Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Me and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles go way back. What started as casual viewings of the re-runs of the 1997 live-action series on Star World and Fox Kids ended up being a decade old obsession with me consuming every bit of TMNT goodness I could get my middle middle-class hands on. From the fantastic arcade games by Konami, to their home console ports, as well as the good (and bad) games on the SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, PS2 and PC, I’ve tried most of them. Heck I even had the official toyline which was considered a luxury back in late ‘90s India. Suffice to say that I’m a TMNT fanboy through and through. Imagine my excitement when Dotemu, announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a revival of the classic beat ‘em up formula in the franchise that was slowly succumbing to pop culture disinterest. After the awesomeness that is Streets of Rage 4, I was willing to put blind faith in Dotemu. Was I right or was I wrong? Of course, I was right and you should stop reading this review right now and get ready for the launch tonight…Not convinced? Pfft…you hate making my job easy, don’t you?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a 2D sidescrolling beat ‘em up developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu and Gamera. The game will launch for Microsoft Windows, Linux, PS4/5, Xbox One/S/X and the Nintendo Switch on June 16, 2022.
Cowabunga Nights
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a modern retread of the classic arcade games, more specifically- Turtles in Time. Actually, it’s more than that. While Streets of Rage 4 is the next evolution in the series, combining classic arcade brawling and some elements from fighting games, Shredder’s Revenge is a love letter to the TMNT IP and the Konami video game adaptations. While it lacks the modern nuances present in SoR 4 and is more or less a modern reimagining, Shredder’s Revenge is not a lesser game by any means. From the gorgeous pixel art style to the returning voice actors to the refined, fast-paced 6 player co-op action, Shredder’s Revenge is a blast from start to finish.
Shredder’s Revenge doesn’t waste time setting things up. After a short intro detailing Shredder’s shenanigans, you’re put right into the character selection screen where you’ll get to select between six fan favorites- Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, April and Splinter. There’s even an unlockable character but I’ll let you figure that out for yourselves. After selecting the character (characters if co-oping) you want, it’s business as usual. Shredder’s Revenge comprises of 16 missions represented by icons in an overworld map that you can use the Party Wagon to get to. Each mission lasts around 5-10 minutes and are carefully handcrafted tributes that’ll take you from the back alleys of Manhattan to a romp in the clouds. The missions are structured very similar to the classic games and they’re very linear affairs where you have to get from A to B beating up bad guys, eating pizzas and culminating in a bossfight in the end. It’s all classic TMNT affair and while it was slightly disappointing to not see any kind of evolution in the formula, Shredder’s Revenge shines as a modern tribute without any half-baked modern mechanics.
Kicking Some Shell
But let’s talk about the combat for a minute. Much like everything else about the game, the combat doesn’t deviate far from the classic formula and instead is refined and polished to such a degree that it feels both fresh and familiar at the same time. Unlike SoR 4, each character plays more or less the same with only slight changes to the animations and super moves. I was a little skeptical of this decision, but in the end, it doesn’t take away from the fun of playing as your favorite character and levelling their HP up (yes, that’s now a thing). The new combat system comes with their own set of moves that can all be easily pulled off to increase the combo multiplier (that’s now a thing too). The new moves include slide attacks, grabs n throws, various power moves (that cost power and not health) and more. These look slick, have good hit feedback and are necessary if you want to survive arcade mode. The devs have spent a good time in polishing the combat and making it fun, smooth and beefy. While not as nuanced as SoR 4 (yes, I know the comparisons are starting to get jarring), the combat is faster and well suited to the six-player local/mp cooperative gameplay. I honestly have no real complaints regarding the combat. Good work, devs!
Arcade Action
The campaign will take you around 2.5-3 hours to finish. I do wish it was slightly longer but the presence of an arcade mode alleviates that worry to an extent. Arcade mode, imo, is the definitive way to experience Shredder’s Revenge. It solves the problem of the main game mode being somewhat easy by giving you an arcade experience at home without costing you pretty pennies. Whether solo or co-op, the satisfaction of mastering the game and trying to get to the end with one credit as your favorite character is a nostalgic affair that hits right in the feels. The publisher announced last day that the game probably won’t get any DLCs, at least not for the time being. That sounds like a real bummer to me, as most of the replayability in SoR 4 came with the roguelite Mr. X DLC. At a time when gamers move on from one game to the next faster than you can make instant noodles, something along these lines will do wonders to extend the life of Shredder’s Revenge.
Blast From the Past
When it comes to the visuals and sound, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge absolutely hits it out of the park. The pixel-art visuals are colorful, full of detail and is complemented perfectly by the awesome spritework. Each level and character are created from scratch with passion, dedication and faith to the IP and it shows. The music is just a blast from the past, only in high definition. Kudos to Tee Lopes for composing such kickass beats. Aside from the classic-inspired background music, ‘We Ain’t Came to Lose’ from Wu-Tang Clan rappers Raekwon and Ghost Face Killah oddly fit well for the frantic shell-kicking action offered by the game.
Real Talk
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is both a celebration of the long-running franchise as well as a bold attempt to revive the video game series. As a fan of both the IP and retro gaming, Shredder’s Revenge offered me everything I wanted in a TMNT game. While I believe that more could have been introduced to the classic formula, the game at its present state is more than enough to satisfy fans and new players alike. The attention to detail in the levels, satisfying combat loop, the smooth controls, sexy pixel art and bombastic music make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge an easy recommendation. Now, let’s kick some shell!
FINAL RATING: ESSENTIAL
1 comment