For those of you who missed it, I have already expressed my thoughts regarding Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but for those of you who require a little more convincing, I am going to properly review it RIGHT NOW! Radical, huh?
So for those of you who have been completely unaware, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is a completely new Turtles title straight from the 90s! Completely designed and inspired by the classic Turtles games including Turtles in Time, Shredder’s Revenge has been built to tickle the nostalgia bone of everyone born before 2001, throwing players right back to the days when we would spend every fifty pence piece we had in the arcade machines hidden in the back of the bowling alley.
This game did in fact get me good. The second I loaded the title up, I was sent right back to my tenth birthday party like it was yesterday. There we were, in a Megabowl, having just finished two bowling games and just sitting down for a Wimpy burger when there it was… Sat right in the corner of the sticky arcade area: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game.
So there we were: me and a couple of friends at age thirty-one reliving those days as we tried to choose between each of the four turtles, April, Splinter and eventually Casey.
For most of my audience, I appreciate that the above is probably enough to give you a clear insight into everything that Shredder’s Revenge has on offer. However, for the rest of you here is a brief rundown: TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is a sidescrolling beat-em-up where you move from the left-hand side of the screen to the right while beating the living daylights out of Ninjas before coming across bosses from the Turtles’ varied collection of classic villains, including Bebop and Rocksteady.
The gameplay elements of Shredder’s Revenge are quite simple, essentially only using three button inputs to get you through the game: a simple use of Punch, Dodge and Special moves. There are some additional things you can learn along the way like high-fiving your friends to share your health, but for the most part the gameplay fits into these three elements and whilst on paper I understand this is not very exciting, the beauty of Shredder’s Revenge lies in its simplicity.
It’s simplicity that shines through for the graphics as well. Once again taken straight from 90s arcade games, Shredder’s Revenge employs beautiful 16-bit graphics to great effect.
The music though… From the second I loaded the game and was treated to a rendition of the classic TMNT Theme from Faith No More’s Mike Patton I knew this game had something special for me when it came to musical renditions, and I was correct. The music was a brilliant mixture of classic 16-bit tunes right through to music from Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. Tee Lopes has really done something special when it comes to soundtracking this game through its two-hour run time.
Now that I have mentioned the two-hour run time, I must say this was something that I was quite worried about but after playing through the game five times with friends and thrice by myself without once becoming bored, I can see that I needn’t have worried.
So with everything in mind, I have to stick to my original review of this game and review it entirely based on the fun it has given me to come back and state:
I like turtles, so Shredder’s Revenge gets a
10 / 10
That’s my half-review, half-memory lane ramble of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Have you picked the game up yet? Let me know if you plan to in the comments below!
Edited by Catherine.