the playgrounds back when they hit Burger King in 1989. This was right before the movie came out at the height of Turtle-mania! I even remember them previewing the TMNT movie in their BK Kids Club Adventures Magazine!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Handheld Game

This bodacious Konami handheld game came out in 1989. That was the same year Nintendo introduced the Gameboy to America. Even though these LCD handheld games were fun, the Gameboy came along and they became an afterthought. Before that time though, these games were the only way you could play your favorite games on the go. This Turtles game was a little tricky, but it definitely killed a few hours while on those family road trips during spring break! 

Topps Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Card Set

This set was released by Topps in 1989. This was the first set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cards ever released and contained 88 base cards, 11 stickers and 22 Mirage Studios Art cards. This set was special because it was the only way you could get these Mirage cards that featured artwork from the original comics. Each card was also given an upgrade from their standard release and came with a glossy finish. This is a very cool set that I am glad is in my collection!

Leonardo Cyber Samurai Action Figure

A lot of people did not care for the Cyber Samurai Turtles, I on the other hand liked the futuristic take on our heroes in green. This series of figures came with the 4 Turtle brothers, Bebop, Rocksteady and Shredder. The figures by Playmates were also accompanied by a 5 part comic story that started in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures published by Archie comics with #62. Check them out in all their radical glory in the commercial below! COWABUNGA!!!!

Playing Games!

Sorry there hasn't been much posted by me lately. I've been playing my new TMNT ARCADE GAME!!! So, in case I missed you, I hope you had a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Throwback Jam of the Week: 8/26/19

Throw on your orange bandana and grab your nunchucks as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...

Artist: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Song: Pizza Power
Album: Coming Out Of Their Shells (1990)

Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: The TMNT Coming Out Of Their Shells Tour began at Radio City Music Hall on August 17th, 1990. This tour was sponsored by Pizza Hut where you could buy your own copy of the soundtrack. This song was used by Konami for the intro music to their arcade game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time! You can view the video below.

Fave TMNT arcade game Turtle?

Gotta go with Donnie!

I NEED THIS!!!

Donkey Krang

This would be a kick ass TMNT arcade game!

A Trip To Bones Arcade

Every now and then I like to take my son out on what we call a "Dude's Day". This is a day for just me and my son to go out without the girls and do the things he wants to do. Last week he planned the day out for us and off we went! 

We played a few more games of Crossy Road, Pac-Man and Mario Kart we hit up our favorite games in the place. Mine was Turtles In Time! Yes, I have played this game many times over the years, but not on a stand-up arcade cabinet. There is just something about playing a game this way that makes it 100 times better. My son's favorite game was a huge version of Space Invaders. This game was incredibly fun. It was like original Space Invaders with a twist. Each level had it's own unique challenge and there were mega power ups to use against the never ending rows of alien intruders. We made it to level 6 together and had a blast doing it!

Arcade time

Me and my son discovered an awesome arcade this weekend! I'll post highlights on my blog this week!

Crowning Achievement

Just spent the evening playing and beating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Game!!! #TurtlePower

FREE NES GAMES!!!

My wife's uncle was moving and he was giving away his old games! Of course I couldn't pass up these TMNT NES classics!

Ninja Turtles: Smash Up

In 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash Up for the Nintendo Wii as part of the Turtles 25th Anniversary celebration. The same group who worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl put in time on this game. So you know exactly what type of game you got? A beat em' up 1-on-1 brawler featuring the Turtles and their extended family!

The game played much like any other fighting game. You choose your fighter, your opponent chooses theirs and you fight to win 2 out of 3 matches. The cool thing about this game though is not only do you get to play with the TMNT, but the stages have great designs and surprises. You could be in the sewers fighting a Foot Soldier and an alligator will pop out and take a bite out of you during a match and you can destroy most of the environments and set traps for other players to fall into. These little touches make the game all the more fun to play.

As you can tell, I am a big Turtle fan and wanted this game once I heard it was announced to drop in the Fall of 2009. My wife pre-ordered me a copy from Game Stop, but wanted something for me to unwrap on my birthday. The folks at Game Stop allowed her to take home the display case off the shelves. This was what I opened on my birthday!

Once the game was released and we were able to pick up my copy at the store, I noticed that the artwork on the box was drastically different from the one I received earlier. I kind of prefer the display box art over the finished version.

The game also included cut scenes that were written by Turtles co-creator Peter Laird and drawn by long time Mirage Publishing artists Jim Lawson and Eric Talbot. To set up and explain the story for the game, included in the box was a short "Prequel" comic that tells the tale of Shredder kidnapping Fugitoid and the Turtles attempting to get him back!

I do enjoy this game, but not as much as Super Smash Bros. I feel like the roster could have been expanded much more. There are 16 different characters in Smash Up and 3 of those are Rabbids. The other thing I would change was the appearance of the characters. They take their look from the 2007 movie, TMNT. I would have preferred the original look of the comics as was portrayed in the cut-scenes. The stages are fun and the story cut-scenes are a treat for Turtles comic readers, but I feel it lacks a little something that would take it to elite status.