Mythology Gag / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

• The game's HUD is very close to that used in the original arcade game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
• The Dojo/Achievements screen resembles the episode title cards featured in the 1987 cartoon.
• Leonardo's swords are both on the same side of his back in the animated intro, like in some comics and the 2012 series. His sprite, however, lacks any sheaths, like his original cartoon design.
• Splinter's special attack is based on his moves in the original cartoon's opening.
• As always, Raphael's idle animation includes him twirling his sai around.
• Leo's victory pose is identical to the pose he makes in the cartoon's intro during his solo line ("Leonardo leads"), and Raph's victory pose has him pull out a pizza and stab a slice with his sai like during his solo line ("Raphael is cool but crude").
• Michelangelo's special attack is based on the scene in the opening where he is swinging his nunchucks around during the opening shot of the four turtles attacking. His taunt, meanwhile, is identical to the dance moves he pulls off in the cartoon's intro ("Michelangelo is a party dude"). His sliding attack has him spin on his back, which he pulled off after said dance moves in the intro and later incorporated into his fighting style in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl as his down special.
• One of Mikey's respawn lines is "Alright, I love being a turtle!" This was a quote of his during the climax of the first film, though swapping out "God" for "Alright."
• After reviving a knocked-out player, April may tell them "You have my support," which was a recurring line of hers from the NES game.
• After reviving a knocked out player, one of Raphael's lines is, "Hey, get a grip!" Also, his knocked out line is "Gimme a break." Both of these are his spoken lines from the original cartoon's theme song.
• The music for "Jaw-Breaking News!" starts with the motif used for Channel 6 in the cartoon.
• Usagi's line at the beginning of "Jaw-Breaking News!" is "What a strange castle," mirroring his reaction to the Turtles' sewer in the 1987 cartoon ("What strange castle is this?"). Likewise, his line for falling into a manhole is "What is this strange cave..."
• A portrait in the lobby of the Channel 6 building in "Jaw-Breaking News!" shows Vernon Fenwick in a tuxedo and bow tie, referencing the self-titled trashy daytime show, Vernon, that he hosts in "The Dimension X Story". Another portrait shows an octopus, as a nod to the Octopus Inc. company in "Corporate Raiders From Dimension X", which also had that exact portrait.
• A small detail, but similar to the first arcade game and first two Game Boy games, you fight Rocksteady and Bebop as the beginning bosses of Episodes 1 and 2 respectively. In this game it's flipped: Bebop is the first boss and Rocksteady is the second. Likewise, you fight both of them together later on, same as in the arcade game.
• The second level is called Big Apple, 3 PM, harkening back to Big Apple, 3 AM from Turtles in Time. Even the music is similar to that level's theme. Also, the final fight against Super Shredder takes place in the Big Apple at 3 AM.
• The music for Episode 3, "Mutants Over Broadway!", is an extended remix of the music for Sewer Surfin' in Turtles in Time.
• Rat King's boss arena has the Footski hovercraft he used in the SNES version of Turtles in Time in it, damaged and mangled.
• In "A Few Screws Loose", there's a television with Shredder on display that's a direct reference to the first video game.
• Episode 10 also has a few buildings referencing TMNT lore. The Weird Pizzas building at the start is from "Pizza By The Shred". A little further is a warehouse with a "2nd Time Around" sign on its door, which is not only a nod to April's apartment and antique store from most other series, but also a direct visual reference to the set that was used for TMNT stage shows at what is now Disney's Hollywood Studios back in the 90's.
• The name of Episode 10, "A Few Screws Loose", refers to Metalhead being Brainwashed and Crazy but doubles as a sly reference to Screwloose, a recurring villain absent from the game.
  • Upon Metalhead being defeated, he says "Wait, it's all so clear to me now: The Turtles are my friends!", which he said in his debut episode upon Donatello fixing his programming.
• Chrome Dome's boss fight has him call back to Shredder's first fight in the SNES port of Turtles in Time by periodically flying up to the camera and turning the screen into what the fight looks like through his eyes. You knock him out of this state by tossing Foot Clan ninjas into the screen (and therefore Chrome Dome's face) to daze him, much like how you destroy Shredder's turret weapon. Since Chrome Dome's stage takes place inside the Technodrome, you can even spot the screen Shredder used in that fight partway through the level, cracked apart on a wall in the background.
• Shredder's boss fight will have him eventually make clones of himself to attack the players. The encounter is similar to his final boss fight from the original arcade game as well as its NES conversion.
• The Statue of Tyranny is an enormous throwback to Krang and Shredder's original scheme from the arcade game, showing what his ultimate end goal really was: to use the statue as the basis for a new suit.
• One of the secret achievements is Who Needs A Dock?, earned for a No-Damage Run on Super Shredder. The name, the connection to the character, and the achievement's icon, which depicts his hand outstretched from beneath a pile of wood planks, all combined make this an obvious nod to Super Shredder's infamous debut in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, where he killed himself by inadvertently causing the dock him and the Turtles are under to collapse on top of him.
• The Limited Run Games physical print of the game comes with a coupon for a free pan pizza from Pizza Hut, the exact same promotion that came with the NES version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game.
• Donatello's stat breakdown of long range, good power and slow attack speed could be a reference to how he worked in the first Ninja Turtles video game ever, where he also had the longest reach and did the most damage, but paid for it by striking the slowest.
• Sometimes, one of the item pick ups is a box of sushi and picking it up has the Turtles reply "Raw fish?! UGH!". This references the very first episode of the 1987 series where April asks for sushi over the Turtles' pizza and both her and Don complaining about the other food. April is also shown eating a tray of sushi in the ending.
• The player gets an achievement or trophy for defeating the Rat King as Splinter, who in the game is a lot more immune (as in completely) to the Rat King's mind-control music than he was in the show.
• Leonardo having the reaction line to Tempestra ("It's game over for you, Tempestra!") refers to their rivalry in the 1987 cartoon, specifically the episode "Leonardo Vs. Tempestra."
• When Michelangelo falls down a manhole or into a pit, he says, "Whoa, who turned out the lights?" like any turtle that falls into a manhole in the original arcade game. Similarly, Raphael's "This cave gives me the creeps" is based off of Turtles In Time's "This cave is creepy."
• The achievement for collecting five different types of collectibles is called "Are you opening an antique store?" A reference to the fact that April runs an antique store in the Mirage Comics and other continuities.
• In Episode 4, some of the Foot Soldiers break out of statues with Shredder's likeness. This subtly references Foot Soldiers in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project that disguised themselves as statues before attacking. They also were encountered in a similar park area.
• The various alternate color palettes for the playable characters in the Dimension Shellshock DLC are all based upon the broader franchise, generally other continuities:
  • Palette 2 is based upon the original Playmates toyline, with the weapons being single colors to emulate the plastic weapons. Karai instead gets an outfit based upon her time wearing the Shredder's armor in the City At War arc in the Mirage Comics.
  • Palette 3 is based upon the 1990 films. Karai, who did not have a counterpart in the 1990 film, instead has one based upon her 2007 Imagi design, which lines up with the film being a loose continuation of the first movie.
  • Palette 4 is based upon the 2003 cartoon, giving the Turtles pupil-less eyes and differing skin-tones.
  • Palette 5 is based upon the 2012 cartoon, represented with the Turtles' different eye colors.
  • Palette 6 is based upon Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with the Turtles gaining their distinct bandanas (with Donatello and Raphael having theirs cover their heads) or some design attributes (Leonardo's Red Eared Slider markings). Karai, however, has a palette based upon that series' incarnation of the Shredder rather than her own Rise incarnation, which also gives her a resemblance to her Genesis/Mega Drive Tournament Fighters incarnation. April's skin is instead similar to her 2014 movie design.
  • Palette 7 is largely based upon the Adventures comics, with the Turtles' skins drawing primarily from the Galactic Wrestling arc. The ones not based on Adventures, such as Leonardo, ends up with a skin based upon Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, April's is based upon her Tournament Fighters design, Splinter gets a skin based off of his Mirage Comics colors, Casey Jones gets a skin based off of his Tournament Fighters design, and Karai uses her P2 Tournament Fighters palette.
  • Palette 8 has skins inspired by the various glow-in-the-dark toys for the Turtles, April's skin resembles her design from the "Red Sky" seasons from the 1987 cartoon, Splinter gets a skin based off of his spirit form from the 1990 film, Casey's is based off of the color Mirage illustrations, and Karai's is based upon Tournament Fighters for the SNES, as well as an additional palette based upon Aska.
  • Palette 9 is based upon the Mirage comics, with the characters entirely black and white, albeit with the Turtles' headbands retaining their distinct colors, likely to keep them identifiable.
  • Palette 10 is based upon the NES games, adhering to that console's technical color limitations. Since Usagi Yojimbo never had the NES representation, Usagi's take instead references his palette in Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo for the concurrent Commodore 64 and its technical color limitations.
  • Palette 11 is Green Boy Color, referencing the Turtles having had three Game Boy games. Even Usagi gets one despite Usagi Yojimbo never having a game on the handheld.
  • April's palettes have her hair vary between a very obvious brown to bright red hair, referencing her numerous hair colors across the franchise.
  • Aside from changing his gi's color, some of Splinter's palettes also change his fur color from brown to gray, to match his later incarnations.
  • Usagi's palettes are largely based upon his source material, with various kimono colors from comic covers (from the original comics and his first appearance in Albedo Anthropomorphics), his rival Kenichi, his rogues (white and red to evoke Lord Hikiji and a wholly black outfit aside from some white similar to Arch-Enemy Jei-San), and two based on Space Usagi.
• The Dimension Shellshock DLC is absolutely packed with cameos from across the franchise, from characters exclusive to the toyline, to characters originating from the Archie comic and even the Mirage comic, and more characters from the Fred Wolf cartoon. Among these are Tattoo, Scumbug, Ace Duck, Pizzaface, Hothead (from the NES version of Tournament Fighters), Halfcourt, the Uncanny Trio, Ninjara, Chien Khan, Al'Falqa, Cudley the Interdimensional Cowlick, Fugitoid, Armaggon, Hamato Koji, Mutagen Man, Antrax, Kerma (the alien turtle from the Fred Wolf "Planet of the Turtleoids" two part episode), Zack, Mona Lisa, and Carter.
• On the subject of Fugitoid and Armaggon, the latter can occasionally be seen chasing the former in the background for Omnichannel 6. This references how Armaggon frequently pursued Fugitoid alongside the Turtles and their allies in the 2012 series.
• Three of the stages in the Dimension Shellshock DLC resemble a black and white comic book, recalling the Turtles' Mirage Comics roots (albeit with various design elements still heavily based upon the 1987 cartoon, such as a cameo from the Party Wagon).
• As Karai had no official appearance in the 1987 cartoon, her appearance in the Dimensional Shellshock DLC combines elements from multiple incarnations of her character.
  • Her fighting abilities are mainly taken from the SNES Tournament Fighters video game, particularly her combat stances, power over electricity, and her midair multi-punch attack.
  • Her outfit is identical to what she wore in the 2003 cartoon, though recolored in the trademark purple of the 1987 cartoon's Foot Clan. That a TMNT universe based on the '87 cartoon has an incarnation of Karai wearing her 2003 outfit is a reference in itself: The Power Rangers crossover comics did it first in 2019.
  • She uses a steel claw for an "X"-shaped attack identical to one of the Shredder's attacks in his boss fight, a reference to the period of time she adopted the Shredder identity in the 2003 cartoon.
  • Personality-wise, she seems to take after her appearance in the 2012 cartoon, being much more relaxed and friendly.
  • When selected, she declares "Meet the true leader of the Foot!", referencing how, in several incarnations, she either inherits the role of or, in at least one case, is, the Grand Master of the Foot Clan.
• A new variation of Foot Robots in Survival Mode have a singular red eye, similar to the Foot Mechs from the 2003 cartoon. They gain additional armor pieces for the highest tier, making the resemblance even more obvious.

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