With the exciting news that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are coming back to the gaming world, many fans are taking a trip down memory lane with their favorite games starring the lovable pizza-chomping Turtles.

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The TMNT have been around since 1984 and their video games have fluctuated over the years in terms of quality, but a few titles stand out as particularly great. What are the best TMNT games?

Updated on January 29, 2024 by Mark Sammut: The future is bright for TMNT fans as Mutant Mayhem and The Last Ronin are both in development, with the former expected to drop sometime in 2024. While it remains to be seen whether they manage to rank among the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games of all time, they are exciting prospects with potential for greatness.

12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants In Manhattan

Gamefaqs Score: 3.36

This action hack and slash game from 2016 brings with it new dangers from the Turtles in the familiar territory of the New York home. The Turtles square off against a motley crew of foes as they fight to protect their loved ones from annihilation. It’s a typical TMNT outing, albeit boosted with PlatinumGames' signature combat. That said, it is certainly not among the developer's crowning achievements, and the levels get repetitive really quickly.

Mutants in Manhattan is an obvious budget title, and it does not live up to the idea of a TMNT project developer by the company behind Bayonetta. Around this time, Platinum produced three games based on licenses, and Mutants in Manhattan was the worst of the bunch by quite a margin, even failing to meet the low standard set by the developer's Korra game. Die-hard TMNT fans might still find something to enjoy in this project, although they will need to sit through a fairly repetitive campaign.

11 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

Gamefaqs Score: 3.61

The boom of fighting games in the early '90s was inescapable, and the Turtles were not resistant to jumping to different genres. Developed by Konami and released on the NES, SNES, and Genesis systems, each game was actually different from the others, in an effort to capitalize on the fighting game craze.

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The SNES version is largely seen as the superior version, featuring ten characters and two bosses. The game follows a fighting tournament in the vein of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter but naturally involves the humor of the Turtles. Retro-fighting diehards may be able to find copies at a retro game store or online.

10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Radical Rescue

Gamefaqs Score: 3.61

Originally released by Konami for the first Game Boy in 1993, this platformer action game is reminiscent of the company's own Castlevania series. Each turtle has their own unique move set, making it one of the more offbeat early games of the franchise.

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Many familiar villains return as bosses in this hidden handheld gem that helped branch the Turtles out of arcade territory. Fans can try to find a copy on the Game Boy.

9 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up

Gamefaqs Score: 3.85

Somewhat of a clone of Super Smash Bros.,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up combines fighting mechanics with arcade-style cooperative playability. Encouraging multiple players to duke it out with each other, the combat is fluid and fun without much hassle. It's mindless fun to a tee and very fitting for the Turtles' style of humor.

There are better platform fighters out there that render Smash-Up somewhat obsolete; however, big-time fans of the Turtles will likely have a good time with this, although they should probably consider getting Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

8 TMNT (Home Consoles)

Gamefaqs Score: 3.61

This hack and slash platformer is based on the 2007 film of the same name. Developed by Ubisoft for the sixth and seventh generation of consoles, TMNT has similarities to the Prince of Persia games in terms of gameplay but follows the plot of the film for the most part.

While not the most challenging game in the world, TMNT has its moments and harkens back to the classic beat 'em up style of the older arcade games. Compared to other releases in the franchise, this 2007 release is one of the more polished and consistent, making it easier to revisit in this day and age.

7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare

Gamefaqs Score: 4.06

Konami released several games on the sixth generation consoles, notable for bringing the Turtles into the world of 3D gaming. The third entry follows a few of the story arcs from the animated television show, pitting them against a hodgepodge of classic villains.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare also includes a hidden version of Turtles in Time. While not particularly well received at the time and far from a masterpiece, this release works well enough as a mindless beat 'em up game based on one of the franchise's best series. That said, it is too repetitive for its own good.

6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)

Gamefaqs Score: 4.02

The game that (nearly) started it all and helped launch the Turtles into stardom. This arcade classic allows for up to four friends to control those pesky pizza-eating Turtles and kick some Shredder butt. The game was an instant success when it hit arcades in 1989, so much so that it was ported to the NES and Famicom systems in 1990.

The game appeared on sixth-generation consoles as a bonus game in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus, so Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can be revisited fairly easily in this day and age. While overshadowed by some subsequent beat 'em up releases, this 1989 release helped set the groundwork that would be expanded upon in sequels.

5 TMNT (GBA)

Gamefaqs Score: 3.97

Around the same time as the home console versions, Ubisoft also released versions of TMNT on the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. While the former is not particularly good, the latter is quite an impressive late-day entry in the handheld console's lifespan, and it is a solid pick for fans who grew up playing the franchise's arcade beat 'em ups during the '90s. TMNT does not try to be anything more than a nostalgia trip created around the 2003 animated series, but it manages to be a throwback that still has an identity.

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The game's visuals look pretty good as well, at least for the GBA. The backgrounds are simple but vibrant, and the character designs are generally great. While far from deep, the combat is responsive and satisfying, and the campaign shakes things up just enough to keep the basic beat 'em up loop from getting boring. The platforming is quite stiff and frustrating, but it is not a dealbreaker.

4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

Gamefaqs Score: 3.88

An often-overlooked entry in the Turtle's saga, this Sega Genesis exclusive was released in 1992, shortly after Turtles in Time, from which it borrows many of its gameplay elements. After Shredder shrinks Manhattan using the power of the Hyperstone, the Turtles have to jump back into action to stop their foe and save their city.

Although often called a clone of Turtles in Time, this game still manages to pack in a lot of fun side-scrolling combat into the story and build off the strengths of previous entries. Only released on the Genesis, fans might have luck finding a physical copy online or at used game stores.

3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project

Gamefaqs Score: 4.04

Designed as a successor to the console ports of the 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle arcade game, The Mutant Project was released exclusively on the NES. Due to being only available on an 8-bit home system, the 1991 game has arguably aged less gracefully than the arcade version of its predecessor in the visual department. However, this title still has a lot to offer fans who appreciate old-school beat 'em ups, and it improves upon its predecessor's gameplay.

The Manhattan Project came out at a time when the beat 'em up formula was starting to be perfected, and this shows in this title's tight and challenging gameplay. While technically not very long, this game is unforgiving, and players will need to master its system if they want to have any hope of completing a playthrough. Also, while not as pretty as arcade games of this era, this release's graphics are impressive when compared to other NES projects.

2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time

Gamefaqs Score: 4.02

Perhaps the quintessential TMNT game for many die-hard fans, Turtles in Time is one of the best beat' em up games of the 1990s. The Turtles jump through time to fight Shredder and his army of henchmen one clobbering at a time. The game was released on arcade systems and the SNES as a direct sequel to the previous side-scrolling classic.

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The game is available as a bonus in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare. Although a remake was available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 stores, it was not well received and has since been delisted. Fans looking for the original experience should look to find a copy on a cartridge.

1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Gamefaqs Score: 4.14

Shredder's Revenge is the definitive TMNT game in the modern era. Despite taking plenty of inspiration from the franchise's '90s releases, specifically the beat 'em up projects, this 2022 release has its own identity and is not simply a throwback designed to stroke fans' nostalgia. Featuring seven playable characters and a huge selection of stages that pay tribute to the license's various eras, Shredder's Revenge is a celebration of the Turtles' long and storied history.

More importantly, the gameplay is rock-solid. Shredder's Revenge is a hard-as-nail beat 'em up that implements co-op into its combat. Visually, the game looks great, and the music is also top-notch. While some other TMNT games might have left a bigger mark on people's childhoods or the industry in general, Shredder's Revenge is the franchise's most complete package.

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