Enemies[edit]
- Purple Foot soldier: the staple enemy of the Ninja Turtles, these guys usually enter the screen with a flying kick, which is easily countered with a Special Attack. If you get too close to one of them, they'll grab you and your life bars will steadily drain. Repeatedly tap any button to escape and return the favor.
- Shuriken Foot soldier: identical to the ordinary purple Foot soldiers, they pack shurikens but are much less agile. If you get in close, they can't throw stars at you. These soldiers do not grab.
- Knife Foot soldier: the blue Foot soldiers like to approach you from behind and stab you in the back. Don't let them get too far away, since they can throw daggers faster than the ninja stars. Smack them down as quickly as you can.
- White Foot soldier: you're going to learn to like these guys. You can get in two regular attacks before they can react, so don't bother using Specials. Be careful if they jump in the air, because they'll lunge at you in an attempt to impale you.
- Red Foot soldiers: the red soldiers are cool until you realize they aren't carrying vacuum cleaners. They'll only shoot you from mid-distance, so get in close and hit them with a Special attack before they can smash you with the butt of the gun. Needless to say, they tend to make trouble.
- Roadkill Rodney: although somewhat threatening at first, they soon lose their appeal after you learn how to trap them in the corner for an easy kill. The great thing about them is that they can't leave the screen. So knock one to the edge, and it's toast.
Dangerous objects[edit]
- Bowling Balls: Obviously, when you're trying to escape a burning skyscraper, outrunning giant bowling balls should be your primary concern. That being said, avoid standing at the bottoms of stairwells, since the falling objects are endless and can't be destroyed.
Burning Skyscraper[edit]
You begin the game fighting members of the foot clan inside of a burning apartment building. Your objective is to rescue April O'Neil. As tempting as it may be to hurl yourself into the flames, they won't hurt you at all, and there's no time limit. The Turtles encounter Foot Soldiers from both sides of the hallway. Some Purple Foot Soldiers appear by breaking down doors, while others come out from the elevator. Later on, armed Foot Soldiers will appear. Remember that you can destroy the Foot clan soldiers' knives and stars with a well-timed hit. The enemies are fairly unintelligent and they fall quickly to the Special Attack.
When you reach the stairwells that dot the hallway, be on the lookout for the giant cannon balls that roll down the stairs. If they hit you, you will lose energy and be flung to the left side of the screen, so stay to one side of the screen or the other until you can safely pass by. In the arcade, the balls can strike your opponent, but in the NES, enemies are not vulnerable to them. (If four players are playing together in the arcade, you must also watch out for burning rafters which drop from the ceiling.)
Once you reach the end of the hallway, you'll need to take out some Roadkill Rodneys before you enter April's apartment (three on the NES version, one or two in the arcade, depending on the number of players). On the NES, you can defeat them with two strikes from your Special Attack, and they're easy to knock down if they get stuck on either side of the screen.
April's Nice Neat Flaming Apartment[edit]
In the room, the Turtles battle some more Foot Soldiers including the orange ones with machine guns and white Foot Soldiers with katanas. A module (drill like machine) appears through the floor of the room. The door opens up and Rocksteady steps out, saying “Say your prayers, toitles” before attacking the Turtles.
Boss: Rocksteady[edit]
Rocksteady attacks by shooting bullets from his machine gun at them in all directions including the air. When standing close by, he kicks the Turtles and he charges at them whenever he puts his gun away. You can damage him pretty consistently with a regular or Special Attack, but most of the time he'll kick you before you can regain your balance and draw back from him. The best tactic is to jump and kick at an angle so you hit him in the shin. He'll shoot upward at you, but he'll miss you by quite a bit. Jump away from him and kick again, connecting to the same spot. He can't take much of this before he collapses.
He has a couple of other slick moves that might catch you off guard. If you hit him a few times and get back from him, he'll start moving a bit faster and will shoot alternately in a "Y" pattern. Likewise, if he suddenly withdraws to the other end of the screen, he'll fire three or four bursts at you, moving vertically between each barrage of shots. If he moves off into a corner and puts his gun away, look out, because he'll charge at you quickly a few times.
Remember that all bosses will have more energy if you're playing with a friend. You can tell how weak they are by the rate at which they are flashing red. If it's at a strobe-like rate, you only need to land a couple more hits.
After defeating Rocksteady, Shredder will appear from the drill machine and grab April. He jumps across the room and out of the window to the streets below while the turtles follow.
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Shredder appears and grabs April
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Shredder leaps out of the window with April
