Getting Good: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989) Part II

In our last installment of Getting Good, we talked all about the awesome arcade classic, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In that occasion, we went over the basics, created a list of all the enemies in the game, and also provided a walkthrough for the first two levels. This time around, we’ll go over the remainder of the levels so you can go ahead and show the Foot Clan what you’re made of.

Stage 2 (part 2): Sewers of New York City

After defeating Bebop, the Turtles will drop down into their home turf, the sewers of the city.  Luckily, this level is very straightforward so there isn’t much to do in terms of enemy diversity of complexity. Simply keep moving forward and bringing the pain to the numerous foot soldiers that spawn. Be careful not to step in the water when you come against the wimpy ninjas since this is where several missiles will appear. When you reach the mousers, be sure to use a special to deal with them quickly; though a jump kick might also do the trick if you aim properly. If you don’t deal with them promptly, they’ll jump out of their holes and overwhelm you, which can be very taxing to your health bar. Always keep the shadows in view if you’re fighting in the water since it’s likely that an enemy will jump out from this location. After defeating the mousers, it’s just a little bit further until the stage’s boss.

Baxter Stockman is an extremely easy boss since he basically can’t do anything by himself. The boss will spawn an infinite amount of mousers, which can be dealt with using special attacks. The best way to deal with him is by standing in one spot and repeatedly launching special attacks. In this manner, he’ll go down quickly and without too much of a hassle.

Stage 3: Snowy Central Park

Winter has come! Or has it? After emerging from the sewers, you’ll come to a snowy Central Park level. Shortly upon arriving, you’ll need to keep an eye on the shadows on the ground, which are indicative that a huge chunk of ice is about to drop on the area; though it’s likely that you’ll get hit a few times, try to evade them at all costs. The enemy variety is sparse in this level; it’s just your standard foot soldiers, coupled with others that throw snowballs at you. There are also some snowmen that appear and fire little rockets at you; just hit them twice and then deliver a special to their faces when they melt, and they’re done for.

Shortly after beginning, you’ll come up to Tora, the boss of this level and the one responsible for the sudden climate change. Tora will attack by throwing those big ice chunks at you. Try to attack him before he catches the chunk of ice that he’ll throw at you, but don’t sweat it if you can’t. A good strategy is to jump kick him diagonally when he’s in the center of the stage and repeat in the opposite direction as soon as you land. It’s possible to keep him locked in position if you’re fast enough, though keeping this up continually without messing up is somewhat difficult.

After destroying the weather machine, the turtles will proceed to the parking garage where they’ll run into the same enemies encountered in earlier levels. However, this time they come in large groups which can quickly overwhelm the player if not careful. If possible, try to use the speed cones in this part of the stage, as they can make short work of the enemies that appear here. The speed limit signs and oil drums can also be useful in battle, though we recommend using only the speed cones.

Near the end of the level, the enemies will arrive in vans, but only after trying to run you down with their cars. The final bosses of this level are both Bebop and Rocksteady, only this time you’re fighting them both simultaneously. They use the same attacks as their individual appearances, though they sometimes can run into each other, which doesn’t damage them but looks funny anyway. Upon defeating the pair, they finally rescue April and drive out of the parking lot.

Stage 4: Santa Maria Highway

This is a wide level where there is plenty of room for the turtles to fight in. In this stage, purple foot soldiers will try their best to run you over with their motorbikes, while other soldiers speed around in their Cadillacs, trying to destroy everything in their path. The enemies in this stage consist of spear-wielding soldiers, coupled with pink and white soldiers wielding sledgehammers and knives, respectively. There are also some Roadkill Rodneys here and there. At times, there will be a purple soldier or two carrying a large bomb above their heads; deal with them quickly. After exiting the highway, the turtles will arrive in Uptown New York.

In this part of the stage, the turtles will ride on their jet-powered skateboards, which moves you forward automatically at all times. White and pink foot soldiers (also on skateboards) are littered across the stage. Some of the pink ones attack with guns, just like the orange soldiers in other levels, while others wield battle fans that shoot a wave of damaging rings at the turtles. Through the levels, helicopters carrying pink soldiers will also appear. These can be taken down using aerial attacks and, after all, are defeated, the van will slam into the barriers of the highway, dropping the turtles in the next level.

Stage 5: The Secret Factory

At the very beginning of the stage, you’ll see Master Splinter being carried off into the facility. Across the level, you’ll come against foot soldiers of different colors, wielding a wide variety of weapons. As soon as you come to the lasers, let your enemies come to you (since they’re immune to the lasers). In this manner, you’ll deal with them while keeping damage to a minimum. At some point in the levels, you’ll get attacked by flying saucers; let them come down to you while avoiding their charge, and attack them as soon as they open up. When you come up to the Technodrome module, a swarm of mosquitoes will attack. These enemies shoot lasers from their stingers, but they can also be dealt with easily with several jumping attacks. Near the end of the level, you’ll come against several robotic arms that shoot at you. You don’t have to take them out or anything, so simply jump kick past them and press on forward.

The boss of this level is Granitor, the stone warrior. At the start of the fight, the boss will take a few seconds to look at his watch (for some reason). Use this opportunity to sneak a few hits in or to special attack him, but watch out for his counterattack. This habit of checking his watch will be repeated several times in the fight, so always be on the lookout to get a few easy hits in. The usual strategy of special attacking the boss doesn’t quite work on Granitor, since he’ll likely hit you with the butt of his gun more often than not. This is a battle of attrition, so take it slow and get a hit in when it’s safe to do so. Don’t ever stand in front of him, or he’ll cook you with his flamethrower. A good strategy seems to be mixing jump kicks with one or two specials before jumping off again and letting the boss follow you. Not long after you start the fight, the boss will fall, and you’ll go through to the final level.

Stage 6: The Technodrome

The final stage is littered with a vast amount of enemies and hazard that are hellbent on taking the turtles out. In the beginning, you’ll come up against sword-wielding white soldiers, several pylons, and some freezing mist cannons. Take out the enemies and dodge the cannons by jump kicking. After making your way inside the facility, you’ll come to an elevator that’s going down. Inside, you’ll need to dodge the rolling balls. After exiting the elevator, you’ll be treated to a pizza that restores you to full health. Take it and go fight the onslaught of purple soldiers lead by an orange soldier wielding a machine gun. After dealing with these enemies, you’ll come to the boss of the first part of the stage, General Tragg.

As soon as you come up to the door of the basement, clear out of the way, General Tragg is just about to blast it across the screen. Just like Granitor, the usual strategy is somewhat ineffective against Tragg, since there is very little room to maneuver and he can shoot pretty fast. Nevertheless, he has a big weakness that can be easily exploited. After a few shots from his rocket launcher, he’ll take a split second to reload, which gives you a window to special attack him with no risk of retaliation. Until he starts reloading, there’s not much that the player can do except to attack with jump kicks to throw the boss off balance and create an opening. After a few moments of jumping and kicking him, he’ll go down.

However, the fight is far from over.

After defeating Tragg, a portal from Dimension X will appear, and Krang will jump, marking the beginning of another boss battle. Krang’s android body attacks with a series of laser shots from his eyes, as well as missiles from his arms. He’ll constantly fly over the arena and alternate between these two attacks. Be sure to stay alert by expecting to dodge the constant attacks, being patient enough to find the open window to land your own blows onto Krang. With the right timing, Krang’s Body will soon be defeated. As soon as this happens, Krang will ironically exclaim something along the lines of “I’m invincible!” before cowardly running away.

The real final boss battle comes in the form of Shredder, who jumps out of the portal after Krang is dealt with. Shredder is a tough fight, especially since he can throw 3-way electricity from his helmet that turns the ninja turtles into regular turtles, which takes away a full life. At the beginning of the fight, Shredder will create a number of copies of himself equal to the number of turtles attacking him plus one. Be careful to dodge his attacks and attack the copies when possible until their helmets fall off. After dealing with all the copies, focus on the real Shredder. After enough damage has been dealt, his helmet will also fall off. A few more hits and you’re done; Shredder is defeated.

After this, feel free to kick back and watch the ending scene and credits; you’ve earned it.

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