Hello on PlayStation-land! This is Chris Kohler — I’m the Editorial Director of Digital Eclipse, co-developer of the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. We are excited for the upcoming launch of a landmark collection that includes 13 classic Konami TMNT games made in the 80s and 90s for home consoles, mobile computers and arcade game machine.
With all 13 games included in the Cowabunga Collection, you can see the surge of TMNT games unfolding before your eyes. Today, we thought it would be interesting to look at the evolution of two main Turtles games—the faithful but unlucky goons of Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (8-bit)
You encounter this pair early in your first game on the TMNT house. Bebop is the game’s first mini-boss, attacking you in a cramped sewer corridor. While this war was going on, Rocksteady stood guard over April O’Neil. If you touch Rocksteady he will damage you – there is no way to defeat him for now, just focus on Bebop. Bebop does not fire weapons; he’s just trying to stab you! At the end of level 1, you have a chance to fight Rocksteady and his trusty machine gun. Just when you think you have the upper hand, Shredder shows up and kidnaps April again!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Arcade Game (Arcade / 8-bit)
Rocksteady is the first boss you take on in the classic four-player experience. Again with a machine gun, he shoots diagonally to punish you for taking too many kicks. Bebop appears at the end of the next level, packing the Ripple Laser weapon. And as if that wasn’t enough, Bebop and Rocksteady appear together at the end of stage four!
Don’t let these two goons put you off, we have a bunch of useful options that will beat them to the punch, including Rewind, Save/Load Anywhere, and Custom Views that let you go through each game and jump in at any time to start playing.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Handheld)
In the fearsome quartet’s first mobile adventure, Bebop and Rocksteady are armed with the same tricks in Ripple Laser and machine gun. Luckily, in this version, you can knock out their bullets with a well-timed attack, making these mutants a few hits. (Check out Bebop’s goofy damage animation in the original design document!)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Handheld)
Rocksteady doesn’t fight fair when you run into him in this mobile sequel, which calls for a group of Foot soldiers to drop flower pots atop your head. Real Bogus!
Back From The Sewers is a unique combination of side-scrolling action and three-quarter perspective; The Rocksteady fight takes place in side-scrolling mode while the subsequent Bebop fight is in three-quarter view.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (8-bit)
An 8-bit masterpiece, with tons of levels and creative bosses, you’ll see Bebop and Rocksteady start to get a little more creative with their ambushes. Rocksteady emerging from the Key West wave is firing a spearfishing gun. (Oops, did we interrupt his vacation?)
Meanwhile, Bebop is ridiculous with a ball and chain attached to his head that he rotates with his neck muscles before hurling at you. Did he design this himself? Is he fine? Has anyone signed up on Bebop recently?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (16-bit)
Although Bebop and Rocksteady do not appear in the arcade game Turtles In Time, the duo in the expanded 16-bit version as pirate ship-level bosses, “AD 1530: Skull And Cross.. “..
Since this is olden times they are elegantly dressed and Captain Rocksteady attacks with an elegant epee, while poop-deck-swabbin’s sailor Bebop tries to tame you with his whip.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (16-bit)
Rocksteady without Bebop? It’s peanut butter without chocolate! Pizza without cheese! But it’s true, this adventure is the only one in the Rocksteady Collection and the trusty machine gun shows up as a boss without his best friend.
Self-study!
During Turtle’s previous trip through time, we took a look at some never-before-seen design documents from the Konami archives and a glimpse of how these legendary games were made. Want to see more? Once you download the Cowabunga Collection, you’ll be able to dive into the Turtle’s lair and dig through hundreds of pages, with secrets around every nook and cranny!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Cowabunga Collection is coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 soon. We know the wait is hard as hell… but it will be worth it!
