2 out of 5

Label: Limited Run

Produced by: ?

An acceptable KKC release, but a disappointing Turtles soundtrack.

I get that established properties are tough to compose for, and especially sequels: you have themes you have to hit / incorporate, while doing something original that somehow doesn’t betray or conflict with those themes. And when it’s an oft-releasing franchise like Turtles, the possibility of releasing a fairly generic score likely becomes higher; the Konami crew dispatched to the task this time out primarily took the note to play things fast and in the same general register as the cartoon TMNT theme, allowing for that possibility: besides some vague reminders, there’s nothing much aligning this as a Turtles score.

Furthermore, it’s a pretty generic KKC score, with tracks feeling far from their titles intentions – a boss theme doesn’t offer much difference from a level theme, and neither conjures up much feeling specific to a characer or locale. “Generic” for KKC still allows for some quality bops, of course, particularly later in the game, when the compositions get a bit denser, but on the whole – this could be any game, also sounding rather sparse for this era of NES scores.

That latter bit may be a sourcing / mastering issue: whether Limited Run tweaked this at all or is just representing previously released material, the sound of the recording is very underwheling, thin, and undervolumed, with uneven and clunky looping (or not; a couple tracks hit a hard stop, right in the middle of a verse) making for a less likely relisten.