Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind review — Retro beat ’em up full of nostalgia, but lacking in variety

OK, so I need to admit something; I was never a huge fan of the Power Rangers. Sure, I caught the show on TV occasionally and did enjoy it, but I can’t say that I ever took the time to really get invested, and at this point, I am too overwhelmed to even attempt to catch up with the sheer number of episodes, seasons, and rangers that have come and gone since the early 90s. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, though I often found myself disappointed in my lack of knowledge of the series, as Digital Eclipse has painstakingly crafted a love letter to the series and its fans, and I only wish I could have appreciated the little nuances included more like a true fan would have.

The story is simple, and takes place both in the present day and the past. Present day Power Rangers are fighting Robo Rita, who has invented a Time Disrupter which she then uses to send herself back to 1993 so she can team up with her younger self, Rita Repulsa, to vanquish the young and naive Power Rangers of that era, thereby eliminating them in the present day. Unwilling to create a time paradox, the older Power Rangers do not follow Robo Rita, and instead hope for their younger selves to be able to take down both Rita Repulsa and Robo Rita on their own. It’s not going to win any awards, but the story works perfectly fine in the context of this game and helps the entire campaign feel like a long episode of the show.

Rita’s Rewind is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up at heart, though thankfully Digital Eclipse has added both on-rails levels and first-person fights to keep things from growing stale. The beat ‘em up levels are relatively varied, with a small, but decent variety of enemies to tackle. Various forms of Rita’s Putty Patrollers make up a large batch of the enemies, with forms ranging from basic brawlers, bomb throwers, spike runners, and even a colossal sized version, while a few other unique enemies show up as the game progresses.

The beat ‘em up levels don’t break any new ground, but do see you fighting your way through a nice variety of locations while featuring a good bit of destructible environmental elements, hidden mementos to find, and even NPCs to save. The inclusion of a time disrupter in several levels creates a unique challenge which forces you race against the clock to defeat enemies while also whittling away at the disrupter’s health bar. Fail, and time rewinds, reviving all defeated enemies, though the disrupter’s health remains at its previous level. This will continue until you finally destroy the disrupter. On harder difficulties, these moments can be quite exciting, as you’ll find yourself merely chipping away at the disrupter’s health while frantically fending off an onslaught of enemies, only to continuously repeat the process when time rewinds. I wish that Rita’s Rewind had dived into this theme more, utilizing time and the rewind mechanism more often.

Unfortunately, the combat is about as lackluster as most other games in the genre, which is quite disappointing when taking the reins of what is supposed to be a kick-ass team of fighters. Each Power Ranger is equipped with only a small arsenal of attacks, including a basic punch, an upper cut, a downward drop, a drop kick, the ability to grab an enemy and throw them, and a dash which allows you to dodge nearly all attacks or danger. To add a bit of spice there is a special attack which can be used once a meter is filled from defeating enemies, but this special move essentially just wipes the screen clear of enemies with no interaction from the player. I know beat ‘em ups aren’t known for their wide range of attacks, but considering I am controlling some of TV’s greatest heroes, I would have liked to see a larger variety of attacks and combos included.  I do want to give a shout out to the time disrupter mechanic, which pops up during several levels and forces you to race against the clock to destroy the time disrupter before it rewinds time.

Since I went into this game essentially blind, I was thrown off, though delighted, by the inclusion of on-rail levels and first-person Megazord boss fights. The on-rails levels may have you navigating a 3D world in your Dinozord, racing a motorcycle down a treacherous highway, or even fighting off clowns on a roller coaster. Each on-rails level is exciting, fast-paced, and features many unique enemies and obstacles, though they are quite a bit harder than the side-scrolling levels due to the large amount of enemies present and a few nearly unavoidable enemy attacks and obstacles. Still, these levels were always a welcome respite from the straight forward beat ‘em up sections.

The Megazord levels are the most hit and miss, because while they look great and add some welcome spectacle to the proceedings, they are quite hard to control and often frustrating. The first time you transform into the Megazoard and rush your enemy up to the first time you grab your sword and effectively end the fight, you’ll be thrilled. So it’s a shame that the fights themselves feel so clunky and awkward. Sure, It’s fun to mercilessly beat your enemy, but then having to slowly walk toward them while dodging swipe attacks and fireballs only to land one punch and then repeat quickly grows tiresome.

Overall the game is a fun, albeit short, jaunt down Power Rangers history, consisting of 15 levels and about three hours of play time. Rita’s Rewind is better than a few other recent nostalgia based beat ‘em ups, but still won’t be converting players to the genre who weren’t already fans. The real charm in Rita’s Rewind stems from Digital Eclipse and how they invoke the player’s nostalgia at every turn. From the CRT video filter, to the storyline which turns the dial back 30 years to the 1993 era Power Rangers of Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Billy, it is clear that the team has great reverence for the source material. By jumping back into 1993, the developers were also able to bring in many of the Power Rangers earliest foes like Goldar, Bones, and Chunky Chicken, which is sure to delight fans, while also creating a recognizable main hub to hang out in between levels with the Angel Grove Youth Center, where you are able to speak to NPCs, play arcade games, and view mementos you’ve found hidden in levels.

It wouldn’t make sense to release a game about such a close-knit team and not include co-op, but thankfully Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind features four player co-op on the PlayStation 5, and six player co-op on all other consoles. Right now, all co-op is local only, but two player online co-op should be added soon. Future updates will eventually have the game supporting six players online no matter the console which is sure to be a fun, and chaotic, time.

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