After posting about some clearance priced copies of TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan that I spotted last week, someone pointed out that the long-delisted (and much loved) 1989 arcade game is technically still available out in the wild. Tracking down a copy of 2004’s TMNT: Battle Nexus 2 and finding a hidden collectible in that game’s 9th stage isn’t the easiest way to play the arcade original at home but it is the most legal.
While it’s leaps and bounds above the other home versions of the game — released on early 90’s computers and the NES — Wikipedia points out that the copy tucked into Battle Nexus 2 is missing almost all of the original voice samples and that the music has also been altered. It’s a shame to hear that it isn’t a totally faithful conversion but it’s great to know there’s a legal way to get at the game, and that it’s on a format that can’t be delisted.
I missed this detail when I wrote the game page in 2016 so I’ve updated the page on the site with links and details on the Battle Nexus 2 incarnation.