“Cowabunga dude!” A brand new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game may be in development at Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City developer Rocksteady Studios, tentatively titled “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Manhattan Crisis”. That is, if the latest rumors are to be believed!
Warner Bros. distributed the 2007 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles CGI movie, and are the same company that Rocksteady’s parents Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment falls under. Definitely a strong connection between them. Especially when you consider the Turtles’ martial arts fighting style with weapons is similar to Batman, and would fit the same game engine Rocksteady has used in their last two Batman games.
Paul lists the first rumored details:
- All four Turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo will be playable, with flashbacks played as Master Splinter/Hamato Yoshi, April O’Neil and Casey Jones serve as comedic relief in the story.
- Gameplay and story/stage progression will be similar to Batman: Arkham City. The Turtles can throw shurikens, smoke bombs, grappling hooks, and climbing foot spikes.
- Bosses include Bebop and Rocksteady (same name as the developer, this confirms it’s true haha!), Dr. Baxter Stockman, Shredder (Oroku Saki), and Krang. In the case of the humans-turned-mutants, you fight them in both forms throughout the story.
- The Turtle Van and Turtle Blimp will be included.
- The game will use Batman: Arkham City‘s graphics engine.
- The game is expected to be more dark than slapstick.
- Said to be in development for Wii U, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The Wii U build is expected to have touch screen controls for specific actions.
This news falls in the category “So good it HAS to be true!” But without official confirmation it remains a rumor. Perhaps Batman: Arkham 3 is further off than we thought.
Here’s are some great quotes from the original TMNT cartoon that I wouldn’t mind hearing in the new game! 😀
February Update: Rocksteady chief Sefton Hill has commented on this rumor saying it’s false and that they are not working on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. But when the existence of a secret game gets leaked prematurely, the developer definition of a true and false can sometimes be ignored for a white lie until the publisher is ready to do an official announcement. That might be wishful thinking, but only time will tell.