The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are getting a new retro beat-’em-up

Michael McWhertor

Mar 10, 2021, 10:00am EST

Thirty years later, we’re finally getting a sequel (of sorts) to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. On Wednesday, publisher Dotemu and game developer Tribute Games revealed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, described as “a classically informed side scrolling beat-em-up directly inspired by classic TMNT games.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a four-player co-op beat-’em-up in the classic Konami style — that is, the style of brawler that sucked quarters out of anyone who played 1989’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its 1991 sequel, Turtles in Time, in arcades. Presumably, Shredder’s Revenge will offer a gameplay experience tailored for home, not for draining TMNT fans of their allowance.

As seen in the game’s debut trailer, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello will take on classic enemies like the Foot Clan, Bebop, and Rocksteady in their new side-scrolling adventure. The trailer also teases the appearances of other friends and foes — all to the tune of the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesanimated series theme song, as sung by Mike Patton of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle fame.

Here’s the official setup of the game’s story and mechanics:

With Bebop and Rocksteady amassing gizmos to support Krang and Shredder’s latest scheme, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge finds the turtles battling through a breathless tour of iconic TMNT locations to thwart their nemeses’ most diabolical plan yet. Armed with shell-shocking new abilities built on a foundation of classic brawling mechanics, the gang are in for an exhilarating, Foot Clan-stomping romp leading them through the sewers and bustling boroughs of New York City all the way to Dimension X.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is being developed by Montreal-based Tribute Games. Two of the founders of that studio, Jonathan Lavigne and Justin Cyr, previously worked on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Gameand TMNT, the acclaimed 2007 brawler for Game Boy Advance, at Ubisoft. Tribute’s other work includes retro-inspired fare Panzer Paladin, Flinthook, Wizorb, and Mercenary Kings. (In other words, it’s a far more promising prospect compared to the Ninja Turtles games from PlatinumGames and from Red Fly Studiobrought to us by Activision.)

Since its inception in 2007, publisher Dotemu has leaned heavily into classic game nostalgia with retro remakes and sequels such as Streets of Rage 4, Windjammers 2, and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is bound for unspecified consoles and PC platforms. Dotemu and Tribute Games did not announce a release date.