Ninja Turtles 3 Walkthrought

We’re locking into that “finish the run” mindset. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project — widely known as TMNT 3 on NES — the whole run lives on screen rhythm: clear the wave, read the trap patterns, bank health for bosses. Don’t flex the special on every step: it’s strong, but it eats your life bar. The core plan is throws and safe finishers. If you came from /gameplay/, this is familiar, but let’s break it down room by room and enemy by enemy — carefully, step by step.

The beach and the first real fight

On the sand, don’t let yourself get surrounded: jab while advancing, then snap-grab the nearest Foot Soldier — an over-shoulder toss deletes grunts and often clips a buddy. If a wave tries to pinch from both sides, take a tiny step back, bait one to rush, then immediately switch sides. Use jump attacks surgically: a single hop-in smack only on lone targets, or you’ll land between two colored Foots. The pizza by the surf is usually guarded by sneaky spawns: don’t dive in; sweep the screen, then heal — much safer.

Rocksteady shows up with no prelude and tries to bulldoze you. His charge telegraphs with a short pause and lean: sidestep, half-step back — that’s your window for two hits or a quick throw. Don’t leap straight onto him: he answers with a counter-step into a shoulder check. When he backs to the screen edge, don’t chase; wait for his next entry. You can trim a phase with the special, but save the HP — Manhattan’s ahead.

Manhattan: streets, rooftops, sewers

On the streets the tempo kicks up: Foot with throwables and ankle-biter robots start popping in. Don’t argue with “bombers” at range — step off-line, let the projectile pass, go straight into a clinch and toss. Rooftops have tight gaps — use them as a funnel: pull enemies into one lane and deny spawns behind your back. If you spot two pits in a row, don’t brawl on the edge — lure and hurl them over your shoulder; the fall does the cleanup for you.

Elevator sections are classic beat-’em-up fare: waves come in sets, and discipline beats aggression. Don’t greed combos: one-two hits, throw, step back, intercept the next. Aerials only on singles — otherwise you’ll eat the “clipped midair” trap every time. The pizza before a mini-boss is a bait: check for respawns first, then heal. For long rooms, Don is comfy — that reach is safer — but if you main Raph or Mikey, play your guy; just keep the rhythm. This is that TMNT 3 NES walkthrough vibe where confidence beats raw DPS.

Groundchuck and Dirtbag are a nasty duo. One blasts in with straight-line rushes; the other pops up from underground. Don’t let them split you across the screen. Herd both to one half, bait the bull’s jump, step aside, punish with a single throw; catch the mole the instant he surfaces — quick poke into an immediate grab so he can’t burrow. If you’re boxed in, a short special to dump pressure is justified, but go right back to throw-centric play. For the boss-strat nerds: the key is taking turns creating entries — never swing at both at once.

Before the lair: tricky rooms and health economy

You’ll see more “slippery” floors and faster waves. When the floor pulls you, don’t over-accelerate — walk up to incoming enemies or you’ll slide into the next pack’s arms. Top-to-bottom rooms love dropping Foot onto your head — stand slightly below center so any jump-in lands inside your throw range. Sometimes pizza hides “after the trap”: if you spot a three-wave gauntlet, clear it, then grab the heal; do it backward and the pizza despawns while the room keeps going.

Late game, mini-arenas without ring-outs show up — no cheap toss-offs. This is where “hit—half-step—throw” shines. Try to rev up and you’ll get pinched from both sides. Aim to “draw a figure-eight”: small loops around the pack, isolate the straggler, grab, and toss into the crowd. That’s the most reliable way to preserve HP for key fights where the special is best used to close, not to start. This TMNT 3 on NES pacing survives the nastiest waves consistently.

Krang and Shredder: keep it cool

Krang rolls in as a heavy unit and loves long-range. Watch the telegraph before he fires: a tiny pause, a dip, then laser or rockets. Horizontal beam? Arc-jump behind him and cash one throw. Vertical bombardment? Half-step between shots and land a short string. Don’t square up right in front — he’ll gladly grab; exit on a diagonal. The special is great as a finisher, not an opener; open only by punishing his ranged moves.

Shredder in this Manhattan Project leans on teleports and snap entries. Don’t spin on a dime — let him slide past, then tag his back. If you see the landing animation after a teleport, you get one safe window: short poke and step out. Energy waves can be hopped in place, but don’t press jump early — he’ll anti-air you. Phase two is stricter, but the rule stands: no greed, no headlong jump-ins, take damage in clean bites. Old TMNT 3 secrets in action: ten safe punishes beat one risky all-in combo.

Co-op and little tricks

Co-op flips the script. One player holds boss aggro, the other farms back throws — swap after each hit so you don’t eat a stray smack. On elevators, Player One plays “handbrake”: short taps to hold the screen edge, Player Two scoops entrants with throws. If your partner is burning specials, ration them: budget health against stage pizzas — some rooms have one, some have none. That’s how you win those marathon scraps in TMNT 3 on NES: no empty trades, only clean entries. Want a deeper dive into each turtle’s kit? Peek at /history/ and /gameplay/ for broader context.