Marvel Cosmic Invasion Fixes TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge’s Biggest Problem

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was a fantastic beat-’em-up game, part of a recent wave of retro-style titles. It stood out with its bright pixel art, over-the-top animations, easy-to-learn but surprisingly complex fighting, and energetic music. While generally a solid game, it felt a bit too safe. Tribute Games’ new game, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, builds on that foundation, especially with its much larger selection of playable characters.

Unlike its predecessor, Cosmic Invasion features a diverse cast of characters. This variety is a significant improvement, as the previous game suffered from characters feeling too similar. For example, Rocket Raccoon, with his arsenal of weapons, plays completely differently from She-Hulk, who relies on her strength to defeat enemies. This contrast is intentional – the game aims to make each character feel unique and reflect their individual abilities.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion‘s Characters All Feel So Different

This applies to all the characters. While some, like Venom, combine elements of heroes like She-Hulk and Spider-Man, and Beta Ray Bill’s hammer is reminiscent of Captain America’s shield, these similarities aren’t strong enough to make anyone feel like characters are just copies of each other. For example, Spider-Man’s quick webs are very different from Venom’s powerful, destructive attacks. Each character feels unique because of their diverse range of special attacks, abilities, charged moves, and ultimate powers. Even the way they block or dodge attacks differs – dodging is simpler, while parrying is riskier but more rewarding.

It’s impressive how Cosmic Invasion makes characters like Wolverine and Black Panther, both known for their claws, feel distinct. But the game goes beyond the usual close-combat fighting found in this type of game. Characters like Phoenix, Nova, and Storm can fly freely, and others like Cosmic Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and Rocket Raccoon can attack from a distance. This move away from simple, up-close fighting and limited movement makes Cosmic Invasion stand out. You’ll see more enemies in the air, and fights won’t feel as chaotic, as some players can attack from afar. This variety is important because similar games can easily become repetitive button-mashing experiences.

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge‘s Roster Felt More Like Palette Swaps

Despite being a great game, Shredder’s Revenge suffers from a common problem in the beat ‘em up genre: its characters don’t feel very different from each other. While there are slight variations – Donatello is a little slower with a longer reach, and Raphael is a bit faster – these changes aren’t enough to make each Turtle, April, Splinter, or Casey Jones feel unique. This lack of distinction extends to their special attacks, which are mostly just simple, large-area attacks. The game features fantastic character animations full of personality, but because the attacks all function similarly, it prevents players from truly feeling each character’s individual style through their moves.

Giving all the characters similar abilities caused Shredder’s Revenge to become repetitive quickly. Switching between characters wasn’t exciting because their skills were almost identical. The developers seemed to recognize this and took more risks with the character designs in the two DLC packs. Features like Miyamoto Usagi’s double jump and Mondo Gecko’s aerial dodge were the kind of unique abilities that would have made the game much more engaging from the beginning.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion builds upon the foundation of TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and takes things further. It adds a lot more personality with fully voiced cutscenes and unique lines of dialogue for each character during fights. Unlocking costumes and lore expands the game beyond just playing, making it more engaging. The ability to switch between characters on the fly adds strategic depth, and overall, the game feels more refined thanks to the developers’ experience.

What really sets Cosmic Invasion apart is its character roster. With 15 unique characters, each with their own abilities, the game offers much more depth and encourages repeated playthroughs, allowing their personalities to come through during action. Since beat-em-ups can sometimes feel repetitive, this focus on variety is a huge improvement, and it’s executed exceptionally well by Tribute Games, known for setting the standard in the genre. Hopefully, this means an end to the lazy practice of simple color swaps for characters, a common shortcut in older arcade games.

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2025-12-02 21:11