Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

 I complain about modern games a lot, but I can't say I don't love all the pseudo-classic games that are seemingly everywhere nowadays.

Most of these seem to be indie games, titles made by a hand-full of developers, or maybe even just one. It could just be me, but I feel like a lot of these are Metroidvania games, I've already covered Hollow Knight which would certainly fit into this category. Anodyne and Cosmic Star Heroine definitely fit too. In addition to being made in the old-school style, these games also have something very important in common: they are all indie games. This week's game is no different, even if it does carry the one of the biggest licenses of all time. They may not be as popular as they were in the 80's and 90's, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still hugely relevant. And yet, it had been a long time since they've received a new game. That changed in 2022 with the release of 2022's Shredder's Revenge.

Shredder's Revenge, like many of the previous Turtles games, is a beat em' up title that features old-school 2D graphics and gameplay. However, it features tons of modern amenities that many of those titles didn't have. You play as one of six characters, with all four turtles, Splinter and April O'Neil selectable. As you would expect, the team battles against Shredder and the Foot Clan as they attempt to re-assemble Krang's android body and take over the Statue of Liberty. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense, but its not supposed to. You fight a variety of enemies throughout 15 levels set in both New York and Dimension X in an attempt to stop their nefarious scheme. Anyone who has played Turtles in Time, The Hyperstone Heist or TMNT: The Arcade Game will be right at home here. It seems the developers made sure that would be the case, as those classic Turtles games are referenced or outright aped throughout Shredder's Revenge. You have a boss that can only be defeated by throwing foot soldiers at it like in Turtles in Time. One of the levels is called "Big Apple, 3 P.M.," again a reference to Turtles in Time and its opening level (at least Shredder's cronies had the courtesy to attack in the afternoon this time instead of waking our heroes up at 3 a.m.). Some of the references were more subtle gameplay moments, like where you are dodging cars pulling out of parking spaces like in the The Arcade Game. I think they did a great job incorporating stuff like this while still making the game feel fresh and new.

I think the biggest advantage Shredder's Revenge has over its predecessors is its variety of attacks. Each character has a standard combo attack, as well as the diving kick the turtles have come to be known for over the years. But now they have far more upward and sliding attacks, as well as access to super moves. Save up your entire super bar and you can power up your turtle (or rat, or newscaster) with increased damage and speed. Of course, the foot soldiers and various other baddies have some new tricks up their sleeves as well. Foot soldiers now have spears, shields and other various accessories to make the fight more difficult. The black foot soldiers can even counter your attacks with a back flip, which makes them especially challenging. You really do have to learn to use all of your moves because each enemy can easily counter some while failing to defend against others. I feel like there are a lot more enemies on the screen at once this time around, which I like because it made for a more chaotic experience. I guess that's another positive of having old school style games on new hardware. I don't think the SNES or Genesis would have been able to have that many things on the same screen at the same time.

The graphics are great, they are top notch, 2D style pixels at their finest. It's like they took Turtles in Time and cranked the volume up to eleven. The developers took full advantage of the modern gen consoles, these sprites are so expressive and well animated that it really adds to the overall presentation of the game. The sound is excellent as well, the sound of hitting your enemy is so satisfying and the SFX in general are top notch. The sound, again, fits perfectly with the earlier Turtles games. All of the familiar sound cues are there, including a slightly remixed version of the TMNT theme song that plays during the intro. Of course, Shredder's revenge goes out of its way to go bigger. The rap song that plays during the final battle was a nice touch, it really fit in with the overall aesthetic of the game. The quality of the music isn't surprising, as it had a number of well-known contributors, with Wu-Tang members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon contributing alongside Mike Patton of Faith No More/Mr. Bungle. I know a lot of critics have complained about the overall sound quality, but I never had any problems.

I did, however, have a problem with the difficulty, or lack thereof. I was able to pretty much smash my way through story mode with little to no resistance. I was even able to meet most of the challenge objectives, though it wasn't quite so easy that I could complete the ones requiring you not to get hit for an entire level. Even the bosses are easy, I was able to stand and trade with most of them, which should never happen. The one exception to this was the final battle with Shredder, which is ridiculous. This is mitigated somewhat by the inclusion of arcade mode, which forces you to play all of the levels straight through old-school style. If anyone wants to gain an understanding why old games are so hard, play Shredder's revenge on story mode and then try beating it again on arcade. It's night and day. Even still, the game is a little bit too easy.

I will also say I wish there was a bit more originality here. I get that it's supposed to be a tribute to the older games, but sometimes I think they could have done more. Part of the issue is the genre, I find beat 'em ups as a whole to lack innovation. I'm not sure a TMNT game was the best place to try and innovate, but I would have liked to have seen more. You move to the right, you beat up enemies, that's it. I can honestly say I don't know how exactly the genre could evolve, but I feel it needs to and I feel like it has needed to since the 90's.

That said, I still had a great time with Shredder's revenge. I can kind of appreciate that they didn't change too much, people expect something from a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game and this certainly delivers. It might be a little mindless, but Shredder's revenge is fast paced, chaotic fun that will appeal to younger gamers, retro gaming enthusiasts and longtime fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It might not break any new ground, but Shredder's Revenge is a nice call-back to the old days that provides a quick, exciting, fun experience.

8.25/10