In order to distinguish itself from other beat 'em ups, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge adds a turtle-inspired layer of paint over it. Everything from the backgrounds, music, characters, and gameplay take influence from the 1987 cartoon as well as the Konami arcade games of the 80s and 90s. It is safe to say then that the majority of Shredder's Revenge's fanbase consists of adults who indulged in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media as kids.
Shredder's Revenge lets players choose from 7 characters; 6 of which are available from the get-go. The playable characters include the titular turtles (Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo), their master and father figure Splinter, reporter April O'Neil, and vigilante Casey Jones. Each of these characters can be distinguished from one another based on their appearance, voice, and animations. More importantly however, each character has their own distinct set of stats that makes playing them unique.
Range, Speed, and Power
There are 3 overarching stats for every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character in Shredder's Revenge. Range determines how far a character has to be from an opponent in order to hit them. Far-hitters like Donatello and Casey Jones require players to be less precise with their positioning as compared to close-range brawlers like Michaelangelo or Raphael.
Speed, contrary to its namesake, doesn't affect how quickly a character changes positions on-screen. Instead, it dictates how fast a character attacks. Michaelangelo, for instance, is a 3-speed character whose combo ability is only matched by April's. Players looking to increase their combo meter and build up their special attacks much faster will benefit from choosing high-speed characters. Power is the last attribute and governs how much damage per hit a character does. Hard hitters like Raphael will be able to take out opponents much quicker with less attack than low-power characters like April.
Mixing and Matching Is What Makes Each Character Unique
Every character in Shredder's Revenge has a unique combination of range, speed, and power that makes them special. Tribute Games made sure that each character's stats reflect their personality and equipment. Donatello may be one of the slowest characters in the game, but his range more than makes up for it. Don's long range ties into his bo-staff being the longest-reaching weapon in the turtle's arsenal. On the other hand, Raphael may have horrible range, but his enemies will go down faster when hit by his attacks. Lore-wise, Raphael is known as the turtle who is most prone to bursts of violence. His dedication to his training, combined with his deadly sais, make Raphael a prime candidate for a 3-power character.
A Character For Every Situation
Players can choose whichever character they like and still get a kick out of playing them, but they can also base their decision on what enemies they will be facing in Shredder's Revenge's levels. Flying enemies are a pain to deal with in Episode 3: Mutants Over Broadway!, but a long-range character like Casey or Donatello will make eliminating them easier. Levels that feature a lot of enemies like Episode 15: Outworld Strangeoids are better tackled with characters who have either more power or speed. Since hitting opponents isn't an issue when there are so many of them, the short range of characters like Raphel or Michaelangelo is less of an issue. With Shredder's Revenge being a short game, players can easily remember what enemies can be found and where they appear in each level.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge does a great job of making the Konami game veterans feel nostalgia while at the same time making things fresh enough that a younger generation can enjoy them. By allocating each character's stats to resemble their characteristics in the cartoon, Tribute Games has managed to strike a balance that allows players to enjoy using the game's entire roster.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. It's also available via Game Pass for Consoles and the Cloud.