Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Classic characters that could appear in the game

I couldn’t possibly be more excited to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Having grown up during the 80s and 90s, I will always have a personal connection with the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series. However, as excited as I am to play this game, there really isn’t much information available beyond the trailers, though the trailers themselves have revealed quite a bit.

Speaking of trailers, Dotemu just released a new one during the August 2021 Gamescom event. This new trailer featured April O’Neil as a playable character, which could possibly lead to other playable characters! It also showcased more co-op gameplay, including special team attacks utilized by both April and the Turtles! Finally, the trailer also confirmed that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge isn’t slated to release until 2022.

As revealing as the newest trailer was, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the game. What other playable characters could be included in the final product? What lesser-known villains could play a role in the game? What’s the timeline in regards to the 1987 animated series continuity? What is the game’s basic plot even about (besides Shredder obviously getting revenge, of course)?

In my opinion, if Dotemu and Tribute Games are truly set on making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge the ultimate tribute for fans of both the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games and the 1987 cartoon series, than one possible way to showcase this is to include as many characters from the 80s cartoon and the original action figures line as possible, possibly along with some new or reinvented characters that can easily fit into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ bright-and-cheesy 80s universe perfectly.

The initial reveal trailer’s gameplay footage already confirmed that the four playable Turtles will be included in the game (obviously). It also showed Shredder’s two henchmen, Bebop, Rocksteady, along with the Foot Clan soldiers serving as the primary enemy fodder. Of course, we know that Shredder will be included just based on the game’s title, but we likely won’t see much of him until the game gets closer to release, other than in-game details like statues or portraits.

Although Dotemu has largely remained coy about the game’s details, there’s definitely enough material present to allow for some fun speculation as to what other characters could be included in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, from more playable characters to iconic stage bosses. These guesses are just pure speculation at this point, but most of them stand a good chance of actually happening.

Because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge appears to be directly based on the 1987 cartoon series, most of these guesses will feature characters introduced in the 1987s cartoon series (many of which came directly from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure line by Playmates, which used the cartoon in order to sell its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, finding success almost instantly). These are just some of the characters that I think could appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge in some form or fashion, though obviously this is all speculation as of this writing.

If there’s one lesson that comic books have taught us, it’s that the best comic book heroes have an amazing and large rogues’ gallery from which to draw its various villains from. With only a few exceptions like the Batman and Spider-Man franchises, there is perhaps no hero or heroes that possess a better and more well-known rogues’ gallery than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.