Quick tip, slicks; pick up the new TMNT for GBA, pronto - because it's a surprisingly solid title.  I emphasize the GBA version, because of the eight different versions that are out, it's the only one that's apparently deserving of any sort of the merit.  It uses a formula that works; the side-scrolling arcade beat-'em-up, but with far more depth that you would figure a game of this genre could offer.   

I hesitate to call it Turtles In Time's second coming, but it comes awfully close.  The gameplay is tight, and the animation is fluid.  The wide array of moves is quite refreshing for a brawler, and the added touch of interactive environments is a nice touch.  The sense of progression is great; you're constantly earning new moves that really adds to the fighting.  Plus, there's an assortment of mini-games that proves to be more than a mild diversion.  The music is very high in sound quality for a GBA title, though the tunes themselves aren't quite as memorable as the old arcade games. Techno-rock is the order of the day, which I suppose melds with the movie's music style. (I've yet to see the movie myself.)  In any case, the old cartoon theme song is sorely missed.

It's a relatively short game overall, but awesome for pick up and play sessions.  It's great to see yet one more glimmer of life for the ol' GBA; never thought I'd see it in the form of TMNT.

I just finished the 360 version; I'm glad I rented it and look forward to sending it back Monday.  It's sad that it could've been a good game, so I'm glad the Arcade Game is on XBLA.

Thanks for the heads-up on the GBA version; do you know if it is much different than the DS version?

It's a COMPLETELY different game, developed by a different division at Ubisoft.  People are comparing it to the recent Prince of Persia games, in that it's 3D and requires lots of platform/acrobatic jumping; just that it doesn't come anywhere close to being as well-made as PoP.

Just say already that the TMNT GBA game is classic 2D at its best while the rest are messy 3D at varying levels of quality. No need to hold back that part of crucial information. =P

*shrugs* I didn't know that ALL of the versions other than the GBA were in 3D.... or how good they really are.  The main thing I've heard with certainty is that the GBA is a far different game than the DS version, and that out of all of them, the GBA is the best of the lot.

I'm interested to see if Masanori Akita did the music...That sounds like his style, anyway. He did a great job on the first PS2/GC/Xbox TMNT game (not sure about the follow-ups). He did use the "new" TMNT main theme a lot.

In other news, the original TMNT: The Arcade Game is out for Xbox Live. Apparently completely out of the blue...As if to meet an "artificial deadline". Hmm...(there have been freezing complaints, especially with multiplayer).

I have no idea who Masanori Akita is, but if he works for Konami, I wouldn't count on any involvement from him since all of the new TMNT games are from Ubisoft and its partners.

Masanori Akita is the dude behind most of Enthusia. Not sure if he works for Konami, though.

Yeah, Enthusia and the music for PS2/GC/Xbox were his main works, but there hasn't been too much of a peep out of him for awhile now.

Guess Konami must have not made enough on the cartoon-based games to justify renewing the license. Odd, considering I've always associated them with the license. Oh well, at least it's Ubisoft and not EA scoring another big license for their arsenal.

The answer to that is right here: http://www.music4games.net/News_Display.aspx?id=559

Hint : Konami is definitely not involved.

Is it possible that they only did the console TMNT and someone else did the portable versions?  The article doesn't necessarily say.

"Alright, here comes our big promo shot. You, roll up your sleeves to show your awful tattoos. And make sure we both fold our arms because, you know, we're not takin' any shit in this picture. On my count, photographer. One, two... COWABUNGA!"

Enthusia is definite goodness, so he's A OK in my book.

Yes, I think so. Even if the compositions are the same (no idea) it's very likely that different sound staffs handled the different systems, leading to different sound designs and arrangements.