Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project is proof that Konami did not rest on its laurels with its turtle licence. While the second game was an arcade port, the 1992 third instalment was created directly for the NES as a standalone brawler tailored to the home console — and in many ways it surpasses its predecessor.

The foundation stays, but everything is richer. Shredder himself has lifted the island of Manhattan into the air, and the four turtles set out to save it across varied levels from beaches through trains to an airborne fortress. New attacks were added, including special moves and the ability to grab and throw an enemy, making combat swifter and more varied than in the second game. The game technically taps the NES to the full — large, detailed animated sprites, fluid movement and lots of enemies on screen at once. The excellent two-player cooperative mode, the soul of the whole series, still works too. Retro fans often rank the third game among the best beat 'em ups on the NES ever, because it offers more content and depth without losing that immediate fun of beating up the Foot Clan side by side with a friend.