Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredders Revenge: The Greatest Beat-Em-Up

When it comes to the legacy of licenced videogames, few series were treated as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. During the late 80’s and early 90’s the Ninja Turtles ruled the fucking world. These guys were everywhere, cartoons, comics, toys, movies, and of course videogames. And surprisingly, most of these videogames were not only good they were considered some of the best games of their generation.

Developed by Konami, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games and the subsequent home console games were massive hits with both fans and critics. Even today they’re held in very high regard.

And with Nickelodeon trying to cash in on nostalgia for the classic Ninja Turtles era, something which I’m sure has nothing to do with the failure of the last Turtles cartoon they made, it makes sense for them to want a game that harkens back to the classics. And they knew exactly who to go to.

Tribute Games, a studio in Quebec made of former Ubisoft developers who had previously worked on Scott Pilgrim vs The World and TMNT for Game Boy Advance. Given their history it only made sense to have these guys handle development.

In terms of publisher, that was left to Dotemu, the same people behind the excellent Streets of Rage 4 in 2020. So, we have two developers that both have a history of making classic styled beat-em-up games, one of which happened to be a Ninja Turtles game. Meaning the game was in good hands.

But that doesn’t always mean the result will be up to par. Just because a developer has a history of developing games from a specific genre, that doesn’t mean the return to that genre is going to go smoothly. Just look at Yooka-Laylee.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge, thankfully, is not one of those cases. Not only is this a great modern beat-em-up it might just be the best beat-em-up that’s ever been made.

The first thing you’ll notice when you boot the game up is just how good it looks. The pixel art is among the best I have ever seen. Which is unsurprising given the pedigree of its developer. Tribute Games have been a little hit and miss for me when it comes to the quality of their games, but one thing that’s been consistent across their releases is how masterful their pixel art is.

The art in Shredders Revenge is no exception. The animation has so much character to it. The Turtles have always had distinct personalities and the game is able to convey that perfectly with just their animations. Just look at the running animations, Raphael runs like he’s ready to get into the action while Mikey runs like the goofball he is. You can tell the developers were very big fans of the Turtles and it shows in how much love and care went into these animations.

But it’s not just the character animations, the environments are also phenomenal. You’ll visit a lot of iconic Turtles locations like the Channel 6 studio, sewers, Technodrome, back alleys and rooftops. They’re all done very well and are represented as they were in the original show, for the most part.

One thing I really like in the environments is the level of detail in them. This is not a clean world, there a grittiness to it that’s reminiscent of the original comic while remaining bright and colourful like the 80’s cartoon. It feels like it took elements from both the comics and cartoons and put them both together. Making this arguably the best visual representation of the original era of the Turtles, being it’s a mash-up of the 2 most popular Turtles media at the time.

There’s also a ton a references in the background that should make hardcore fans very happy. I admit I’m only a casual fan and I missed a lot of them, but I was still able to get some that put a smile on my face.

The sound of the game is also just as excellent. Most of the original cast from the show return to do the voices which is always nice to hear. It is sad that James Avery is no longer with us to voice Shredder, but the new guy they got does a pretty good job. The sound effects are great too. There’s a crunchiness to them that adds to the impact of every hit and a lot of them even harken back to the old games.

And then there’s the soundtrack, which is just about as perfect as it gets. Every track has so much energy that really adds to the intensity of the fight while also being catchy as hell. It was Tee Lopes who also worked on Sonic Mania and he does a great job as always. Lopes is very good at making music that sounds like it belongs in the classic games while also adding his own unique flavour to them. He did it in Sonic Mania and he does it just as well here.

There’s also a handful of vocal tracks which are also quite good. One of which features Raekwon and Ghostface Killah from the fucking Wu-Tang clan. That’s just awesome.

The presentation is top notch across the board. My only critique with it would be that I’m not a fan of the opening. The animation for it is fine, I’m just not a fan of the rendition of the theme song. And even then that’s the nittiest of nit-picks.

I could talk about the presentation all day, but do not let that deceive you into thinking the game is all style and no substance. Far from it. Shredder’s Revenge has the gameplay chops to match.

If you’ve played any of the previous Turtles games from the 80’s and 90’s then a lot of Shredder’s Revenge is going to be very familiar. The beat-em-up action here keeps things close to the classic games with a few modern conveniences and changes.

The game retains many of the same moves you saw in the older games with new additions like anti-air attacks, dodge roles and super moves. One aspect I like is that a lot of the tactics from the old games still work. For example, grabbing in this game works by just going close to an enemy like in a lot of other beat-em-ups, but an easier way to make grabs more consistent is by hitting an enemy and then walking up to them, which is how grabs worked in the original games.

Like any good beat-em-up the game is very simple to pick up and play but there’s enough depth and nuance to master. Doing the basic combo attack is easy enough but learning when to use specials or the right time to dodge roll, that will take some practice.

While not quite as combo focused as Streets of Rage 4, Shredder’s Revenge does possess elements of emergent gameplay, while keeping the combat rigid enough to give each move a purpose. Every move, including taunting, has a use and nothing feels wasted.

The action here is fast paced and non-stop with plenty of enemies to batter in each encounter. Keeping the action intense and fun throughout its 16 stages.

I know 16 stages sounds like a bit too much, but that isn’t the case. The stages are kept short with the longer ones only clocking in at under 10 minutes. The game overall should take around 2 hours to beat, which is the perfect length for a game like this. It’s long enough to not feel lacking in content, but short enough to not overstay it’s welcome.

For a beat-em-up like this that is very important given the inherent repetition of the genre. That said, Shredder’s Revenge never really gets repetitive. The enemy variety is strong with new baddies being introduced constantly, and there are hover board stages to help break up the monotony.

The game feel is perfect. Every hit has the right amount of impact which makes beating up enemies immensely satisfying. As I have said many times in the past, if what you do in a game isn’t satisfying to pull off then nothing else matters. If I’m not having fun with the core gameplay, then no amount of additional fluff will ever make it good. Tribute Games understood this, and as a result Shredder’s Revenge is one of the best playing beat-em-ups currently available.

The game features 7 playable characters. The four Turtles are here along with April, Splinter and an unlockable Casey Jones. While each character has the same core move-set they do have different stats that change how they play. Donatello has the longest range but is significantly slower, Raphael is the strongest but needs to get up close, April is fast but weak. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and you should be able to find one that fits your playstyle.

One element of the game I liked was the environmental interaction. At various points you’ll find traps and objects you can use to take out several enemies. It’s a minor thing I admit, but still, something I enjoy using. It also helps give each level its own unique flavour with the traps reflecting the environment of each level, you use camera in the Channel 6 stage as an example.

The game can be played up to 6 players both online and in couch co-op. Sadly, I was unable to play this with another player but I still had fun with it as a single player experience. Don’t get me wrong games like this are better with a buddy, but it’s nice to play a modern beat-em-up that still feels fun to play even if you’re alone.

In terms of playable modes, you have 2 options. Story mode is an easier mode that gives you a full stock of lives at the beginning of each stage and an overworld map that saves your progress. You also gain levels by gaining points which adds more moves, lives and boosts to your health and super meters.

There’s also some additional side content in story mode with side quests and optional challenges. The side quests are just there for points and aren’t too difficult. There just fetch quests where you need to collect certain objects hidden in each level which aren’t too hard to find. Just break everything you can, and you should beat them no problem. Not sure what the challenges do though. I think they’re just there for an optional challenge which is perfectly fine with me.

Arcade mode is more akin to the classics. You get a limited number of continues and lives, though you can get more lives by getting points, and there’s no overworld map so your progress isn’t saved meaning you it has to be beaten it in one go. There also isn’t a level up system so you have access to all the moves in the game from the start, though you only get one bar of super and can’t increase it further.

Arcade mode is meant for players who want a classic experience and challenge, while story mode is meant for less experienced or younger players. I personally prefer the arcade mode, but story mode is still a fine way to play the game. Either option is great, it’s all a matter of picking your poison.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge does an excellent job of recapturing the feel of a classic arcade beat-em-up while updating it for modern audiences. The difficulty is just right and never feels cheap or frustrating. If anything I would argue the game is a tad too easy, still challenging in places but nothing too tough for veterans of the genre.

The bosses, for example, are a bit of a cake walk. They all have easy patterns to learn and even the harder ones aren’t too difficult to take down. It’s also a bit too easy to spam super moves in this game. They do try to balance super moves by having the super meter drain when you get hit, at least when you have no stock, but you can just taunt to gain meter immediately which is easy to do between fights.

I also feel like the characters could have been differentiated a bit more when it comes to their supers. There are some differences, but they all feel very similar. Some more variety in the supers would have been nice.

But at this point I’m nit-picking. Shredder’s Revenge gets so many things right it’s easy to forgive the few things it does wrong. The game feel is perfect, the variety of environments and enemies is strong, the combat is simple to pick up but has enough depth to master, it’s challenging without being frustrating and it never out stays it’s welcome. This really is as close to a perfect beat-em-up as you can possibly get.

The only flaws I can think of are minor at best and petty at worst. While I hesitate to call anything the best of all time since there’s always a chance something better could come along, as it stands now this is the best beat-em-up I’ve ever played.

I love games like Final Fight, Streets of Rage 2 and X-Men as much as anyone, but Shredder’s Revenge takes everything that worked in those games and polishes them to a fine sheen. It’s the ultimate culmination of the beat-em-up genre and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

So yeah, the games great. And it’s super cheap too at only £25. Hell, if you’ve got Game Pass it’s on there free of charge so there’s no excuse in not checking it out. If you’re in the mood for classic arcade action or a newcomer looking to see what made classic Turtle’s games so great, this the perfect game to check out.

And that’s not the only Turtles game we’re getting. In a few weeks the Cowabunga Collection comes out which has all the classic Turtles games on it. it’s a pretty good time to be a hero in a half shell. Now all we need is a remaster of the 2003 era games and we’ll be set. Us early 2000 kids need nostalgic love too you know.