Video Game Blog 018: Turtle Pizza Party!

Welcome back to the Video Game Blog! Here’s a quick review of the new beat ‘em up game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Hey, look at me being topical! As of the writing of this, this game came out two days ago. I not only bought the game and tried it out, but wrote a post about it, while it’s still news! I’m a little impressed with myself. I saw this all over my Twitter feed today, so I had to check it out.

The gang’s all here! Well… almost. I guess Casey’s late. (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

I have been a lifelong fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I know this ages me, but I was around for their premier to world-wide attention in 1987. Through this I have followed nearly all of their iterations. Some were good (the amazing 2012 Nickelodeon series), some not so good (Image comic’s gritty and far too 90’s reboot), some horrifying enough for me to avoid entirely (primarily Michael Bay’s version) and some just plain perfect (the current IDW comic run). I do have a two or three part blog post planned to cover the Turtles at some point when I have the time to tackle it.

Regardless of the version of Turtles, I find something to enjoy about it. And I have very fond memories of the original 1987 Saturday morning cartoon. It’s goofy and colorful. It’s not my favorite iteration of the Turtles by a longshot, but it brings me right back to childhood seeing those old simplified, silly-looking designs.

That’s the version this game is based on. In fact, they got the original voice cast back for it! TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge was developed by Tribute Games, a development team founded by a couple of the guys who worked on another excellent beat ‘em up game, Scott Pilgram Vs the World: The Game. (I love that game so much. That one and the Simpsons Arcade Game are my two favorites in the genre.) This game is similar in style to the classic Konami Turtles games released on arcade and Super NES in the 90s. (Turtles in Time was a lot of fun.) The game is available for the Nintendo Switch, PC, XBox One, and PS4. I played the PS4 version for this post.

Kicky kick. (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

My favorite Turtle has changed over the years. In 1987 it was Donatello because he was the action figure I got first and I liked his purple bandana. In the original Mirage comics I liked Raphael because he was moody and complicated and had interesting friendships with Casey Jones and Lucindra. (Haha, deep cut there. Anyone know who I’m talking about?) I like Leonardo the most in the IDW series. (Well, now I like Jennika more, but she’s not in this game.) When I saw the 2012 animated series, my favorite quickly became Michelangelo because he was the one with the most personality and the best lines. Mikey was hilarious in that series, driving so many of the plots and perpetrating the most running gags. So in this game I chose to play as Mikey first.

Cowabunga? (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

This game plays similarly to the original Konami games and Scott Pilgrim. You run from left to right, beating up enemies to advance. There are many combo moves to perform, with more becoming available as you level up. You build up your power gauge by scoring hits while avoiding damage, and then you can expend this gauge doing super moves. The game contains a story mode and arcade mode. In story mode there are 16 stages and many side quests. There are three difficulties… I went with Okay (normal), which so far is providing plenty of challenge for me. When I get better at the game I may try Gnarly (hard) mode.

Yes. Cowabunga. (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

There are seven characters and different endings for each one. The seventh character, Casey Jones, is unlocked after beating the game for the first time. The game can be played solo or with multi-player— six players online and four locally. (I so want to play this with my brothers some time soon! I any of you are reading this, let’s set this up!)

Dang it Bebop. (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

Like all good side-scrolling fighting games, this one has boss battles, traps, secrets to locate, vehicle stages, power ups, and healing items. You can grapple and throw enemies, even throwing them at the screen, like in the old Turtles games.

And there’s Bebop’s other half, Rocksteady. (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

At the time of this writing, I’ve only beaten the first three stages. I’ve taken down Bebop, Rocksteady, and their monster truck. I’ve completed a few challenges and unlocked two secrets and the corresponding side quests. I plan to play some more after posting this. Its a nice, casual game. Even though it’s not on my game list for the year, it doesn’t seem like it will take up much time to beat it once. I’ll go back to it here and there to unlock everything and see all the endings.

Good ol’ Shredder (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)

Thoughts: This game is a blast! The nostalgia factor is high here, but beyond that it’s a solid game with a lot of replay value. I think it’ll be even more fun in multi-player. There are so many collectibles and challenges and characters, that even without DLC (which I’m sure there will be at some point) it’ll keep me entertained for quite some time. The graphics are cute and classic, the music is awesome, and the gameplay is smooth and easy to pick up. It very much captures the feel of the old 80s cartoon. I’m having a lot of fun with this and I recommend it to any Turtles fan.

Thank you for reading my brief review of TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and taking this stroll down memory lane with me. I appreciate you all and I’ll be back soon with more!

I brought a skateboard to a car fight. (Credit: Nickelodeon, Tribute Games)