Eiro Shirahama

The release of TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan is only two months away, which means that we will probably be seeing a lot of promotional material for the game in the next few weeks. Mutants in Manhattan has proven to be a highly anticipated title, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that both the developer and producer of the title have recently been approached for interviews.

Through their discussions of the game, developers and producers from Activision and Platinum Games have confirmed some rather interesting details about the upcoming TMNT video game. Developer Eiro Shirahama had the following to say about the story:

“For people that have never really seen the turtles before, it’s going to be totally new, but they’ll still be able to understand it. However, for those that have seen the turtles before, there will definitely be elements that are like ‘oh man, that takes me back.’ At the same time, the story is new, so that’s kind of what we were aiming for.”

If this statement is accurate, it would appear that Platinum Games has taken inspiration from a variety of different elements and crafted their own story in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe. We are probably going to see a lot of familiar faces, and we might even see a few memorable plot devices, but it would appear that this isn’t exactly an adaptation of something that we’ve already seen before.

Some fans might be disappointed to hear this, but I’m sure that others will welcome a new TMNT experience, especially when you consider that Platinum Games worked with IDW to develop the story for TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan. A statement from Activision producer Robert Conkey appears to confirm this:

“In terms of universe, Platinum pulled from a lot of places, but really referenced the original Eastman and Laird comics as well as the original tv show, the IDW comic series, and some of the more recent Nick 3D versions of the TV show as well. So [the developer] took all the stuff they really liked and put them all in one place and added their own unique Platinum Games spin on it.”

Screenshot from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan

In other words, TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan is pulling from several different versions of the Ninja Turtles in order to tell a new story in the franchise. From what we have seen of the game in trailers and gameplay footage, it would appear that this title is shaping up quite nicely. It’s nice to know that although Mutants in Manhattan will feature its own story, it will also be heavily inspired by previous iterations of the characters.