TMNT Tournament Fighters Competitive Guide (SNES/GEN)

Videos explaining everything you need to know about playing TMNT Tournament Fighters (SNES/Sega Genesis).

Intro

This is gonna be a rather short guide since the bulk of it will be in the videos I uploaded in the past. I know it might not look this way since I waited so long to do this, but I can't express how much I love these games. They don't get much attention compared to games like Turtles in Time, so hopefully this guide will spread some awareness.

Without further ado, let's get straight to it!

TMNT TF (SNES Version)

This is considered the best of the TMNT Tournament Fighter ports. It has a good roster, the graphics, sound and music is spot on, and the gameplay only adds to how good this game is. But like plenty of fighting games, it does have its share of unbalanced traits.

There's characters that can perform grab loops, characters that can perform unblockables in certain matchups, and even characters that can win from landing a combo that stuns you, then landing a combo that stuns you again!

And yet despite all of this, the game is still really fun. So much so that I even made a guide for it. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of other players that put an immense amount of time into this game.

https://youtu.be/QC8t1KWtLjI
This video will teach you everything you need to know about playing this game competitively. But like most things, knowledge will only get you so far. You'll get even better at this game if you put in the time and experience to learn the characters.

As of me uploading this guide, there aren't many lobbies online for this game. However, there are many veterans who've played in tournaments and they really show how deep and competitive this game can be. If you're interested in seeing some high level play, then here's a video of the game at Combo Breaker 2019!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u714LYCamPA
All and all, this game is great. It can be overwhelming at first, but it can become a thrilling experience. It might feel weird at first if you're new to fighting games, but you can still learn plenty from losing. At worst, you'll have to learn how to deal with Shark Upper. For those who experienced this move, they know exactly what I mean.

TMNT TF (Sega Genesis)

Considered to be the most broken of the ports. If there's two words that can be associated with this game, they are "Grab loops". Grab loops fundamentally break the game in a way that one knock down will automatically decide the match. While the SNES version does have a few scenarios where this can happen, grab loops are pretty much the bread and butter for the Genesis version.

Now there's more too it than that. Like the SNES version, there's plenty of oddities that aren't too obvious at the surface. And as such, I also made a guide on this one. It's not on par with the SNES version since there were a few errors I made (which you can check in the pinned comment of the video), but I still go over everything about it in full.

https://youtu.be/dCOITCJOP28
While I do sound sour about this game, that doesn't mean this game doesn't have its good points. Having Casey and April in the roster is a huge plus for this game. Sure there's no Shredder, but at least we got Krang as a boss. The music is pretty good, and while I'm not a fan of how strong grab loops are, you can always just NOT do them if you're playing against a friend.

And that's exactly what I did, and it lead to a rather enjoyable experience. You can check out the First to 5 set below.

https://youtu.be/odRrCcv9CCk
Despite this, it wouldn't be right to call this game good. The gameplay is a mess, combos are almost nonexistent due to how hitstun works, and the CPU will open you up like a can of beans if you go in blind. It's very unforgiving for first timers, and it can turn into a grab loop fest once you learn how to play the game. At best, I would consider this game average.

Vs CPU

There's not too much I can say in this section. While I do have plenty of experience in folding the CPU in the Sega Genesis version, I can't say the same for the SNES version since most of my time in the SNES version was spent getting better vs other players. I'll still share my experience with both of them.

Sega Genesis

April / Casey

April is self explanatory. She can get in for free with her Back Drive Elbow (↓ ↙ ← + P/K). Her elbow hits overhead, comes out in an instant, and knocks the opponent down. From there, you can grab loop the opponent to death and even use the elbow if you don't have time to walk up to them for another grab. She's pretty much "Speedrun: The Character".


With Casey, you can go into invincibility frames indefinitely with ↓ ↘ → + P/K. The only thing to look out for is if the CPU tries to jump behind you. Otherwise, use this to go through their moves and use his Time Bomb (↓ + Taunt) if you corner them. Just make sure you go into invincibility frames or block if you're in range of the explosion.

SNES Story Mode

Donatello

Stand Fierce Punch is your best friend. It has good range, can hit opponents out of the air, and can even hit twice! However, depending on this move alone can only get you so far. While there are some matches where you only need Fierce Punch to win (like against Chrome Dome or Armaggon), there's gonna be some CPUs where you have to mix it up.

For example, I found it easier to deal with Aska by backing myself into the corner with Stand Fierce Punch. Her jump is really fast and there are times were your attack will miss completely. There's also fights like Clone Don where it was easier to jump in with Fierce Kick into Stand HP.


Now do keep in mind that while I don't have much of an issue beating the Sega Genesis version on max difficulty, the SNES version is another story. I don't have as much experience facing the CPU, therefore, I usually play it on the standard difficulty. I've beaten the game on max difficulty before, but not without continuing.

Conclusion

Fighting games aren't easy. They take a lot of time to learn and they can be hard to understand. But that shouldn't stop you from at least giving both of these games a shot. While both of these versions have their ups and downs, they can still be fun games.



You might prefer the SNES version, or you might even prefer the Sega Genesis version. Whatever the case may be, the most important part is that you have fun! I hope you learned something from this guide, and maybe I might see you online sometime. If you're interested in a discord, I highly recommend the SNES Fighters Discord if you wanna ask for some matches.

http://discord.io/SNESFGC

Side note: If you didn't notice from the title, you might have realized that I didn't mention the NES port. While that game does have its good points, there isn't a whole lot to it. It's definitely the one I played the least, but it's still a decent game.

[SHADOW]

Everyone knows that the NES version is the best. It is as simple as possible, but it is best suited for competitions out of all three parts.

[SOFA_KING]

As a competitive fighting game player, since Street Fighter 2 I loved this game on SNES when it first came out, nobody played with me or lack of friends of. But I had no idea players took this fighting game seriously. Amazing. And this tournament was recent. 2019... Damn, goes to show when you think your the only one there's a world full of ppl just like yourself. Thank you for this.