Ads From the Past 559: TMNT 4 Toys 'R's US

Ads From the Past: "New Turtles IV" – The 1992 Toys "R" Us Ad Surfing the TMNT Gaming Wave

Welcome back to Ads From the Past, the Retro Gaming Life series where we flip through faded magazine pages and catalog inserts to relive the hype that filled our childhood wish lists. Today, we're cowabunga-diving into a classic 1992 Toys "R" Us print ad promoting Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games – with a radical Raphael surfing on a giant Super Nintendo cartridge to hype the upcoming Turtles in Time.

The Ad Breakdown: Radical Surfing and Shelf Prices

This full-color gem screams early '90s toy store energy. A buff Raphael (red bandana, sai-ready) balances on a massive blue SNES cart like a sewer surfer, kicking up sparks. He's holding a TMNT III: The Manhattan Project NES box in one hand while pointing to a TV screen blasting Turtles in Time gameplay footage.

Bold green-and-yellow text shouts "New Turtles IV" at the top, with "For Super Nintendo" below. The copy declares: "Konami brings the Green Teens to your video game screen & we've got 'em all!" It spotlights "Turtles In Time" for Super Nintendo Entertainment System at $64.99, Ninja Turtles III for NES at $54.99, and Turtles II for Game Boy at $34.99. A teaser at the bottom: "Coming Soon Turtles for Sega Genesis" (likely The Hyperstone Heist).

Konami logo bottom left, Toys "R" Us rainbow branding bottom center, and a ©1992 Geoffrey, Inc. note. This ad likely ran in newspaper inserts or in-store flyers during the holiday rush, capitalizing on TMNT mania.

Game Context: Peak Turtle Power on Consoles

1991-1992 was TMNT gaming gold. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES, July 1992 NA) was the arcade port sequel, famed for time-travel stages (Prehistoric Turtlesaurus! Neon Nightwafers!), four-player co-op (in arcade), throw enemies at screen mechanic, and killer soundtrack. Many call it the best beat-'em-up ever – fluid, colorful, and pizza-powered fun.

TMNT III: The Manhattan Project (NES, 1992) was a console-exclusive sequel to TMNT II: The Arcade Game, with new moves, bosses, and Manhattan-saving action. TMNT II: Back from the Sewers (Game Boy, 1991) brought portable side-scrolling brawling. The teased Genesis title became Tournament Fighters or Hyperstone Heist – Konami flooding shelves with green goodness.

These prices ($65 for SNES flagship) reflect pre-inflation '90s retail – steep for kids, but Toys "R" Us was the mecca.

Why This Ad Stands Out

At TMNT's cultural peak (post-Secret of the Ooze movie, toys everywhere), this ad nailed the vibe: action-hero turtles on cutting-edge hardware (SNES Mode 7 glory). Raph surfing the cart? Pure radness, tying into the show's beach episodes and '90s extreme sports craze. Toys "R" Us ads like this turned weekly circulars into treasure maps – begging parents for that $64.99 drop.

It captures the franchise's cross-platform domination before fatigue set in.

Final Thoughts

Turtles in Time remains a co-op classic – play it via Cowabunga Collection on modern systems for that nostalgic shell-shock. Remember circling this in the Toys "R" Us Big Book? Favorite Turtle or stage? Shell-ebrate in the comments! More tubular ads incoming in Ads From the Past.

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