Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

When people talk about the perfect arcade brawler, many think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. Konami built this classic on its 1991 arcade cabinet and in 1992 brought it to the Super Nintendo in a form many fans consider even better than the original. You pick Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello or Raphael and set off through quadrants of spacetime to pacify Shredder and Krang's Foot Clan.

The game is packed with moments that stick in your memory. The most famous is throwing enemies "into the screen," you grab a Foot Clan soldier and hurl him straight toward the player until he shatters against the glass. Time travel takes you to pirates, to prehistory among the dinosaurs, to the Wild West and to a neon future, and each era has its own enemies and atmosphere. Two-player co-op is fun of exactly the kind that gave rise to the beat 'em up genre.

The retro community loves Turtles in Time for its snappy controls, excellent pixel art, catchy music and bosses like Metalhead or Super Shredder. The SNES version added exclusive levels and boss fights and became the benchmark against which other Turtle games are measured. It's pure gaming joy that anyone can pick up and no one tires of.