Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (1992) — Cowabunga Never Gets Old

I've been a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan for as long as I can remember. From the cartoons to the movies, I loved everything about those four pizza-loving reptiles. And honestly, that hasn't changed.

I must have been five or six years old when I first played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time on the Super Nintendo at my sister's friend's house. I didn't even own the game myself for the longest time, but that didn't stop it from becoming my favorite video game of all time.

From the moment you hear Big Apple, 3 A.M. kick in, you know you're in for a good time.

The premise is simple. Shredder and Krang are up to their usual nonsense, and it's up to the Turtles to put a stop to it. Naturally, this involves beating the absolute crap out of an endless assortment of Foot Soldiers and traveling through time.

And it's an absolute blast.

What makes Turtles in Time so enjoyable is the variety of levels and, of course, getting to play as the Ninja Turtles themselves. Each stage offers something different, keeping the action entertaining from beginning to end.

My Turtle of choice has always been Michelangelo. I love the nunchucks, and let's face it, he's the party dude. How could I not pick him?

The combat is wonderfully satisfying, the controls are incredibly responsive, and there's something immensely entertaining about sending Foot Soldiers flying across the screen.

My favorite level is Technodrome: Let's Kick Shell, although the entire game is filled with memorable stages. And we can't forget the soundtrack. Alleycat Blues is easily my favorite track, but the music throughout the game is fantastic.

I've also played the original arcade version, and while it's an excellent game in its own right, I much prefer the Super Nintendo release. The additional levels and tighter controls make it the definitive version for me.

My one complaint is the lack of four-player cooperative play. The arcade version lets four people join in on the fun, while the SNES limits you to two. I would have loved to see that feature make the jump to Nintendo's console.

Still, that doesn't diminish how much I love this game.

There's also a tremendous amount of nostalgia attached to Turtles in Time. I have wonderful memories of playing it as a kid, and even after all these years, I still return to it.

But nostalgia alone isn't enough to make something my favorite. If I stopped enjoying the game, those memories wouldn't magically make it fun again.

Thankfully, that's never been a problem.

Decades later, I can still pick up a controller, select Michelangelo, and have just as much fun as I did when I was five or six years old.

And ultimately, that's why Turtles in Time remains my favorite video game.

It makes me happy.

Sometimes, that's all a game needs to do.