Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

Dotemu

Developer

Tribute Games

Series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Genre

Action, Arcade, Fighting, Multiplayer

Players

1-6

File Size (Minimum)

917 MB

Release Date (NA)

Jun 16, 2022

Purchase From

Amazon

Best Buy

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Official Store

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a classic arcade beat ‘em up game that every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) fan will enjoy. For those who’ve played TMNT games since the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) days or watched the classic 1987 animated series, the nostalgia hasn’t gone away.

Turtles in Good Care

Shredder’s Revenge, developed by indie studio Tribute Games and published by Dotemu, makes for another high profile brand for Dotemu’s portfolio. With the success of Streets of Rage 4, it was hard not to be excited upon hearing the announcement back in early March 2021 that they were handling the next TMNT game along with Tribute Games (Flinthook).

This beat ‘em up is heavily inspired by the classic TMNT games, such as the 1989 arcade game and Turtles in Time. Tribute Games preserves the look and feel of the original games while maintaining today’s pixel-art standard. That means fluid animation, additional facial expressions, special effects, and more. Everything is clean, detailed, and vibrant when compared to the older TMNT games—a big, positive jump. The detailed backdrops don’t hinder the foreground or the activity on the battlefield at all.

Like the arcade-style TMNT games, you’ll navigate your character horizontally (and, at times, vertically) through a 2D environment. Enemies will enter the battlefield, and depending how many players join in, the amount of characters on screen can be overwhelming. At times, you’ll easily become distracted and forget which character you are.

Some areas like rooftops require players to jump across from one rooftop to another, and not doing so depletes your health bar. Depth perception has always been a nuisance for arcade-style games. Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed in Shredder’s Revenge. Vertical jumping can lead to frustration. You’ll just have to pay more attention when jumping vertically to avoid traps.

Nostalgia Returns, Dude

The classic lyrics from the 1987 cartoon come back for the game’s introduction, showcasing familiar foes and heroes of the past. The intro also shows off the turtles surfing on water, but there’s no surfing in the game, just hoverboarding across highways and through the air within the city. That said, there’s enough nostalgia in this game to feed your hunger.

While playing, many scenarios from the past games and the cartoon return in this new TMNT title. Hovercrafting across the main highway and throwing Foot Soldiers towards the screen are still here. Although the turtle blimp and turtle van are seen, they cannot be used.

Boss battles with classic villains such as Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang, Rat King, and others await you after each episode (level). Each boss relies on a patterned attack style, and once you learn their moves, taking them down becomes easier.

Some bosses are actually more difficult than the last boss, such as Baxter Stockman, a fly mutant. Baxter flies all over the place and requires you to jump and make air attacks. That’s not all. He’ll back off from the battlefield to initiate lasers that fire across the entire screen. They’re difficult to dodge unless you double jump at the right time. It’s a maddening fight against the mad scientist.

Team of Seven

Unlike previous TMNT games, players can now choose three characters other than the four Ninja Turtles: April O’Neil, Splinter, and Casey Jones. Each one has their own advantages when it comes to speed, power, and weapon range. Casey and Donatello have the best range but lack in speed and power. Meanwhile, April and Michelangelo are great in speed but fall short in power and range.

If you’re looking for a well-rounded character, Leonardo and Casey Jones are the best picks. April O’Nell is an enjoyable character with her speed and quick attacks. Raphael is not as good with ranged attacks but is quite strong in close-up battles.

Move sets are the same for each character and there’s a handful of ways to utilize them. For example, simple combos to dashing to attacks. Overall, it really comes down to which character you’re comfortable with on the battlefield. If you’re looking to learn over a handful of moves, the game offers an animated tutorial.

That or you just enjoy their special-move-building taunt. Special moves offer timed invincibility for your character and allow for a wider range and heavier attacks. You can use these moves up to three times at once, and then requires you to either taunt or attack enemies to replenish the special attack meter. Using the taunt to replenish feels like a cheat, but otherwise, it takes a few seconds to rejuvenate without enemy interruption. If you have maxed out your special attack gauge, you can initiate the “radical” mode that enhances your character’s attack power for a limited time. That’s radical, dude.

It’s a Pizza Party

One of the biggest features in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is the option to have up to six people play at once. Teams can be built offline, online, or both. You can set up private or friend parties by invitation (or receive one). If you’re looking to join random players, that’s an option, too, by a quick click of a button in the game’s character menu or while playing. (During this review, the option to find random players was not available.) Having the option to create a party via various methods makes this turtles game more appealing.

As of right now in regards to crossplay with other consoles, only PC and Xbox players can team-up. PlayStation and Switch players will have to team up with players on the same console. Perhaps one day crossplay will come to this entertaining arcade game. Additionally, to play online with other TMNT fans, you’ll have to purchase the console’s membership price to play with others.

One-Trick Turtle

Shredder’s Revenge’s gameplay relies on two modes: Story and Arcade. Both have the same episodes and same difficulty settings but with minor differences. Whichever you choose, it’s a short adventure that only lasts less than three hours without breaks.

In Story Mode, you can level-up your character up to 10, navigate between 16 episodes, and complete side quests. Side quests are based on finding a set number of items such as VHS tapes, gems, or disgusting bugs. Finding them all rewards you points to add to your game’s high score. Additionally, each episode has a set of challenges players can achieve such as not taking damage or not falling off rooftops. They aren’t necessary to complete; they’re just for bragging rights. In Story Mode, players can travel between episodes on the game’s map. Being able to pick and choose helps make it fun. However, once you start a story, you cannot create a new one with a different difficulty. You’ll have to start over.

Arcade Mode is for those looking for a challenge. This mode has limited lives, no leveling up, no world map, and no saved progression. It’s just like going back in time and playing the 1989 arcade game but with no quarters involved.

Outside of this, you can change the controller setup, the language, and the volume, view in-game accomplishments, and watch a tutorial on how to play. That’s it. There are no mini-games or other gameplay features.

Radical Tracks

The game’s soundtrack, though more modern, plays off the late ‘80/‘90s vibe. Hip-hop beats and energetic tunes during cinematic scenes make the game feel like playing back in time. Guest artists like Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah and Raekwon add their scores to the latest TMNT game. While it’s not the classic “Ninja Rap” from Vanilla Ice, it’s still radical to see vocal tracks in the game.

All four ninja turtle voices are from the original 1987 cartoon. It’s a much-welcomed return, hearing these actors speaking the voices one remembers. However, other characters such as April, Casey, and Shredder are not the original. Unfortunately, the original Shredder voice actor, James Avery, passed away in 2013. While not begrudging the game’s voice for Shredder, it just doesn’t feel the same without him.

The Last Pizza Slice

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a must-play arcade throwback regardless of whether you are familiar with the franchise. With clean animations and the option for a party of six, it’s hard not to pass the game up, even if the adventure is short. Grab a slice of pizza and jump in. Cowabunga!

A PlayStation 4 code was provided for this review and gameplay footage. Fans can visit the game’s official website for more details and purchasing.