If you’re a child of the 80s and 90s, you’d be familiar with franchises such as Power Rangers, GI Joe, Dragon Ball Z, and X-men, to name just a few. Perhaps the one that has stood the test of time the best, is that of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From its original release as a comic to its first highly successful cartoon series, then Hollywood films, additional animated series, action figures and much more, the Turtles have had serious staying power, turtle power if you will.

Additionally, kids of the era would have definitely played the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games, either in the arcade or via their home console ports. If you’re looking at getting that nostalgic hit again, then Tribute Games’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is definitely for you.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise, that a publisher like Dotemu who specialises in reimaging classic games, has helped to bring the game to players. With it out, does this make you want to use your pocket money to play the game, or like old arcades, is it best left in the past? 

So, the question is… apart from jumping onboard the nostalgia train, what does Shredder’s Revenge provide to players? The visuals and opening animation definitely bring back childhood memories in a wonderful way. Once the updated tune and familiar lyrics kick in, it is easy to get hyped and take you back to your childhood, should they be familiar to you and even if you have never heard the original version, this is still a great way to start the game. The game offers up a story mode and for the most part, it is as one would expect from a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, especially one connected to the original animated series. The classic narrative has Shredder and Krang getting up to no good, and it being your job as New York’s finest turtles in a half-shell to stop them, as you move from one spot to another across Manhattan. 

As you do, you will fight the same enemies here, as you did from the old classic 90s arcade release, with Foot soldiers being colour coordinated, just as they used to be, in a particular way to show their attack patterns or type of enemies they are - whether it’s shooting arrows or standard combat grunts as an example. Of course, there are still those classic boss fights to enjoy, with Bebop and Rocksteady here, along with others to fight, helping to switch up the combat from just the basic offerings from the Foot soldiers. By the end of the first level, you’ll know what type of beat ‘em up platform fighting game this is, the game easily and early on, sets the tone for the rest of the experience.

In terms of its visual style, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge still keeps its classic pixel arcade art style but makes use of modern gaming hardware to enhance the visuals, making it more refined. There is a deeper range of colours being used, which make everything feel more vibrant and with the extra added depth for shading and highlights, truly makes the game pop off the screen. It’s definitely one that has improved and been kept up to date with the times, not only the visual look and feel, but the animations look smoother as though they’ve been worked on to give add extra frames of animation when moving, attacking and so on. And sure, it’s incomparable to the modern-day games such as Horizon Forbidden West, or Elden Ring, but nonetheless, Tribute Games have definitely done a great job in keeping the visual essence of a 90s multiplayer beat ‘em up but made use of the technology of today to its fullest. The soundtrack, and sound effects work well together to help you feel like you are still in the arcade era and placing you as though you’re still standing in a coin-based penny arcade, which we used to call Timezone in Australia. 

Speaking of multiplayer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge gives players the option to either play it as couch co-op with up to 6 players, or for those that have friends outside of their home town, to connect via the internet and play online. Being an arcade style beat ‘em up, this is definitely a game that you should play together, because you will enjoy it more with friends. The only concern to this is with having any more than 3 players in the action at once, things can get a little chaotic, meaning there’s too much going on screen, which can lead to feeling a little lost at times. Nonetheless, it definitely hits the right spot, by welcoming others on this latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adventure, regardless of their actual location.  

One other thing to note is the game’s length, especially with multiplayer, making it a little too easy on Story mode as you can easily respawn after death, which during my playthrough gave it an average of 8 minutes per level and with only 16, things can be done quickly. So unfortunately, the game is basic and a little on the easy side, which could’ve been curated intentionally for the younger generation, with the brighter colours that pop, gameplay that is fairly easy, and levels that don't’ stretch out too long. However, if you’re wanting to make it a little more challenging, the game does offer a true Arcade mode, which emulates playing on an arcade machine. The catch with this is that the game gives you some digital coins, and when you lose all your lives, you have to insert a coin, once your coins are gone, your game is over. This would definitely keep some players on their toes a little more as you’d have to be a little more strategic and not button bash your way through the levels. The game does offer the option to select different difficulty levels as well, should you feel the need to really test yourself. 

So, the big question is, is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge worth it? Is it a great game? Other review sites would seemingly answer YES, considering the scores they’ve given them. And to be honest, it all really depends on the individual and what you’re looking for. If you’re looking to jump on board the nostalgic ride, then yes, for sure it’s an easy 8 or 9 out of 10. However, if you take off the nostalgic lenses and ask, what else is there? Then unfortunately it falls a little on the short side. Yes, they’ve definitely placed in a whole lot of easter eggs and references from across the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe, as well as littered attack animations from games like Street Fighter, but if you are not a die-hard fan, you may not notice those things.

Sure, they’ve stayed true to the 90s coin-operated arcade template, from its absolutely fantastic visual pixel art, sound and beat ‘em up platformer gameplay, in fact, they’ve done that very well. The problem is that it’s not the 90s anymore and there are tons of small indie developers who give simplistic gameplay a run for their money, by giving it a little more thought and challenge, and indeed innovation. It just really depends on what you’re after. If you are a child if the 90s and have memories of playing the games that inspired this release, you will likely have a good time, however if you never played those games, then you might find yourself quoting Michelangelo and saying, ‘Woah, bummer’ rather than ‘Cowabunga!’