Review #166: TMNT - Mutant Melee

 They didn't even have enough budget to write the full title. For shame!

 Well, turns out I was wrong and this game came out before Mutant Nightmare, my bad! Mutant Melee is a 4-player arena fighter based on the TMNT franchise... it's also a game that screams of low budget. From the reused assets on the cover of the game(Featuring a character that isn't in the game), to the lame character roster filled with clones(10 clones!) and shared moves... this game is a disappointment.

 The game has two modes: Arcade and Versus. Arcade has you following one of 10 characters as you fulfill missions. These courses get old really quick, some missions are dull, some seem to go on forever, some are incredibly unfair, and so on, but it's the only way to earn money and unlock characters and stages. Then there's versus, where you can play with up to three other human players, and, for some reason, can only be played with four characters, no 1 on 1 duels or anything or the sort. There's three game types: Deathmatch, King of the Hill(Stay in a certain spot to earn points) or Keep Away in which you are to hold a chest in order to earn points... but you can't attack in any way while holding it. Which stage you pick determines the type of game, which is pretty dumb and restricting, and you can't have more than one of each character, so no Duel of the Leonardos, probably since they couldn't be arsed to come up with different color schemes(And seeing how Gold Shredder is just, well, a golden Shredder, it would've ruined one of their original characters!).

 Gameplay is fairly simple, you have a weak attack, strong attack, pick-up button, jump button, block and a Modifier that allows you to use your three special moves, and when your special gauge is full, unleash your Super move. For as simple as it is, I had trouble, sometimes, remember how the controls were, maybe it was an issue on my end, but I kept messing up jumps with the special modifier. Stages are... a very mixed bag. Some stages are very cramped and small, while others are larger and have hazards or interactive objects. Boxes will appear on stages, some carry buffs(Or debuffs if you pick'em up and throw them against an opponent) while others hold weapons. These boxes always spawn on the same places, some might consider it a good thing, since you can predict them, but I really doubt anyone would play this game competitively, so I guess most of us would've preferred a more random spawning. Items are also fairly disappointing, all ranged weapons(Minigun, Rocket Launcher, Homing Missile Launcher) function basically the same, and melee weapons(Maces, axes, Swords, Lances) function the same as well. It feels very cheap. For what it's worth, I actually kinda liked the core system of the game, it's simple and functional, and at times fun. The game has a very floaty feel to it, it's not necessarily a bad thing though, I didn't mind it.

 The character roster has an impressive 22 character roster... until you realize that only the initial 12 are 'legit'. The entire bottom 10-character row has all the unlockable character, and they are nothing but clones. Gold Shredder and Oroku Saki are Shredder clones, even though all three of them have different Supers(Shredder borrows Splinter's while Oroku Saki borrows Donatello). Winter Casey and Summer Casey play exactly like Casey Jones, while Winter April and Summer April play just like April O'Neal. Young Hun and 'Monster' are Hun clones, 'Monster' has a different Super... which he shares with Raphael and Sleeg, while Hun and Young Hun have the same Super as Traximus. Then there's two different variations of the initial Foot Soldier, two of them sharing a Super. It's not just supers, you'll see plenty of similar Special attacks between all the characters. Where's Karai? Where're the Utrum agents? Where's Dragon Face? Where's Hamato Yoshi? Couldn't they squeeze in some form of Baxter Stockman? And what about some other Triceratons, there's a model for the one that had a robotic arm, but he isn't playable. It's not like they didn't have characters to pick from, they just were incredibly lazy or didn't have the money. I would've taken 3 other unique characters, for a total of 15, over 10 disgusting clones. And know what the saddest part is? It's still a better roster than TMNT: Smash up.

 The graphics are a step down from previous games, understandable since there's a lot going on at the same time and the game manages to keep a solid framerate even with 6 or more characters on screen at the same time(Story mode battles only). Still, that's no excuse for some of the off-looking animations(April is a good example of this). Stages are a mixed bag(Again), some stages are very pretty, some were inspired from the show... while others are lame and boring, still, all the stages in the game seem to be missing some kind of spark, they are very lifeless. Music is incredibly forgettable and dull, hardly fit for a fighting or party game. As for the voice acting, they come straight from the show and do a good job. Especial mention goes to the extras in the game, the little videos and images you can unlock... they all look terrible. The resolution makes all of them look blurry, thanks for including the entire first comic book... even though it's impossible to read it.

 Mutant Melee is not a bad game, it's just filled with missed opportunities, and an undeniable lack of funds or motivation. I think I'm gonna go with the former, as Konami did pretty good with the three previous games. As it stands, Mutant Melee is the worst game TMNT game Konami produced during the PS2/GC generation, any of the other three make for a better single player or multi player game, this one's just for hardcore fans, and even then it's hard to justify unless you've nothing else to play.
 5.0 out of 10