Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up is a 2009 Platform Fighter for the Wii and PlayStation 2, based on the long running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, developed by Game Arts (who were also one of the companies behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl), with help from ex-Team Ninja employees, and published by Ubisoft. Unlike most TMNT games, this one is a general representation of the franchise, with very little explicit nods to any particular continuity beyond the art style (taken from the 2007 CGI film) and voice cast (which is that of the 2003 series). Not counting the remake of Turtles in Time, it was also the penultimate game before Mirage sold the franchise to Nickelodeon.note
See also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters. Ubisoft revisited the idea of a TMNT platform fighter about a decade later with TMNT skins in Brawlhalla in 2021.
This video game provides examples of:
- Adaptation Amalgamation: The game takes inspiration from various aspects of the TMNT franchise without leaning into any one interpretation. Most of the cast use their designs from the 2007 movie but have their voice actors from the 4Kids cartoon, the arcade mode cutscenes are done in the Mirage comics artstyle, and Karai is a villain who wants to overthrow Shredder instead of an ally to the turtles.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the story mode, Karai, in contrast to the 4Kids cartoon and 2007 movie (both of which the game is based on) where she's portrayed as noble, uses the Turtles to overthrow Shredder to take the Foot Clan for herself, and plans to kill the heroes once they've accomplished that.
- All There in the Manual: The game came with a comic book, which, while mostly showing a majority of the game's story mode aside from the ending, served to explain where Honeycutt was (dismantled and left on a building as a trap for the Turtles), as well as an explanation for the Japanese castle stage (an attempt to use the time scepter which backfires and sends the heroes there).
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: The turtles, Splinter, April, Casey, and Shredder have unlockable alternate costumes.
- Broad Strokes: The story seems to be a loose sequel to the TMNT movie, due to its aesthetic and character designs heavily borrowing from the movie, with Raphael's ending having him take up the Nightwatcher role again (something Casey is unsurprised by), but the Turtles are established to know the Fugitoid (who did not appear in the live action films or TMNT), Shredder uses his 2003 design and is alive, and Karai betrays Shredder to take over the Foot Clan and kill the heroes afterward, something that would be out of character for both TMNT and the 2003 series' versions due to her Undying Loyalty to the Shredder and strong sense of honor.
- Clothing Damage: If Casey Jones takes a lot of damage, his mask will be knocked off and he will fight without it for the rest of his life. If he gets knocked out, he will respawn with the mask back on.
- Composite Character:
- Most of the cast, save for the Shredder, Utrominator, and Fugitoid, are based upon their appearances from the 2007 movie, but with the voice actors of the 4Kids cartoon.
- Karai in particular has her 2007 movie appearance, but the 2003 cartoon's villainous role and familial relationship to the Shredder.
- Decomposite Character: Raphael and his alter ego, Nightwatcher, are separate playable characters who can even battle each other.
- Down in the Dumps: The Junkyard level which is based on Rabbids Go Home.
- Down the Drain: The Sewer stage.
- Expy: While he's officially taken from the 4Kids series, the devs often refer to the Utrominator as the game's "Krang character".
- Game-Breaking Bug: If you try to change the gameplay mode between rounds in multiplayer, the game can get screwed up and either have you play the wrong mode or some freakish amalgamation of modes. It's possible to begin playing a timed match (which is won by the last person standing or the person with the most lives when time is up) and the winner of the timed match is the player with the most kills rather than the last person standing. In essence, this bug causes the wrong person to win a match.
- Guest Fighter: The Rabbids. There's also the Junkyard level. While the turtles frequently find themselves in junkyards across their own franchise, this particular one is taken from Rabbids Go Home, complete with the Rabbids' tower. So if you've watched, say, this video
, you'd almost mistake it as a Rabbids Go Home fighting game. - Guide Dang It!: One of the game's characters (Ninja Rabbid) and one of the game's levels (Underground) are physically impossible to unlock unless you go online and look up two separate cheat codes. Keep in mind that the game is already pretty shy on characters and stages to begin with by modern standards.
- Joke Character: The Rabbids are this for obvious reasons. None of them can take a hit well and they don't have anything to really compensate for that weakness.
- Jungle Japes: The stage aptly named "Jungle" which is like Jungle Japes but without the japes.
- Mighty Glacier: Shredder and Utrominator are the biggest and slowest characters in the game. Shredder has ridiculously strong sword attacks that can take off half a health bar in one hit, and Utrominator has multiple hard-hitting projectiles.
- Mooks:
- The Foot Ninjas, which you fight several times during the Arcade mode and certain missions. You can also unlock one as a playable fighter.
- An Utrominator from the 2003 series episode "Same As It Never Was" appears as a playable fighter.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Shredder, Utrominator, and the Fugitoid's designs are notably 3D recreations of their looks from the 2003 series rather than redesigned to fit the style of the 2007 movie.
- Sewer Gator: The Sewer and Jungle stages feature a giant alligator as a stage hazard. If a fighter touches the bottom of the stage while the warning is up, they'll be Eaten Alive and instantly killed.
- Spotlight-Stealing Crossover: The game was made as a bit of a
anniversary title, but mostly features characters and concepts from the 2003 cartoon and 2007 movie. That said, with the exception of the Utrominator, the cast is primarily main characters who originated in the 1984 Mirage Studios comics. None of the 2007 movie-exclusive characters appear, nor are any 2003 Ensemble Darkhorses like Hun or Agent Bishop present. - Version-Exclusive Content: The Wii version features the Fugitoid and the Rabbids as extra playable fighters.
