If you went to arcades in the late ’80s or early ’90s, you definitely remember the golden age of beat-em-up games. like cabinets teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, simpson, X Men And More followed a fairly simple formula: Take a popular franchise and have its characters cut through a swarm of bad guys, take on some environmental challenges to keep levels from getting too repetitive, and finally a big boss. Top it off with a fight. But the real draw was the multiplayer – these games let up to four or six friends (or strangers) play together, a completely chaotic but thrilling shared experience.
Given the popularity of the TMNT franchise, it’s no surprise that both the original arcade game and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Both were ported to the NES and SNES respectively. As a pre-teen, my best friend and I spent untold hours playing these ports, as well as, on the very rare occasions, arcade games that we could find at the mall.
I clearly have great nostalgia for these games, and I’m not alone. Last year, developer Tribute Games announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a brand new beat-em-up title inspired by the arcade games of yesteryear. The game features retro pixel-art, two different game modes, online and local multiplayer (up to six players online), and seven playable characters including the four Turtles, Master Splinter, April O’Neill, and Casey Jones. On the surface, it looks like everything you could ask for in a modern version of the arcade classic, and the tribute comments ahead of the game’s release showed a deep love for the source material.
after playing a week Shredder’s Revenge On the Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch, I can confirm that Tribute has fully capitalized on its mission to bring the classic TMNT experience into the modern era. It all starts with the art style and music, both of which are spot on for this franchise; It seems like a natural evolution of the original two arcade games, which were both largely based on 1987 cartoons (rather than comic books, live-action movies, or more recent animated shows). The music immediately sets the tone – T Lopes’ score immediately brings to mind classic 16-bit melodies, Mike Patton performs the opening theme, and Raekwon and Ghostface Killah contribute as well. While the music isn’t as compelling as the soundtrack turtle in time (Which is a complete bang), it evokes the essential mood of playing in an arcade with your friends in the early 90s.
The gameplay essentials from earlier games are all intact here – each playable character has different strengths and weaknesses like range and speed, but they’re not so different that you’ll feel thrown off by switching players. The main gameplay is still mostly accomplished with two buttons: attack and jump.
Tribute
But, there are a lot more moves than in earlier games, including a variety of throws, slides, air strikes, and dodging. Dashing lets you pull off different slide and charge attacks, you can grab enemies and throw them toward the TV screen (like you do turtle in time), there’s a dodge button that lets you dance out of trouble and there are many different aerial moves. And unlike the old games, Shredder’s Revenge There are unique animations for every move each character in the game can pull off. Even though the gameplay isn’t fundamentally different between each character, the distinct visuals for all four Turtles and their friends keep things fresh.
As with any good beat-’em-up, each character also has their own special moves. Unlike older arcade games, where using a special usually takes away a portion of your health, these moves are attached to a power bar that pops up when you string together longer and longer hit combos. So it gets filled. When it’s full, you can open a special move or save it for later use. This is a good way to make it so that players don’t have to constantly use special attacks and can add a little strategy to an otherwise chaotic melee attack.
Another way creates a tribute Shredder’s Revenge The more modern feel is the story mode of the game. You’ll be able to level up your character over time, which unlocks more health, extra lives, and new special attacks. You’ll eventually gain the ability to stack a number of special moves – when you fill your bar and bank one trick, you can continue to fill it and keep two and finally three in reserve – or you can stack all three at once. Can fly in a frenzied super-attack. Story mode lets you re-enter levels to find hidden objects or complete achievement goals for each stage (things like taking 10 enemies out with a special attack, or making it through without taking damage). And you can switch your character between levels, instead of being locked in a turtle for the whole game.
On the other hand, the arcade mode is for older school fans who want a tougher challenge. The game is simple: choose a character, and fight through all of the game’s dozen-plus levels before you run out of lives and continue. You get the benefit of expanding your health bar to its maximum potential and unlocking all of your special moves – but given the number of stages in the game, it won’t be easy, especially with the intense “Severe” difficulty level. Feather.
Tribute
It all makes for a fun single-player experience, but – like a 90s arcade game – Shredder’s Revenge Really shines in multiplayer mode. You can have up to four players on local co-op, or a crazy six-player online. It’s a fantastic amount of chaos, but it’s surprisingly well managed. The game increases in difficulty depending on how many people you are playing with; This usually only equates to more enemies and bosses that can take more damage.
Unfortunately, cross-play isn’t supported for now – Xbox and PC players can team up, but PlayStation and Switch players will need to play the same version of their friends if they want to work together. The good news is that playing games with strangers isn’t too difficult. It’s not as much fun as playing with people you know, but the game certainly feels more alive when you have at least one pair on Shredder and Foot Clan.
It all adds up to a game that’s even more fun than I expected. Indifference goes a long way, but Shredder’s Revenge manages to serve as a love letter to games of the past while still feeling fresh. There’s something incredibly satisfying about teaming up with some friends and crushing a never-ending swarm of enemies; Which was true in the 90s and is still true today.
Of course, it helps if you have some affection for the TMNT franchise, but even if you don’t, it should be enough to enjoy the tight gameplay, addictive soundtrack, and great co-op features. Shredder’s Revenge, And if you grew up playing arcade games or their home console counterparts, this new adventure is a must-play. This is especially true if you have friends over to play it, either IRL or online.
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