TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
PlayStation 4
Nostalgia Factor:
This game has been on my radar for a while now. That should come as no surprise to you. I mean, I've reviewed eight classic TMNT games over the years, and in each of those reviews I always talked about how I was such a big fan of the Turtles when I was a kid. A modern day TMNT game made in the mold of the classics? Sign me up!
I mentioned in my Edith Finch review that I had just registered for PS Plus Premium. When I saw that this game was available to play on the service, I instantly knew that it would be one of the first games I'd check out.
So, here I am. How would this stack up to all the great TMNT games over the years? Let's find out.
Story:
This game pays homage to all the classic TMNT beat 'em ups in many ways, and the one that is the most instantly noticeable is the story. The Ninja Turtles are chilling in their lair watching TV, when their show is interrupted by a broadcast of Bebop announcing that the Foot Clan is going to be stealing the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building sure sees a lot of action in these Turtles games!
The Ninja Turtles rush to the news station, where they fight Bebop. After he is defeated, they chase Krang's flying android head around from level to level, fighting a slew of bad guys on their pursuit path. The disembodied head eventually leads them to Dimension X, where the Turtles battle Krang and Shredder and all the usual bad guys.
But wait! It was all a diversion. While the Turtles were distracted, the Foot Clan turned the Statue of Liberty into a giant fighting machine hell-bent on destroying the Ninja Turtles. The Turtles return to Earth, where they fight the Statue of Liberty (really) before taking on Super Shredder in the game's final battle. Because of course that's how you end a TMNT beat 'em up!
For old school fans of the original Turtles game, the entire storyline to this game is a real treat, filled with Easter Egg after Easter Egg. You can't be a fan of the original games and not enjoy what they did here. I mean, you fight the Empire State Building! How perfect is that?
Gameplay:
This game is very easy to pick up and play. There are 16 stages you must complete. In between stages, you can move around on a Mario 3-esque map. You can replay old stages or move onto the next one. You'll also encounter challenges, like finding all of Vernon's tape recordings that are scattered around certain stages. Locate the tapes and then find Vernon on the map to turn them in for a reward. In a throwback to the classic TMNT cartoon, there are Neutrino and Punk Frog challenges to complete too. Haven't thought of those guys for a long time!
Combat in this game is simple. There is a jump and an attack button, just like in previous TMNT games. You can string together attacks and create combos in this one, which is a new wrinkle. The game also gives each character a screen clearing special attack. You have to defeat a certain amount of enemies in a row without getting hit to refill the special attack gauge. I didn't find this out till waaaay later, but there is a button you can press to unleash a "taunt" that instantly fills the special attack meter. I'm glad I didn't discover this till later, because this makes the game way too easy. And it was easy enough to begin with.
16 stages is quite long. Even though each stage can be beaten in five or ten minutes, it still takes a while to make it through the game - especially if you have a short attention span like me. I believe it took me two sittings to make it through single player mode. Most people can probably beat it in one.
There is not much to say here that hasn't been said in my previous TMNT reviews. This game is very similar to those, but with added bells and whistles. There is a multiplayer mode, which I played for a while. Once you've played through single player mode, it becomes kind of monotonous, however. I was able to join a five person game and all anyone did was taunt and use special attacks the entire time. Yawn. I stopped after about four stages.
And that was it. I was done with the game. I had played through single player mode once, a few stages of multiplayer, and then I had mopped up some trophies I'd missed the first time through. After doing this I didn't really see much of a reason to come back to the game. Three playing sessions was how long this lasted for me.
Maybe if the game was challenging, I'd have played through it again. Maybe. But it is so absurdly easy that one time through was good enough for me.
Graphics:
This game looks nice! I'm glad they made everything with 2D pixels, like the old games. 3D would have looked weird (remember that Turtles in Time game for the PS3?). Everything is just popping with color and beautiful animations. The characters look great, as do the backgrounds. Very authentic to the look and feel of classic TMNT. And there are little details and Easter Eggs everywhere you look. Fantastic.
Sound:
This game sounds good too, but I'm going to be a debbie downer here. The music is a nice throwback to the classic TMNT "rock ballads" I'm sure you are familiar with if you grew up in the 80s. But it would have been nice to hear Pizza Power or some of those classic songs from back then. I like the attempt to imitate them, and these songs sounded great, but if you're going the fan service route, you might as well go all-in. Didn't hear any music from the cartoon or the movies either. Even that classic TMNT fight song. I know the "heroes in a half shell, turtle power!" intro music was pulled from the cartoon, so I can't complain about that. I just wanted more more more!
Voice acting is good. I didn't even realize it, but all the voice actors are from the original cartoon, which is awesome. I just wish we got to hear more. Again, the theme of the day here seems to be MORE! Give it to us!
Overall:
I really appreciate this game and what it does. Truly. The final score might make it seem like I was down on this game, but I really did like it.
It's easy to pick up and play. It's lengthy. It's fun. The characters, music, animation, and the themes are all wonderful throwbacks to the TMNT games I grew up with as a kid. So what is it that I don't like? It's just too dang easy. I mean, it is REALLY easy. And even though there are collectibles scattered throughout the stages, they are all easy to find and don't offer a lot of replay value. Like I said, I played through one player mode, I played a few stages online, and then I spent an hour or two mopping up trophies. And then I was done with the game.
And honestly, I don't see much reason to come back to it. If I want to play a TMNT beat 'em up in the future, it is probably going to be the arcade game or the NES games. Even the 16-bit games I'd replay over this. That may sound harsh, but that doesn't mean I don't like this game. I do. I just like the other games more.
THE GRADE:
B-
All the beat 'em up Ninja Turtles games I have reviewed:
For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click
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