When you’re assembling a team of new developers to bring back a beloved franchise, you hope for two things. You hope that they’re capable of designing a game worthy of the series, and you hope that they share the same passion as the fans do. Thankfully, the developers of the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge are emphatically checking both boxes.
Developer Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu have already proven themselves in the retro-inspired game scene. Titles like the former’s Metal Slug-inspired Mercenary Kings and the latter’s Streets of Rage 4 demonstrate both company’s commitment to delivering the classic experience. And as a recent behind-the-scenes video shows, both companies are ecstatic to work on a TMNT game.
The two teams have been fans of the tubular turtles since the 80s. As Cyrille Imbert, Executive of Dotemu, put it:
It’s what fans really wanted to see. There was a lack of seeing [the] ’87 designs coming back in some way, and with a retro game, it just makes sense. Working on the TMNT license is great, but working on the TMNT license from that era is even greater. Because [there’s] so much nostalgia for us, and for the people we work with. It just makes sense, basically.
Cyrille Imbert, Executive Producer at Dotemu
See the full behind-the-scenes video below:
The Shredder’s Revenge developers discuss ninja nostalgia
It was sort of a match made in heaven between Tribute and Dotemu. Dotemu approached Nickelodeon on making a retro-style TMNT beat-’em-up, but they learned that Tribute was already pitching them a similar project. Thus, Tribute and Dotemu joined forces to work on the game together — and with two developers on board, Shredder’s Revenge was born.
For Jean-François Major, Technical Director at Tribute Games, this game is almost like a turtle homecoming. He previously worked at Ubisoft on the Game Boy Advance version of the 2007 game TMNT based on the movie released that same year. He reminisced on the project:
That was really a dream back then. It still had its limitations; the Game Boy Advance doesn’t have really good support for multiplayer, and we all know that TMNT needs to be played with four players. So this is like a second chance at really doing the best project we could imagine.
Jean-François Major, Technical Director at Tribute Games
Want to learn more about TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge before it launches this year? Our own Bobby Mills detailed everything we know about the game so far here. And be sure to check back with Mega Visions for the latest updates on your favorite half-shelled heroes.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu. It will launch for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows in 2022.
