E3 Media: New TMNT Smash Up Trailer and Details

In addition to Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, GameSpot had the opportunity to stop by Ubisoft and get a new look at the upcoming Wii fighting game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up. And part of that look features an all-new trailer for E3 that reveals a few more familiar characters that have been added to the lineup, and what they’re fighting for:

The recent movie April plus the recent cartoon Shredder? I can dig that. And it sounds like they’re using the voices from the recently-concluded cartoon as well. Even better still. Now I’m hopeful that we get Casey Jones and Hun in there as well, and that’s just for starters.

GameSpot notes what sounds like a lack of special moves, which is a little alarming, really. It seems that these are made up for by “ninja powers,” which are invoked through the use of dropped items. Some examples of the powers include shuriken and fire breath, “which is an interesting sight when it’s April doing the singeing.”

Two controller configurations are named here, one featuring the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, while the other is Wii Remote only; in the former configuration, the D-pad on the Wii Remote is used to control ninja powers, while the analog stick is used to move the character. Held sideways, the Wii Remote triggers the powers through the use of the A and 2 buttons, which sounds like a workable, but not exactly winning, combination.

A and B control light and heavy attacks (or 1 and 2 in the other config), and you can do combos or different moves depending on the direction your character is facing. Unfortunately, “At this point in the prebeta stage, the controls felt unresponsive at times, especially when we were changing directions quickly while trying to land a string of attacks. We hope that this will be adjusted further before release, but at this point, everything else is looking good.”

As for waggle, there is some slight use of it when the character is dizzied; shake the Wii Remote when an icon appears over your head to come out of it.

The stages sound very Smash Bros.-esque in the chaotic elements which they employ, such as the alligator attacks in the jungle, which we saw in action during the video above.

Overall, GameSpot says the title is coming along nicely, and are looking forward to what the team of Game Arts and Mirage Studios can bring to the single player mode. “If the controls can be tightened up, this could be an incredibly fun brawler for the different generations of turtles fans.”

Presently, they say the game is set for a September release.

As an aside, is it me, or does it almost seem as though more developers are figuring that the best way to compete with Nintendo on their platform is to make games like Nintendo’s? Deca Sports and Wii Sports, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and Mario Kart Wii, and TMNT Smash-Up and Super Smash Bros. Brawl…

I have no serious complaints, if that’s the case, so long as the end product turns out well. Maybe it will encourage Nintendo to do even more “leading” so that the third parties can follow in their own lightly-imitative manner.