Like many popular kids’ series from the ’90s, Power Rangers’ superhero-like action was quickly and easily translated to video games. Arcade style fighters are part of the equation. But like many other games from that era, none of them stood out enough to be considered classics today. Part of that might be because these games don’t come from the powerful, crowd-pleasing arcade games created by industry standard bearers like Konami, Capcom, or Data East. But what if Power Rangers, which was IP that feels the same With beat ‘em up games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there’s an era of arcade glory that can be called back to, along with the heroic nostalgia behind something like Dotemu’s Revenge Shredder?
The throwback to the Power Rangers game we wish we had.
Digital Eclipse, the studio known for reviving classics for modern platforms and the Gold Master docuseries (and, bizarrely, Space Jam 2), has tried to answer that question with Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, a brand new game that gives feel like It is a tribute to something that never existed. In fact, Rita’s Rewind is similar in energy, style, and structure (the stage select screen isn’t the same) to Shredder’s Revenge. It’s almost like peering into an alternate universe that Konami’s Turtles in Time is “Rangers in Time.” ” instead . While writing this chapter The game’s soundtrack is also improperly credited to Shredder’s Revenge composer Tee Lopes on Wikipedia, and if I hadn’t played the game and seen the credit myself, I probably believe it.
But that doesn’t mean Digital Eclipse won’t come to market without its own concept. Rita’s Rewind is clearly inspired by Konami’s old coin-op brawlers and a modern homage. But it also includes a serious attempt to stand out and feel more like a Power Rangers game than a TMNT game with the Power Rangers Zords skins, which are robots that use animals to pilot the Rangers to fight giant foes. It has its own Space Harrier inspired levels, and the Voltron-like Megazord features different boss fights that follow their own rules as well. Meanwhile The ground battles with the Rangers themselves are slower paced and fleshier against more challenging and aggressive enemies compared to many similar fighters which have a somewhat different tempo.
There’s a lot to do, at least.
Rita’s Rewind is a true assault on the senses. It jumps onto the screen as soon as you power it up with a raw power I’ve never experienced before in a Power Rangers game. It doesn’t slow down once. Sean Bialo’s soundtrack rings out like a SNES-era Konami kit stretched and mutated by a time-traveling wizard. And the rich, blood-filled visual style is controlled by gorgeous custom CRT filters that change. Open by default When it’s time to play auto-scrolling levels on Zords or motorcycles The picture will become more fierce and exciting. Sometimes it has a negative effect on the gameplay. (It’s hard to see and aim when the whole screen is screaming at you!) There are some issues with the overall package, though. But I didn’t get bored for a second through multiple rounds of the roughly three-hour runtime.
The most interesting aspect of Rita’s Rewind is that each playable Ranger comes with a different playstyle at each point. For example, Yellow Ranger is more difficult to use due to having a much shorter melee range, while Pink Ranger’s flying Zord would make those levels a lot easier. Red Ranger’s sword reaches behind him in the middle of a combo. This gave him a slight advantage in crowd control. Some of these differences are more noticeable than others. And not all of them bring clear advantages/disadvantages. They feel like different characters. Unlike in the TMNT games, the heroes’ weapons have slightly different ranges. but more complicated
There is slight roughness around the edges.
What’s less interesting, and more annoying, is the way that the slower pace I mentioned earlier causes frustration. There are moments where it feels like, in trying to make the in-the-moment action feel different compared to the near-universal rhythms we see in many fighters, Digital Eclipse misses a few avoidable issues. It felt like while the Rangers were moving a little more slowly than you’d expect. Enemies also operate like “normal” brawling villains, resulting in weaknesses that feel unusual, such as normal enemies being able to interrupt basic combos. Or some enemies that can instantly grab you. Or attack you on recovery knockdown without giving you time to react.
I was able to adjust to the rhythm and get through it well. But between that and reading information from enemies in the game (And one boss in particular) These adjustments feel like an attempt to break up the gameplay and No fun challenges I’m also not a fan of higher strikes or ground pounds. Since these moves don’t really seem to provide the advertised benefits for the former, enemies that are launched into the air are often just out of reach anyway. And for the latter I always get attacked every time I try to use it. At least the normal type main diving kick was very well done!
In most cases I still enjoyed running through Rita’s Rewind, defeating putty-strewn stuff and other monsters, and chasing down the original series’ most hilarious boss monsters in the Rangers’ iconic vehicles and machines. I haven’t thought much about Power Rangers in a long time. So it was a bit of nostalgia instead of the constant barrage I normally feel from video games. There have been other attempts over the years to make an impact with a Power Rangers game, but none have come to fruition. (Even the relatively solid Battle for the Grid fighting game) has a rather aggressive feel to the style Digital Eclipse brings to the table here. With a few tweaks and possibly more content over time, Rita’s Rewind could really be a badge of honor. And even now it’s still miles ahead of Space Jam.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is available on December 10, 2024 for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The publisher provided a code for the PC version for verification.
