10 Best Licensed Video Games Of The Generation (So Far)
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
If you were a kid in the '90s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were inescapable - cartoons, lunchboxes, terrible rubber suits, the works. And naturally, the idea of combining that obsession with video games felt like a dream. Until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES (1989) came along and promptly shattered that dream with brutal difficulty and a rogue’s gallery no one recognised.
Thankfully, the arcade game that followed in 1989 delivered the goods - smooth sprites, four-player chaos, proper cartoon villains, and just enough comic-book nods to make everyone feel seen. It ruled, and Konami rode that beat-‘em-up formula hard until both the license and the genre fell off a cliff.
But fast forward a few decades, and Shredder’s Revenge gives us exactly what we thought we’d never get again - a pitch-perfect spiritual successor.
Developed by Dotemu (of Streets of Rage 4 fame), this retro-styled brawler picks up where Hyperstone Heist left off, serving up pixel art perfection, smooth co-op gameplay, and modern tweaks like dodge rolls, upgrades, and difficulty options. It’s fast, fluid, and full of the exact kind of nostalgic energy you'd expect from a team obsessed with the source material.
Even better, it seems to have reignited interest in the franchise as a whole. The recent Splintered Fate roguelike was great, and both The Last Ronin and a VR title are on the horizon.
Turns out, the turtles are far from done - and Shredder’s Revenge is the comeback they deserved.