TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
REVIEW

08/11/22 

By George Smrekar

SHELL OF A GOOD TIME!

Right from its righteous opening, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge grabbed me by its three digit hands. Flashy, catchy, you know the words. Fun runs hot through this 16 chapter journey, ticking all the right nostalgia boxes along the way. While the grind to platinum may have dulled some of its shine by the end of my 20 hour time, I can’t deny it was bodaciously fine.

True to form, this is a 2D side-scrolling arcade beat ’em up in the vein of TMNTs before. Golden Axe/ Final Fight to the uninitiated. Waves of enemies per checkpoint, light hazards, an overworld hub but linear at heart. 6+ playable characters set the scene as you go solo, or team up with up to 5 other players online or in couch co-op. The game has multiple difficulty settings, none of which affect the ending so feel free to experiment. While it can be beaten solo, the hook is in the multiplayer and I encourage you to try it at least once. Okay, twice! It feels like the way the game was meant to be played.

The co-op base is solid, allowing for revivals when downed, health swap between players and rare double teams. Multiplayer or solo you’ll be running the same maps, with the same gameplay at your disposal. We’re talking attack, jump, super attack, taunt, a Mode-7 grapple throw and dodge/backflip. You get stronger (passive upgrades) by levelling up each character to a max of 10. This XP increases your health etc by a preset amount. Earned by beating enemies, completing optional objectives and the campaign itself, you’ll scale by simply progressing normally. Be warned though. Maxing out each character to 10 will require some serious post-game grinding. A requirement for platinum/1000g hunters. To this end, the repetitiveness will start to set in. While there are some fun diversions to break up the spam, you will by in large be doing the same thing against the same enemies from pillar to post.

Boss battles break up the chapters nicely and punctuate them with a greatest hits cast that includes Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman and a few surprises along the way. The rogues gallery is gnarly, even if you’re repeatedly smashing the same Foot Clan fodder to get to them. 

A special meter fills up as you beat or taunt, allowing you to store a special attack. This grants each character their own unique AoE, doubling as a panic button if things get too hectic. Fun and effective, they’re almost too effective in co-op. A good team of 6 players can make short work of almost anything by stacking their supers and filling the screen with an explosion of Turtle Power.

Now all this might be well and good, but what about the story? Well, it’s an Arcade game at heart so the story is what you’d expect. Sparse but serviceable. It’s implied that the Foot are trying to reconstruct Krang’s dismembered shell, conveniently scattered among the game’s many levels. That’s it in a nutshell –er- half shell. No, action is the order of the day, only interrupted by the occasional still. If you go in expecting this you won’t be disappointed. Fortunately the characters have enough personality to get you through. Personally I got a kick out of the one-liners, brought to life by none other than the original voice cast from the classic cartoon. Yes please.

The presentation in general compliments the audio. Retro graphics with modern flourishes, decent enough. Couple that with punchy music and the aforementioned voice acting, all on a foundation of fun and replayability. It would feel at home in a cabinet. End game lets you level select, carrying over collectibles. Public lobby lists come with an indicator of how far into said level the lobby is. Good quality of life choices help make it an easy sell. Have I mentioned it’s already your’s if you’re a GamePass member?

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is simply put, the best Turtles game in years. A love letter to fans that exceeded demands. Decent production plus good gameplay minus some repetitive grind equals BUY. Consider it platinumed…and recommended.

pros

cons

8/10

8/10