10 Easter Eggs in TMNT: Shredder's Revenge

Script written by Ty Richardson

10 Easter Eggs in TMNT Shredder’s Revenge

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 Easter Eggs in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge”!

While it does an excellent job at maintaining an original premise, “Shredder’s Revenge” comes loaded with all kinds of references to the TMNT shows, movies, and of course, video games. Which of these did you manage to spot first? Were there any we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

Game Boys Everywhere!

We’ll start off with an obvious one. “Shredder’s Revenge” was very clearly made by a team that adored the Game Boy, judging by various animations. Not only does Donatello play a Game Boy for his idle animation, but you’ll frequently catch Foot Soldiers playing their own Game Boys before noticing you. While many of us reminisce over the home console TMNT games, we often forget that the heroes in half-shells saw many excellent games across the history of Game Boy consoles. So, this was a lovely way to pay subtle respect to the likes of “Radical Rescue”.

Arcade Love

As many other outlets have probably pointed out to you, each of the seven playable characters have moves that reference several fighting games. Mikey uses Liu Kang’s bicycle kick from “Mortal Kombat”. Raphael’s uppercut is remarkably similar to Sol Badguy’s Volcanic Viper in the “Guilty Gear” games. Master Splinter uses Ryu and Ken’s Hurricane Kick from “Street Fighter”. And speaking of “Street Fighter”, April O’Neal has certainly picked up some moves from the badass babes of Capcom’s fighter! Some of her moves are similar to Chun-Li and Karin’s moves while her walking animation is very much like Cammy’s.

What Was That About Seafood?

Throughout your journey to stop Shredder, you’ll come across a few pickups to aid you in your fights, particularly pizza for health and increased attack power. One other pickup is a box of sushi which does…well, other than ten measly points, nothing, and for good reason. When picked up, you’ll hear the turtles say “Raw fish!? Blegh!” Those who have seen the 1987 animated series will recall the first episode where April shows some disgust towards pizza, preferring sushi over the delectable pie. We may all fight over who the best turtle is, but we have to agree - April has no clue what masterful cuisine she’s missing out on.

Back in Time

Of course, many TMNT fans probably played this game and wondered about any references to “Turtles in Time” that might pop up. Well, one obvious reference is the ability to throw enemies at the screen, a charming touch that made the 1991 classic more memorable. One other subtle nod occurs upon starting the first stage; the game opens with “Big Apple, 3PM”, the opposite of when “Turtles in Time” opens - “Big Apple, 3AM”. Another reference requires a bit more of an eagle eye, and you can find it in the background of the Rat King’s boss battle. Buried in his garbage is a Foot-Ski, the same vehicle the Rat King used in “Turtles in Time”.

Famous Last Words

Each of the turtles boast unique touches in their animations and dialogue, some of which refer to the movies and TV shows. The one that might be the most obvious to TMNT fans is Mikey’s respawn line. Upon dropping back in after death, Mikey will say “I love being a turtle!” The party dude makes this same exclamation in the 1990 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie after avoiding an attack from a Foot Soldier. Only difference here is that Mikey didn’t get knocked out like some punk frog.

Shredder Wants YOU

“Turtles in Time” wasn’t the only TMNT game to receive some love in “Shredder’s Revenge”. You might have spotted a couple of nods to the first TMNT game on the NES, and this one stuck out like a sore thumb. A rather lovely and nostalgic sore thumb. In the mission called “A Few Screws Loose”, you’ll come across a set of TVs with one showing Shredder pointing at the screen. This is a reference to the NES game’s opening where Shredder puts out a broadcast and calls out the turtles.

Best Frenemies

While this isn’t something you can find in the game, it’s still worth mentioning because the achievements for “Shredder’s Revenge” are fun and reference TMNT stuff as well. One of these is the trophy “Finally Getting Along” which requires you to use Casey Jones to heal Raphael, the Best Turtle. If you know your turtles lore, you’re very well aware of how Casey and Raph have often fought each other. Raph is an edgelord good guy while Casey is an edgelord good guy with bad intentions. Their differences have caused them to frequently butt heads, and this achievement really wants you to put the bad blood to rest.

No Docks in Shredder’s World

Now, this achievement is a little more specific and will be much more difficult to pull off. The achievement “Who Needs a Dock?” sounds ridiculous, but it’s very much a callback to one of the TMNT movies. “Secret of the Ooze” ends in a pretty absurd way with Shredder being defeated by a collapsing dock. This achievement requires you to give Shredder a proper butt-kicking by defeating him without getting hit ONCE. Show everyone you don’t need some whack “deus ex machina” to save Manhattan!

The Thing About Tempestra

Tempestra’s appearance was a real treat as she is most frequently forgotten about when it comes to TMNT villains. Thankfully, the devs behind “Shredder’s Revenge”, Tribute Games, didn’t forget about her, even going so far as to name one of the arcade cabinets in the background after her debut episode - “Tempestra’s Revenge”. But that’s not the only obscure turtles reference here! During your fight with Tempestra, she’ll summon digital constructs of two other lesser-known TMNT brutes - Tokka and Rahzar. Tribute Games really packed in just about every single character from the franchise, and we couldn’t be happier!

We’ve Come Full Circle

This last one hit a little closer to home for those of us who grew up watching the 1987 animated series. If you remember the theme song, you’ll recall that each of the turtles have a unique pose when they’re introduced. For one of his super attacks, Mikey swings his nunchucks around like he does in the song. As for Raph the Best Turtle and Leo, they make the same poses upon finishing a level as when the singer introduces them in the show’s opening. These references mixed with everything else we’ve covered in the video shows that Tribute Games harnessed all of their own Turtle Power to create the best TMNT game ever made.