Like any child who grew up in the 90s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a big part of my life – whether I wanted them to be or not. But while I liked the turtles enough that my favourite lunchbox was Michelangelo-themed, my partner loved the turtles so much that he had a turtles costume that he used to wear.
What I’m getting at it is that the turtles were a big part of most 90’s kids’ lives, and when it comes to reliving anything with fond connections from our childhoods, I think most of us have learned our lesson. Sure, I’d love to be able to enjoy the media I loved as a kid as an adult, but some things are just better off left lost in the abyss as good memories.
Which is why when TNMT Shredder’s Revenge was first announced, I refused to allow myself any excitement or hype for it, and when it was finally released, my partner only went into it with a fair share of coxing, promises and threats – all of which proved to be unnecessary.
The absolute dream when it comes to any reboot, remaster, or reimagining of a franchise you grew up loving is that it’s handled by a team who share that same love. When it comes to TNMT Shredder’s Revenge, it’s abundantly clear that the team loves the turtles as much as my partner did when he was running around dressed as one.
Now I’ll be the first to admit that as much as I’d love to own my very own arcade machine (because is there a better way to cement your house as the “cool” house?) I don’t hold much nostalgic love for classic arcade beat-em-ups. My reflexes are so bad that growing up, I used to have nightmares about being forced to play snap and never being able to get that snap.
However, TNMT Shredder’s Revenge might be the game that changes my mind. While the game still focuses on button mashing as you’d expect, there is also a much more refined, almost skilful design to the combat. Allowing chronically slow people like me to still participate in the game, and that’s why this might be one of my favourites.
One of the biggest and best changes that TNMT Shredder’s Revenge has brought is eliminating a lot of the “unfairness” that often comes tied to the arcade titles of yore. Every time the enemies scale, you scale; if the enemies can dodge, so can you.
This is the part of the review where I’ll usually touch on the story, but the thing is, TNMT Shredder’s Revenge doesn’t have much of a story. Sure there are enough small in-jokes scattered throughout for fans to pick up on and enjoy, but as for the story, you need to catch Shredder and stop him from being the big band he wants to be.
You achieve this “goal” by fighting your way through the levels. Each character has a special attack charged by defeating enemies, and each character can be upgraded as you play. TNMT Shredder’s Revenge consists of a total of 16 different levels, and for the most part, a lot of them are almost direct callbacks to games past. From the streets of TMNT: The Arcade Game to the prehistoric setting of Turtles in Time, there are a LOT of callbacks here. However, don’t go into TNMT Shredder’s Revenge thinking it will be the same game you’ve seen before; for every callback, there is also something new and original.
The one thing I felt myself sorely missing while playing was a more flexible difficulty option instead of just making a choice at the start of the game and being burdened by the choice all the way through. From the start of the game, there are six playable characters, and you have the choice of playing through the game alone, with up to six friends, or maybe just that special someone. It’s chaos to the extreme, in the best way.
