Unlike a lot of Wii owners, I’m not a huge Super Smash Bros. Brawl fan. In fact, I never really got into the Smash Bros. series, although I always felt like I should have. For whatever reason, the gameplay never resonated with me, and because of this, I didn’t know how much I was going to like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up. It became clear shortly after the upcoming TMNT fighting game was announced that it is very much inspired by the style and level design of Smash Bros., and part of the same development team worked on both games. When I finally got a chance to play Smash-Up at E3 last week, I ended up having more fun than I expected.

Like Super Smash Bros., Smash-Up pits four players against each other in platformer-esque levels filled with obstacles and special items. Instead of characters from Nintendo games, obviously, there are characters from the TMNT universe, such as the turtles, Splinter, April, and Shredder. Since many match-ups will undoubtedly feature turtle vs. turtle vs. turtle vs. turtle (or three Michaelangelos, in the game I played), a colorful glow will surround each character, making it easier to keep track of which one you are controlling.



The controls, as you might expect, are something of a button-mashing mess. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it means they are easy to pick up. Two characters beating up on the same person is fun, and leaves the one in the middle helpless for a short time. It’s also easy to find yourself cornered, so you will need to use the level to your advantage. What I really liked about the game, though, was the way things in the level interacted with the fighters. In one of the stages in which I fought, a giant gator kept leaping out of the water, with only a brief flashing icon beforehand as warning. Getting eaten means that you lose a life, and after I was swallowed whole once, I learned my lesson. I managed to quickly get out of the way the next few times the gator popped up, and before I knew it I was the last turtle standing. This interactivity adds a new layer of strategy to the somewhat chaotic fighting game.

I only played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up for a short time, but I honestly had more fun than I thought I would. I’m not about to reexamine my thoughts about the Smash Bros. series, but Smash-Up is a whole new game, and deserves a fair chance from both Smash Bros. lovers and haters. I’m actually more excited about this now than I was before E3. At the very least, it should offer some good times to fans of the franchise when it comes out this fall.