Mode selecting
The game's title screen will offer the player three modes of gameplay. The 1 Turtle which is single player, 2 Turtles A which is a two player mode where players can not inflict damage to each other, and 2 Turtles B which is another two player mode where players can inflict damage to each other. In the Japanese version of the game, the player is only given the option of one or two turtle modes. To toggle, press the 
button, then press 
or 
buttons to decide.
Character selection
After selecting a mode of play, the player can now select one of the four turtles. Toggle 
and 
with the 
then press to decide.
User interface
During gameplay, the player's status will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Here the display will show the selected character's abbreviated name and corresponding profile portrait. Under the character's name there will be the player's score, their health and remaining lives in reserve.
Combat
= Attack.
= Jump.
(while on air) = Diving jump kick.
+ = Throw. You can hold and press to perform the throw. This move throws enemies back. Will not throw certain enemies, but will do more danage than a regular attack.
+ = Special Attack. Both and must be pressed simultaneously. Each turtle has a different type of special attack that drains 1 bar of life (out of 16 bars). If you have 1 bar of life left, you can perform a special attack without draining the last bar.
Power-ups
Throughout the game there will be pizza slices found within the game. These can restore the player's health.
Scene clear
When a scene is cleared, the game will then subtract time the player consumed to complete the scene and tally it to the player's current score for another chance to earn an extra life.
Game over
Players can trigger a game over by losing all their lives during gameplay. When this happens, Splinter will appear announcing the player's final score. Then he will give the player two options to continue or end. The continue option will feature a number of available continues for the player to use. If the player has used all their continues, Splinter will simply say game over. Above Splinter, is the game's overall hi-score.