The Ultimate Grade
1-Up Mushroom for…
Lovely, genuine presentation; killer soundtrack; tight fight with an exhilarating deal with combos; returning voice forged provides drastically to the sense of immersion; unbelievable pixel graphics; multiplayer is simple to arrange and enjoyable to play
Poison Mushroom for…
Some glitches regardless of the sport having been patched; throws and slams aren’t as efficient/helpful as they could possibly be
It’s been almost 40 years because the unique run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird debuted. What started as a low funds enterprise within the duo’s front room quickly blossomed right into a multimedia empire headlined by the enduring early ’90s cartoon. From it got here a litany of toys, collectibles, and sure, video video games. Konami’s efforts throughout house consoles and the arcade stay a few of the hottest and beloved video video games based mostly on the TMNT license to this present day. It’s from these traditional titles that developer Tribute Video games drew the biggest inspiration in crafting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.
Shredder’s Revenge is concurrently a love letter to the traditional TMNT video games of yore and a shocking reimagining of them for right now’s gamers. The sport is a 2D brawler with a heavy deal with combos and enemy juggling. The gameplay is completely complimented by an in depth, beautiful association of pixel artwork and animations, in addition to a rollicking soundtrack, that authentically recreates the spirit of the primary TMNT cartoon. It’s this mixture of tight combating mechanics and pitch-perfect fan service that makes Shredder’s Revenge one of the best TMNT recreation but made.
The extent of element that Tribute Video games has managed to stuff into Shredder’s Revenge is astounding. Each little bit of the display is roofed in wonderful pixels that brilliantly evoke the sprite work of Konami’s traditional efforts whereas additionally feeling distinctly new and recent. Enjoying by way of the sport, longtime followers will doubtlessly catch sure poses and animations which were pulled from throughout quite a few previous TMNT video games and included right here. Different visible touches, like boss enemies flashing orange (or is it pink?) as their well being begins to deplete, additionally come straight from previous TMNT adventures. These small particulars are enriching little easter eggs which can be enjoyable to identify all through the search.
One facet of the sport that actually shines is the interval setting. Tube TVs and pc screens are in all places, joined with VHS tapes, malls, and arcades. Tribute might have opted to replace issues with particulars like flat panel screens and cellphones, however a lot of the appeal would have been misplaced within the translation. The attraction of TMNT in its prime was half the purpose of constructing Shredder’s Revenge within the first place—opting to embrace that period of TMNT’s debut has paid huge dividends because of the nice sense of immersion that has been created.
As a brawler, Shredder’s Revenge simply ranks up there with a few of the finest which were produced inside the previous few years, together with Streets of Rage 4. There are seven complete fighters to select from: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Grasp Splinter, April O’Neil, and Casey Jones (Jones is unlocked after beating the sport as soon as). Every combatant has the identical set of controls/assaults, but it surely’s of their execution the place the person personalities of the characters get to shine. For instance, all the fighters can carry out an upward launching strike, however the place Raph delivers a brutal uppercut to ship his foes skyward, Donatello as an alternative makes use of a diagonal vertical kick.
These particulars lengthen into the whole lot from punches and kicks, to taunts, slides, and extra. It’s right here that the standard of the animation as soon as once more shines by way of. Participant stats additionally additional customise the expertise for every character. Splinter has a larger vary of assault however lumbers throughout the display, whereas Leonardo is a fittingly all-around brawler. Nobody feels notably over or underpowered, though some gamers have come to argue that April and Raph really feel like they’re the strongest of the bunch. In the end, it was enjoyable taking part in as each single character, particularly the trio of Splinter, April, and Casey who’ve historically hardly ever (if ever) been featured as playable.
The assorted Foot Troopers supply a beefy vary of assault patterns and kinds, making fights partaking and various. The load of assaults from the participant character is stable, with loads of heft and satisfying suggestions. Gamers have commonplace kick and melee choices, however enemies may also be slammed into the bottom, flung on the display, and hurled to the facet. What’s extra, there’s a Ninja Energy gauge that fills as blows are landed that grants numerous totally different particular assaults to deploy. As the sport is performed, characters are additionally slowly upgraded through some extent system not not like an RPG. Broaden every character’s well being, study further assaults, and so forth whereas progressing by way of the marketing campaign.
If there’s a shortcoming to any of this enjoyable it’s within the seize, slam, and throw mechanics. In Turtles in Time on SNES these assaults proved invaluable for serving to to handle area on the battlefield. Right here, these assaults really feel largely neutered and fewer efficient, with the slam assault in notably proving to be the least helpful of the lot. There’s a visceral thrill to seeing enemies careening in the direction of the display, however it will have been nice if these assaults gave the participant larger management over the sector.
There are additionally a handful of glitches which can be nonetheless afflicting Shredder’s Revenge regardless of having been up to date since launch. Gamers will freeze in midair, every so often, which may result in unavoidable hits from the enemy. In a single occasion the sport froze, forcing me to again out to the house display and reset. Lastly, there’s a slightly evident grammatical error that may make challenges confounding. For example, the sport may declare that getting hit greater than twice in a stage will trigger them to fail a problem, however in actuality the second hit is all it takes to flunk out. This typo is current in each stage and is price patching out, in case anybody at Tribute is studying this! It isn’t the tip of the world, however all of those quirks take a wee bit away from an in any other case splendid expertise.
One explicit facet of Shredder’s Revenge that actually tugged at my heartstrings was the presence of the unique voice actors for the 4 turtles. Cam Clarke (Leo), Rob Paulsen (Raph), Townsend Coleman (Mikey). and Barry Gordon (Donnie) are all again of their iconic roles. I hadn’t heard the turtles’ voices in a few years, however the second the characters began talking in-game it felt like being a child once more. Certain, the blokes all sound a tad older than they did all these a long time in the past, however who cares—for a lot of gamers round my age, these are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was fantastic listening to them in motion as soon as extra.
Lastly, for these questioning about multiplayer in Shredder’s Revenge, as much as six gamers can take part on the similar time. Dropping out and in is a breeze whether or not performed on-line or off. There’s at all times sufficient enemies on display to maintain all combatants busy, however issues may also get whipped right into a frenzy in a short time. Shedding monitor of your character isn’t unusual, however the mayhem is a part of the enjoyable. I solely want that pleasant hearth, or the power to harm fellow gamers, had made a return prefer it was within the previous TMNT video games. It provides an additional degree of problem (or mischief, relying on the way you play) however is alas not current.
Shredder’s Revenge is a triumphant return for the Ninja Turtles. For all of the reinventions and expansions of this traditional property, there’s nothing fairly like the unique. Seeing the spirit of each the cartoon and Konami’s traditional video games so faithfully reproduced right here was wondrous to behold. On the similar time, Tribute Video games has additionally managed to 1 up the video games that got here earlier than it with a sharper fight system that permits for all types of artistic methods to take down foes. Boss fights lack a few of the nuance to defeat that rank and file grunts present, however the spectacle of those battles makes up for that. Shredder’s Revenge is out there through the eShop, however there are a selection of how to pay money for the sport bodily, as nicely. Irrespective of the way you play it, the heroes in a half shell are worthy of your time.
Nintendojo was supplied a replica of this recreation for overview by a 3rd social gathering, although that doesn’t have an effect on our suggestion. For each overview, Nintendojo makes use of a commonplace standards.