Publisher Dotemu and developer Tribute Games in partnership with Nickelodeon today announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is bringing its classically inspired brawling action to Nintendo Switch. The news was part of Nintendo Indie World presentation and follows previous confirmation of the game coming to PC.
During the Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Tribute Games Co-Founder Jean-Francois Major and Dotemu CEO Cyrille Imbert confirmed the heroes in a half shell are chasing the Foot Clan to Switch before sharing new gameplay footage. The Turtles unleash radical special moves and gnarly combos in the footage, bashing foes throughout areas reminiscent of classic TMNT games such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Catch the side scrolling action by viewing the gameplay trailer:
The fully animated music video that precedes the gameplay stays lyrically faithful to the original opening theme song. The animation style is crisp and clean while also paying homage to the show's late 80's origins. It features action shots of the ninja turtles doing battle with classic enemies like Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady, as well as seemingly unending spawns of Foot Clan soldiers. April O'Neil is sporting some fierce combat moves of her own in the opening sequence, along with Master Splinter. And, of course, there's plenty of pizza. At the end of the musical opening, the trailer seamlessly transitions into shots of actual gameplay that Switch owners will get to experience.
Back in March, the company previously debuted a 90-second reveal trailer featuring a high-action reimagining of the Nickelodeon show's original opening theme, followed by actual snippets of gameplay. The trailer revealed today, however, takes its time to focus specifically on what each ninja turtle brings to the table combat-wise. Leonardo can be seen unleashing a flurry of sword blows after charging his powers up by whomping on Foot Clan soldiers. Michelangelo turns into a whirlwind of nunchuck strikes after doing the same. A fully-charged Donatello is shown spinning around like a deadly ballerina, sending Foot Clan soldiers flying with his impressive bo-staff. Finally, a red-flashing Raphael saves a steaming-hot pizza by flinging enemies around with his sais. The last few seconds of the trailer showcase different levels such as an outdoor street brawl outside of a pizza shop; a vandalized news studio and its (also vandalized) fancy lobby; and a boss fight in an outdoor junkyard — all reminiscent of classic TMNT games such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
The gameplay trailer also focuses on the co-op aspect of the game. You can play with up to 3 friends, each one taking on the role of a turtle brother as you fight your way through the various levels to save the day. Features of the game announced by Dotemu promise "gnarly" 80's inspired game design, old-school gameplay combined with enhanced, modern-day mechanics and a "radical" new story mode.
The release date for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is still yet to be announced, but as of now it will be available on both Nintendo Switch and PC. Grab a slice and check out the new gameplay trailer above! COWABUNGA!
Official press release from Games Press via Gamasutra:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge Coming to Nintendo Switch, Kicks Shell in New Gameplay Trailer
PARIS (April 14, 2021) - Publisher Dotemu and developer Tribute Games in partnership with Nickelodeon today announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is bringing its classically inspired brawling action to Nintendo Switch. The news was part of Nintendo's Indie World presentation and follows previous confirmation of the game coming to PC.
During the Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Tribute Games Co-Founder Jean-Francois Major and Dotemu CEO Cyrille Imbert confirmed the heroes in a half shell are chasing the Foot Clan to Switch before sharing new gameplay. The Turtles unleash radical special moves and gnarly combos in the footage, bashing foes throughout areas reminiscent of classic TMNT games such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Catch the side scrolling action by viewing the gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemOAwU-9fo
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge’s lively battles are backed by original music from Tee Lopes, a composer and arranger previously featured in Sonic Mania, League of Legends, and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom among other releases. A sample of Lopes’ wickedly energetic melodies can be heard in today’s gameplay trailer.
Inspired by the Turtles’ iconic 1987 design, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge brings New York City’s most righteous ninjas to life with gorgeous pixel art that’d look right at home in your favorite retro arcade. From showdowns with infamous rivals like Bebop and Rocksteady to returns to signature locales like Dimension X, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a bodacious celebration of classic TMNT beat-em-ups with its own modern touches.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge joins two retro gaming experts: Dotemu, the developer and publisher known for faithful ports as well as impeccable remakes and continuations of beloved gaming series including Streets of Rage 4, the smash hit nominated for Best Action game at The Game Awards 2020, as well as the upcoming Windjammers 2 and highly lauded Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap; and Tribute Games, the studio behind retro-themed original IPs including Panzer Paladin, Flinthook and Mercenary Kings which embody the spirit of classic games in new experiences. Tribute Games also houses key talent behind the acclaimed Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game beat-em-up and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game released for Game Boy Advance in 2007.
For more TMNT gaming updates, visit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge official site (https://www.shredders-revenge.com/), wishlist the game on Steam, follow @Dotemu and @TributeGames on Twitter, and join the Discord (https://discord.gg/gZPw59bEAZ).
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About Dotemu
Dotemu is a French video game company specializing in modern releases of beloved retro games. Our mission is simple: give every gamer access to yesteryear’s classic video games on today's platforms, including PC, mobile, console and more. Working alongside the world’s most cherished and recognized publishers, the Dotemu team has published a number of global top-sellers across both PC and console including Streets of Rage 4, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, with additional development and publishing work on Windjammers 1 and 2, several games in the Ys series, and more.
Founded in 2007, Dotemu leverages its considerable technological know-how to maintain the original spirit of classic games while giving them a second life as rediscovered gems for a new generation of gamers.
About Tribute Games
Tribute Games is a studio developing and publishing video games with a focus on pixel art and classic game design. The Montreal-based studio has been steadily creating entertaining, challenging and retro-inspired games since 2011 using modern game development processes and technology. In 2020, Tribute Games announced the start of a publishing division to help smaller developers publish their game.
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| (Photo: DotEmu, Tribute Games) |
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| (Photo: DotEmu, Tribute Games) |
From ComicBook.com:
How the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge Developers Are Reviving the Classic TMNT Gaming Experince
The classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gaming experience is returning with Shredder's Revenge, a new game that Dotemu and Tribute Games announced in March. Nintendo confirmed that the game would come to the Nintendo Switch by showing it off during its Indie World showcase in April. Shredder's Revenge is built in the classic beat 'em up mold, drawing inspiration from old school Turtles games, including Turtles In Time, widely regarded as a peak-beat 'em up experience. ComicBook.com got in touch with some of the folks at Tribute and Dotemu who are working on Shredder's Revenge via email to discuss how it came to be and their hopes and plans for the game. Like any young person in the 1980s and early 1990s, the people working on Shredder's Revenge were caught up in Turtlemania.
"TMNT was a big part of my childhood – through the video games, of course, but I also have fond memories of watching the show on Wednesday afternoons with a bowl of cereal," says Cyrille Imbert, executive producer/CEO at Dotemu. "I also LOVED the toys, had lots of them and kept them for quite some time."
"As a kid of the '80s, I grew up playing with Turtles action figures and watching the TMNT animated show in my Turtles pajamas," says Jean-Francois Major, the CEO of Tribute Games. "I would spend every summer in Florida where my parents would bring us to Grand Prix Race-O-Rama, which was arcade heaven. I spent all my tokens on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game. However, at the time, I never managed to beat it in one sitting.
"When Turtles in Time came out, I was, unfortunately, a Genesis owner. My next-door neighbor was lucky enough to pick it up. I remember spending every school lunch break at his house playing the game. That is when the phrase 'Big Apple, 3 A.M.' was engraved in my head. I still get goosebumps hearing it to this day."
It's hard to imagine a better team to revitalize the TMNT beat 'em up experience than Dotemu. The French developer and publishing studio is hot off their successful revitalization of another iconic beat 'em up franchise with Streets of Rage 4, which the studio released last year.
"Simple and fun games are timeless. It's just that sometimes we… forget about them," Imbert explains when asked about the studios' continued fascination with beat 'em ups. "But many of us did not; we just feel the need to see them return while reminding everyone how good they were. We want to also show how well they can fit in the current gaming world if they strike the right balance between legacy and modernity."
While Tribute Games wasn't a part of Streets of Rage 4, the team shares a love of the beat 'em up genre. They also have members who worked on the game that some fans consider the Turtles' last great beat 'em up experience and another game considered a modern classic of the genre.
"While Tribute had no input on the amazing Streets of Rage 4, a few of our founding team members had the chance to work on TMNT for Gameboy Advance and Scott Pilgrim back at Ubisoft," says Major. "Beat 'em ups are like an old bike you haven't ridden in a long while. They're super easy to pick up and feel comfortable. And the experience is always amplified when shared with friends."
Like the Turtles themselves, the origin of Shredder's Revenge sounds like something from a comic book. Dotemu and Tribute were both pitching Nickelodeon to get the rights to make a new TMNT game. However, they soon realize that they shouldn't be working against each other but joining forces.
"Nickelodeon came to us after the launch of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap," Imbert recalls. "They liked our work on that title and wanted to know if we would be interested in working with them on one of their licenses. When I saw TMNT in the list, it just started to make sense. Later I learned that Tribute Games was also pitching Nickelodeon on a similar project. I knew Tribute Games were veteran developers with a very solid lineup and that their work is perfectly in line with what we love at Dotemu. So for me, it was clear as water; instead of working against each other, we should work together! So I contacted Jonathan [Lavigne, Tributes Games' co-founder] and Jean-François, and we talked a bit, which confirmed our common vision and love for TMNT. We joined forces to present a united project concept, and Nickelodeon liked it. Now here we are!"
Major adds, "The fit just made so much sense, and we felt joining forces would make our pitch all that more compelling. And now that the news is out, I'm confident in saying this was the right move to make."
Reviving a classic game franchise or genre can be tricky business. Developers who don't pay appropriate homage to what came before will earn the scorn of retro fans, but not updating the game to meet today's expectations risks disappointing modern audiences. Major explained how they're approaching that challenge.
"The toughest part in reviving old memories is striking the perfect balance between old and new," he says. "If you've ever played an old game you used to love 30 years ago today, you probably noticed your memories were somewhat skewed. The challenge lies in returning as close to those memories as possible while adding all the new quality of life features modern gamers are accustomed to. A great example of this is how in the old Turtles games, if you weren't perfectly aligned with your target, your hits would not connect. Today, we need to implement systems that will try to figure out what you intended to do and slightly align your character for you, so the hit connects.
"We feel the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games from the '80s, and early '90s were the games to beat in that era," he continues, expanding on Tribute's hopes for Shredder's Revenge. "They changed the landscape in a big way. Our goal is to go back to those golden days and give everyone a chance to relive the excitement that came with throwing Foot Soldiers to the screen or tossing Bebop and Rocksteady on their butts with a few friends."
Major also touched on another risk inherent in reviving an older franchise: what if it turns out that the people making the new game are the only ones who miss the old games? Luckily, the response to the Shredder's Revenge announcements has helped assuage those fears.
"You always wonder if you are the only one screaming for a throwback," Majors says. "It's something we've been meaning to do for such a long time, but you wonder 'are we the last ones left with this feeling?' I think the reaction to the news mostly confirmed the timing is right. All the social media testimonies we've heard over the past weeks prove there is a shared passion for this to happen. We're not so alone in this crazy pursuit after all! It puts a big smile on my face to read every comment and suggestion. As Turtles fans ourselves, we share the same level of excitement, and I personally can't wait to show off more."
In closing, Imbert tells fans, "Thanks, everyone, for your support and super awesome feedback. We will do our very best to meet your expectations. Quality takes time, so please bear with us!"
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge releases later this year.
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Originally published: Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
Source: Collider.
