Gotham Knights Stars The Wrong Heroes
With its roster of four color-coded heroes, each with their own unique skillsets, Gotham Knights easily could’ve starred another team of masked martial artists. Developed by WB Games Montreal, the recently released open-world adventure sees Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin and Red Hood step up as Gotham’s primary protectors after the death of Batman. Operating from their clocktower hideout The Belfry, the quartet sets out to clean the city streets either alone or in two-player co-op. The open-world superhero title proved divisive upon release, and the four Gotham Knights characters could easily be swapped out for another iconic superhero team instead.
Gotham Knights’ open-world action RPG gameplay doesn’t quite fit the Batman mythos, but it would’ve made an excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game instead. The team of radical radioactive reptiles has yet to receive its own open-world video game, and Gotham Knights would serve as the perfect template. The game gives each member of the Bat Family their own unique combat style and traversal method, which would be a perfect way to make Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo feel distinct despite their similar abilities. Some of the weapons used by Gotham’s defenders would even translate perfectly to the Ninja Turtles, with Robin’s bo staff being taken up by Donatello and Nightwing’s escrima sticks becoming Raphael’s sais.
The Ninja Turtles Deserve An Open-World Game Like Gotham Knights
A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game would also benefit from Gotham Knights’ two-player co-op, allowing friends to team up and paint New York red as the Heroes In A Half Shell. While players in Gotham Knights return to The Belfry to progress the story and upgrade gear, a TMNT game could easily swap out this clocktower location for the underground Sewer Lair. Returning here would let players upgrade the Ninja Turtles’ gear and train to improve their combat abilities and gadgets. Obviously the Turtles would also be able to hang out, eat pizza, play video games or gain wisdom from Master Splinter. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ primary antagonists, the Foot Clan, are even aesthetically similar to Gotham Knights’ shadowy Court of Owls organization.
While there have been Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games in the past, none of these projects have given the team a big open world to leap across. The franchise is most well-known for its side-scrolling beat-em-up titles, which released back in the 1980s and 90s for arcade cabinets and the Nintendo Entertainment System. There have been other titles since then, with this year’s retro throwback Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge hearkening back to the multiplayer arcade games of the past. Unfortunately none of these titles have truly captured the feeling of running across the rooftops of New York and battling Foot ninjas as Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello.
Gotham Knights may be considered a lackluster Batman game, since the Dark Knight himself isn’t playable, but the game’s four-hero structure would fit perfectly with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Rumors suggest that a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is currently in development, so perhaps this dream of an open-world Ninja Turtle adventure may soon become a reality. Given the game’s four distinct playable heroes and social space, Gotham Knights could easily inspire some open-world TMNT action.
