Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge – Classic characters that could appear in the game
Dimension X
While on the subject of Dimension X, it’s likely that Krang’s Rock Soldiers could appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. The Rock Soldiers been seen in several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games, as well as appearing in several episodes from the 1987 cartoons, so it’s very likely they’ll serve as more enemy fodder, in addition to the various Foot Soldiers, Mousers, and Roadkill Rodneys that will already be included.
Regarding the Rock Soldiers, the two most notable ones are Lieutenant Granitor and General Traag, whom both appeared as bosses in several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, as well as being in some memorable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes. Since they ultimately serve Krang, they could easily be implemented into the game’s plot without much explanation needed.
Other notable villains from Dimension X include Antrax (labeled as Krang’s personal “executioner” and the Malignoids, a race of insectoids led by Maligna, one of Krang’s rivals that also wants to rule over everyone as an absolute dictator, using her telepathic powers to control her subjects. However, she’s never really appeared outside of the comic books, so Tribute Games could possibly introduce her to casual Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans, though I personally don’t think it’s likely we’ll see too many lesser-known characters appearing in this game.
A list of other popular and prominent characters that could show up in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge include Groundchuck, Dirtbag, Scumbug, Wingnut (with Screwloose), Tokka, Rahzar, and Tempestra. Groundchuck and Dirtbag both served as bosses in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Projects, in addition to directly appearing in the 1987 cartoon series. However, they’re seen by some fans as just another Bebop and Rocksteady knock-off, mainly created just to sell more action figures (like so many other characters from the 1987 cartoon series).
Tokka and Rahzer gained prominence when they appeared as mutant henchmen in the second live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (a head-scratching decision, since Bebop and Rocksteady were already established and popular recurring characters), which in turn led to them getting their own action figures and cartoon iterations, as well as serving as bosses in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. Unlike Tatsu or other characters only seen in the live-action films at that time, Tokka and Rahzer became a very popular duo, even though they were just another “Bebop and Rocksteady” cloning attempt that was successful. However, they were integral (and better-developed) characters in the excellent 2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, but the dumbed-down versions still fit the best in the 1987 universe, making their inclusion very likely, but by no means a guarantee.
In my opinion, Tempestra would be the best overall choice for inclusion here, based solely on her animated appearances. In the 1987 cartoon series, she was an evil sorceress from a video game that Leonardo was obsessed with beating, going on to become a sentient being after lightning strikes the arcade while Leonardo is playing it. Her look and backstory are very fitting for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game. Although she never became as popular as other characters like Rat King or Leatherhead, she still deserves a proper introduction into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game (not counting her “appearance” as a collectible “party member” in the cash-sucking “freemium” auto-RPG title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Madness, but the less said about that “game,” the better).