TMNT Shredder’s Revenge Review
TMNT Shredder’s Revenge
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Growing up I was a massive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan, and yes I mean the old show. I’m part of that generation, where we would get personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut and even bought the musical album they put out as well as the tour video…I had it all, tons of figures, bed sheets, and video games.
The Ninja Turtle video games have always held a special place in my heart, especially the arcade ones. Back when arcades were more of a bigger deal. I pumped so much into the machines playing as either Donatello or Leonardo (even though Raph was my favorite) because they were better in the game for ranged attacks. Even a few years ago on a Disney Trip, the house we rented had the two turtles arcade games where my brother-in-law and I made it a point to beat both during our time there. So when Shredder’s Revenge was announced I was instantly ALL IN.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge features modernized gameplay rooted in timeless classic brawling mechanics, brought to you by the beat ’em up experts at Dotemu (Streets of Rage 4) and developer Tribute Games, in partnership with Nickelodeon. Bash your way through gorgeous pixel art environments and slay tons of hellacious enemies with your favorite Turtle (or Splinter, April, and even Casey Jones (After you beat the game once), each with their skills and moves – making each -playthrough different. You can play the entire game solo with up to 6 players at once (which is nuts). There are tons of collectibles and hidden characters to discover (unfortunately not playable) to grab.
You have the option of playing through story mode which takes you through 16 stages throughout NYC, Coney Island, and even Dimension X. Or playing arcade mode for additional challenges, no continues, and more to increase the fun! The game in story mode has an overworld reminiscent of Super Mario World where you can select your stage and destination via the Party Wagon or the Turtle Blimp. The story revolves around as the name implies Shredder’s Revenge as he and his (numerous) minions are reclaiming the pieces to Krangs Robot Suit to take over New York.
The game features all the classic enemies you would expect including a rainbow of different Foot Soldiers, Mousers, Robots, Rock Troops, and much much more. Most levels end with a boss battle featuring one of the MANY different characters from the series (seriously they cover a lot here). There are numerous familiar landscapes to explore from Coney Islands Boardwalk, The sewers, the News Station, and even Dimension X, if you’ve played the arcade games there are a lot of familiarities here. The only thing I missed was the infamous (MY TOE, MY TOE) is not there sadly.
Many of the original voice characters from the cartoon revise their characters for this game. Since a lot of the team worked on Streets of Rage 4, you know the quality to expect here. But it’s not your standard fare. Each character you play levels up throughout the game (up to level 10) and doing so unlocks more health, special moves, and more so it keeps you coming back.
Each character also has its ratings for Strength, Speed, and Range so you can select the best suited for your playstyle. Each character also even has their endings so replayability is high. While I loved Streets of Rage 4, I didn’t find a lot of appeals to go back and replay it a lot (but I have already played Turtles numerous times) and with 16 stages vs the 7 in Streets of Rage, it feels a lot longer but doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
The graphics are perfectly pixelated bringing me back to the 80s/90s and the game runs great, I experienced no technical issues or slowdowns, even when playing multiplayer online.
The music is TOP TIER, with some even voiced tracks I was so surprised and impressed. It even feels like they put some sort of audio filter over it to make it sound like an arcade cabinet.
There is so much love and care put into this game. Since the violence is cartoony this is a family-friendly game for sure that anyone can play, simple controls, powerups, and special moves are all easy to handle, plus customizable difficulty levels.
I seriously can’t say enough good things about this game, this is a must-play for any turtles fans (old or new) and is still fun for those who may not be into them but love beat them ups. It’s the perfect blend of nostalgia wrapped in a modern take, executed flawlessly…GO BUY THIS GAME NOW!
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Article By Kevin Austin
Kevin Austin has been in gaming journalism in one way or another since the launch of the Nintendo Gamecube. Married and father of 3 children he has been gaming since the ripe age of 6 when he got his first NES system and over 30 years later he is still gaming almost daily. Kevin is also co-founder of the Play Some Video Games (PSVG) Podcast network which was founded over five years ago and is still going strong. Some of his favorite gaming series includes Fallout and Far Cry, he is a sucker for single player adventure games (hence his big reviews for Playstation), and can frequently be found getting down in one battle royale or another. If it's an oddball game, odds are he's all about it.
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