Childhood Remembered: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Edition

Seeing this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade style game console at Walmart the other day was like stepping back in time.  I've seen these short arcade games for Pac-Man and the like, but never thought there would be one for TMNT.

This was my favorite arcade game growing up.  There was either one at the Pizza Hut or Round Table Pizza way back when in Porterville, back when pizza places had tiny arcade rooms.  (Are there any pizza places that still have arcade games?)  But still, time trip seeing this thing.  I spent so many quarters playing this game as a kid.  Heh, good times.  My fractured memory says it was Pizza Hut, though my memories at Round Table are more clear with various birthday gatherings and other whatnot's.  The pizza was so good!  We don't have a Round Table Pizza where I live, though every now and then advertisements will pop up on Facebook reminding me of good times past.

Dang I'm nostalgic.

This arcade game console, if it's called that, is priced at $400, so I didn't get it.  That would be crazy.  The price is crazy steep, but where would I put it?  Still, it was fun seeing this game and remembering all those fun times running to play games in between bites of pizza, which is very TMNT appropriate.

What Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are Suppose to Look Like

When I think of Ninja Turtles, the way they would look in our Universe, this is what I think of.  The turtles from the second movie.

I didn't really like the first movie.  All I remember is that Raphael goes emo.  The third movie was fun with all the time traveling and whatnot.  But the second movie,TMNT II The Secret of the Ooze was my favorite.

Then I heard that a new TMNT movie was coming out this year.

I got super excited.

Then I heard Michael Bay was behind it.

I groaned.

. . . And then I started hearing rumors that the new CGI TMNT design is a bit controversial.

I groaned again.

And then the reveal happened, 1:05 minutes into the trailer when Michelangelo takes his mask off.

. . .

They look like Aliens!!!!!!

I'm still going to see this new installment in the TMNT Universe, because the TMNT will always hold a special place in my heart.

I remember going to Pizza Hut just to play the arcade game, and then eating pizza simply to relate to the characters.  When the game got a Super NES release, I was super excited.  And there were all those times I got my friends to play TMNT on the playground at school, insisting I had to play April.  (I didn't always get to, taking turns and all, but it was fun.)

Case in point, I'll reserve judgement until I see the movie, but first impressions are everything, and this isn't a very good first impression.