To say that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is no stranger to the video game medium would be an understatement. Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo were staples at the arcade and home consoles throughout the 90s, thanks to classic TMNT games such as Turtles in Time and The Manhattan Project. Many fans still consider both titles as some of the era's best brawlers.
Developed by Tribute Games, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a delightful return to the days of Turtles in Time that wouldn’t feel out of place in an arcade cabinet in 1992 or on modern consoles. By taking the best parts of old-school TMNT games and making some quality of life improvements, Shredder’s Revenge stands as one of the best TMNT games in a long time and is a great brawler in its own right.
The game opens like any TMNT game should, with the Turtles feasting on pizza while crowding around a blocky television set as Vernon reports that Krang and Shredder are up to no good once again. The villainous duo has stolen the Statue of Liberty in another grand attempt to bring New York City to its knees in classic Saturday morning cartoon fashion. In no time, the Turtles are springing into action, kicking and slashing into a story mode presented episodically throughout a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season. Each episode takes the Turtles through NYC locations that will be familiar to long-time fans of TMNT games, including the Central Park Zoo, Coney Island, and a return to Dimension X.
Shredder’s Revenge is full of fan service and is delightfully retro, featuring a cartoon aesthetic that is an homage to the 1987 cartoon that brought about TMNT-mania. The team at Tribute Games are huge fans of the Ninja Turtles, and their dedication to the Turtles translates beautifully into all corners of Shredder’s Revenge. From its sprite animations referencing the cartoon to the original voice actors reprising their roles, all the way down to Don, Mikey, Raph, and Leo hitting their signature poses at each level’s closing, Tribute Games certainly lives up to the studio’s namesake.
Each level oozes personality in the spirit of the TMNT’s lighthearted and goofy tone. Foot Clan soldiers can be found typing away at keyboards, ringing up other ninjas at the registers, or even playing Game Boy before being beaten to a pulp by the heroes in a half shell. The attention to detail is striking in Shredder’s Revenge, as each stage presents a story that gradually unravels as players make their way to the boss fight.
Shredder’s Revenge also pops with color at every turn, unafraid to diversify its color palette throughout the 16-mission-long campaign. Levels keep players on their toes as new environmental obstacles present themselves throughout each stage while splicing in fast-paced hoverboard chases to keep things fresh, secrets and collectibles to keep players busy, and power-up pizzas to break up the flow of combat. The game is a tight knit experience with enough diversity throughout its short run time to keep fans engaged.
Rounding out the Shredder’s Revenge package is a pitch-perfect soundtrack inspired by early 90s hip hop and arcade soundtracks. One of the best moments in the game was reaching a climactic boss fight and hearing the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah and Rae Kwon the Chef deliver TMNT-inspired rhymes over a rap beat that reverberated through the level as if it were being played through a boombox on a city street. The presentation of Shredder’s Revenge is retro-inspired and nostalgic while looking and sounding crisp and modern.
Gameplay-wise, Shredder’s Revenge sticks close to the classic TMNT beat ‘em up playbook, never pushing the genre forward in a big way, but still has all the makings of an excellent brawler. Players can start with the basic four-button combo and begin chaining pop-up attacks, single and double jump attacks, wall bounces, and finish with a Super move that wipes the Foot Clan from the screen. There are also the grab attacks that feature options to pile drive enemies from side to side, toss them across the screen, or even throw them directly at the screen, which is a nice throwback to Turtles in Time and still as satisfying as ever.
Compared to previous TMNT games, Shredder’s Revenge flows more naturally and never feels stiff despite sticking closely to its old-school brawler roots. This is due in part to the new dodging system, which lets players get into a nice combat groove even at the most frantic moments in combat. Dodging adds another layer to combat as players zip and slide past Foot Clan soldiers and then chain into even more attacks, adding to the ninja flair of TMNT. When it all comes together, Shredder's Revenge is a satisfying and fun experience.
Wall-bouncing a gang of enemies and then air-juggling and combo-chaining them for new high scores is the bread and butter of beat ‘em ups, and Shredder’s Revenge nails that perfectly. When factoring in team attacks with friends and even more Super attacks as players level up their character of choice, there are plenty of options for combat throughout the game. Shredder's Revenge succeeds in being both approachable for a broad audience and containing enough depth in its mechanics for players that would like to challenge themselves for high scores and combo chains.
At about two and a half hours in length, Shredder’s Revenge isn’t a long game to get through but has enough extra content to keep players in their seats after completing the campaign. Shredder’s Revenge marks the first time Casey Jones, April O’Neil, and Master Splinter are featured as playable members of the crew, a big win for fans that have long-awaited these characters. Every character has its own strengths and weaknesses in range, power, and speed with unique Super attacks, which players will likely want to go back and experience.
While every character is mechanically similar in combo chaining, players must consider the pace and approach of their attacks over strict button-mashing for whomever they choose to play as. Additionally, players can level up each character as they accrue points throughout the story missions—unlocking more moves, health, and Supercharges in the process. All of which is to say that there are plenty of opportunities for fans to replay the Story Mode to see everything that Shredder’s Revenge has to offer. Not to mention being able to witness the uniquely animated fighting styles for the whole cast of characters.
Outside the Story Mode is the Arcade Mode, where lives are persistent, and character progression is nonexistent. Arcade Mode is a big challenge, ringing true to the classic arcade experience that Tribute Games set out to craft with Shredder’s Revenge. While the Story Mode is where most players will likely find themselves, this challenge mode is a welcome addition for the experienced TMNT fan. Arcade Mode only adds to the game’s replayability after discovering all the collectibles and cameo characters in the Story Mode. That said, Shredder's Revenge could have benefited from adding a Boss Rush mode or more competitive modes to play with friends because, as it stands, Shredder's Revenge can feel a bit bare-bones with only two primary game modes.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a fantastic homage to the classic TMNT games that players loved thirty years ago. It doesn’t do anything new with the beat 'em genre and could use an extra game more or two, but that’s ok; the game's core is still incredibly entertaining and is sure to satisfy fans of the Ninja Turtles. Shredder’s Revenge offers deep, fast-paced combat while being widely approachable to new players, and it's all packaged inside a loving tribute to the 1987 cartoon, teeming with personality and admiration for everyone’s favorite heroes in a half-shell.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge launches June 16 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Game Rant was provided with a PC code for the purposes of this review.
