Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Brawlers are back! Although with TMNT: Shredders Revenge it’s hard to believe they were ever gone. This game is a giant love letter to the iconic 80’s cartoon with sleek beatemup gameplay that calls back the classic series’ iconic gaming counterparts. Every stage is tightly designed and consistently throws references to both the TV show and older games your way as you kick ass through them with any of the 7 playable characters, all with their own attributes and move sets. Shredders Revenge is a clear labour of love that reminds you of all the fun you had with old sidescrolling fighters without bringing up the clunky or irritating design that we’ve all chosen to forget. No cheap enemy placement or impossible situations designed to kill you so you feed another coin into the machine. Just fun, nostalgia-fueled, frantic action.

TMNT Shredders Revenge does just about everything right you want out of a nostalgia-bait belt scroller. It plays like you remember Turtles in Time playing, with excellent animations, hit feedback and enemies that pose some level of challenge. Its a relatively easy game, with a lot of lives provided per stage, and the combat system is also relatively easy to get into. Its the sort of indie project that you can feel the huge amount of effort and passion poured into it, from the small details and polish.

A casual playthrough makes it a good time, and the more challenging arcade mode is there for those looking for a challenge. Unfortunatly, Streets of Rage 4 just elevated so much what i expect out of a belt scroller. This one is just content to delivering the gold standard, without really pushing the genre to new directions in any way.

Yeah, this game is pretty damned good. Its aesthetic faithfulness to its predecessors is something to behold, and it's addictively fun. However, while the combos are fun, they really add nothing to the actual gameplay or any achievement, which is disappointing. The devs really ought to consider revamping this to include rewards for combos, which gives added incentive for players to avoid taking damage and style on enemies. Don't get me wrong, it's wildly fun to do, but it adds nothing to the actual gameplay experience. Beyond that, I really have no complaints. I've been playing it for days now and have had a blast. with it. If the old school TMNT beatem ups are your thing (especially Turles in Time), you'll dig this.

It looks beautiful. But pretty much a gateway beat-em-up for casuals.
Streets of Rage 4 still remains the GOAT.