Leaping onto the entertainment scene in the 1980s, and reaching immense popularity for kids growing up in the 1990s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been the stars of comic book series, cartoon shows, blockbuster movies and video games. Just the nature of the franchise itself make these heroes in half shells perfect for gaming; from the emphasis on martial arts, kooky sci-fi storylines, and colorfully outlandish characters.

The Turtles have been around for such a long time in media that the franchise has been featured on practically every generation of gaming throughout the years. With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge being announced, there are a bevy of older installments available on everything from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the PlayStation 3, which are sure to delight TMNT fans and beat 'em up enthusiasts alike.

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Originally released in the arcades in the early 1990's, the game was later ported to the NES for TMNT fans to enjoy from the comfort of home. Aside from obvious graphical downgrades, this version of the arcade hit mostly remained intact for the NES port: Featuring a solid variety of levels and tons of fan service and Easter eggs within the game for fans of TMNT.

Most important (as is the case with other entries), a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is best enjoyed with a buddy. Since the game allowed for two player co-op, friends could team up to slice and dice the Shredder's evil Foot clan to pieces in simple, but satisfying gameplay that remains enjoyable to this day.

Upping the ante by a considerable degree, thanks to the more advanced technology in the Super Nintendo, Turtles in Time set the benchmark not only for home console beat 'em ups at the time, but also all games based on the franchise in the future.

Turtles in Time lives up to its name, with the Ninja Turtles travelling through a series of diverse and fun locations throughout history, from the old west to the time dinosaurs walked the earth. The added buttons on the Super Nintendo controller always made it possible to expand the turtle's move set, a welcome addition considering the game's level of difficulty.

While Turtles in Time may have been exclusive to Super Nintendo owners, owners of the Sega Genesis weren't left out, with its own original TMNT release for the system. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist was every bit as exhilarating to play, taking advantage of Sega games being faster than SNES titles to enhance the speed of the combat.

The Hyperstone Heist may not have had as many levels as the SNES alternative, but the levels that were available were much longer and more detailed, sure to delight any TMNT fan ready for a good fight. The soundtrack also featured some killer tunes to top it all off.

Inspired by the early 2000's cartoon series, this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game graced the sixth generation of consoles, shifting the traditional beat 'em up from 2D to 3D gameplay. From a side scroller to a birds eye view, players experienced a new TMNT perspective across a variety of cel-shaded locations.

Once again, multiplayer was an encouraged feature for friends to enjoy, considering how much the Turtles depend on each other as a team. Especially on the GameCube, with the four available controller slots that allowed each player to take control of a Turtle, once again proved why the TMNT work so well with co-op gaming.

While not technically a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, a DLC pack for this DC comics fighting game featured the Turtles as guest combatants with radical results. The TMNT being featured in Injustice 2 brings these martial arts reptiles toe to toe with some of DC's most notable superheroes, like Batman and Superman.

Taking full advantage of the IP, developer NetherRealm tapped into what makes the Turtles so endearing to fans and implemented the soul of the series perfectly into the Injustice 2 universe. The character models were stunning and combat moves expertly mapped out, with an added emphasis on the TMNT's teamwork based fighting skills being woven into the combat system.

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