The recent TMNT bundle for Black Ops 6 was seen as a massive scam by fans since they’d have to pay $80 for all four characters. It’s bad enough that the skins are so expensive, but that’s a trend with the heroes in a half-shell, as appearances in Street Fighter 6 and Fortnite have shown.
What makes this even weirder is that there’s already a great game that features the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and it's called Shredder’s Revenge.
For those living under a rock, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is a modern-day beat-em-up that takes cues from classic games with these characters but with QOL improvements. It has gorgeous sprites, an addictive combat system, and plenty of modes to beat the Foot Clan in. Players also aren’t limited to the turtles, as April O’Neil, Splinter, and Casey Jones are also playable.
As if all of that wasn’t good enough, this beat-em-up also offers six-player multiplayer for online and offline play. More characters are also available via DLC, giving fans plenty to explore.
How much is TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge? $24.99 for the base game and $32.99 for the Ultimate Edition. That is a pittance for how much some of this crossover DLC costs. Black Ops 6 is charging an insane $20 per turtle. Street Fighter 6 isn’t much better, with each character costume costing $14.99.
Before we start blaming the business practices of Capcom or Activision Blizzard, there’s a pretty good chance that this is all Nickelodeon’s fault. They are a corporation that owns a popular cartoon after all, so it makes sense for them to charge this much for crossover DLC. Obviously, we don’t have proof of this, but it’s not exactly hard to believe.
That’s not even the worst part, as we wonder why fans would even want to play as the TMNT in these games. After all, they’re just avatar costumes in both Street Fighter 6 and Black Ops 6, so they don’t even feel like the turtles. While you can at least see your costumes in the big Capcom fighter, Black Ops 6 is a first-person shooter, so paying $20 for that DLC is even more useless.
In fairness, not all of the crossover DLC with these characters is bad. DC fighter Injustice 2 actually had all four characters as DLC in that game’s season pass. Each of them also had different moves and quips, truly making them unique and not just character skins. Having them share a slot was interesting and that reveal trailer still sends shivers down my spine.
As good as they are in Injustice 2, that doesn’t beat the absolute mayhem you can cause with them in TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge. Granted, not everyone likes 2D beat-em-ups, but this is a really good beat-em-up. Plus, the game won’t cost anyone an arm or a leg, so they won’t lose much if they don’t like it.
Did we mention that the game also has a six-player co-op for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and Switch? How have you not bought this game yet? That’s just ridiculous.
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