Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Gameplay

Turtles
All four turtles are equivalent except for their weapons. It is not really a good idea to just stick with your favorite turtle from the comic books or cartoons, because their strengths and weaknesses vary widely. You should use the turtle best suited for the task, or in case of emergencies, switch when one is low on health (you can restore it with pizza later.)

Named after Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo is meant to be the general-purpose turtle, and early in the game he serves this role well. His blade has average speed and range. His damage output is the weakest of the turtles when over 4 bars of health. His strength nearly doubles below 4 bars of health.

Named after Raphael Sanzio. His sai are the quickest weapons in the game, but they have an extremely limited range and are not stronger than the weapons of the other turtles. The sai cannot be thrust downward. However there are certain flying units that Mike and Leo can't kill that Raphael can so he makes a good alternative in tight corridors to Donatello especially since he doesn't need to duck to hit an enemy coming at his knees.

Named after Michelangelo Buonarroti. His weapon of choice is the nunchaku, trading range for speed. Essentially, he is a clone of Raphael with a slightly slower weapon speed and slightly greater range. The nunchaku cannot be swung downward. In a situation where you expect to take damage but don't want to risk Donatello or Leo, Mike serves nicely as the guy to take the hit. His damage output is slightly stronger than Leonardo when both are over 4 bars of health. His strength nearly doubles below 4 bars of health.

Named after Donatello de Betto di Bardi. His weapon is the slowest, but the most powerful. He has the longest range (even extending backwards), but the standing attack won't hit enemies crawling on the ground. Keep Donatello alive because his extra attack power becomes important starting in area 3 and only becomes more essential as the game progresses. This means it is OK to use other turtles for easier segments in order to protect Don from damage.