Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind Review

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 9, 2024 16 Views 8 Min Read
Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind Review



In a world where gaming adaptations of nostalgic IP are only becoming more and more popular, it’s wild to think how few Power Rangers video games we’ve had in the last few console generations. In fact, not counting mobile releases, we’ve only had two – the disappointing beat-em-up Mega Battle and the initially janky but eventually beloved fighter Battle for the Grid.

While I don’t have quite the same life-spanning relationship with Power Rangers as I do its cowabunga cousin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the lack of good games based on the Mighty Morphers has always surprised me. Like TMNT, the colourful, action-packed show and its many iterations lend themselves perfectly to becoming playable.

A preview card for Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind at Gamescom 2024.

Related


Rita’s Rewind Is Shaping Up To Be The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Game Of My Dreams

And don’t worry – Tommy Oliver is almost definitely making it in.

That’s what made Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind such a wish-fulfilling reveal during this year’s Summer Game Fest as, just like Shredder’s Revenge, it looked to capitalise on the Rangers with a genre that fits them like a glove and has somehow not been done all that much before – the retro sidescrolling beat ‘em up.

By Rangers Fans, For Rangers Fans

All three fixed arcade machines in Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind.

After briefly playing it for myself at Gamescom, I had high hopes that it could give me the same warm fuzzy feeling the Turtles did with their latest throwback venture. Although a lack of depth and short runtime prevent Rita’s Rewind from reaching those same great heights, its satisfying-if-simplistic brawling, unique Zord sections, and ability to capture the series’ spirit make it well worth it for Power Rangers fans.

Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind kicks off with the current batch of Power Rangers doing their weekly routine and going up against Robo Rita, who senses impending defeat and time travels back to 1993 to team up with her former self. This leaves the original and most well-known Mighty Morphin group to go up against both Ritas with a few clever time anomaly twists while retreading the events of the show’s first season.

One of the biggest strengths of Rita’s Rewind is how it captures the cheesy and energetic spirit of the show and translates it wonderfully into a retro brawler. From the primary colour overload and catchy tracks to the wonderfully cringe dialogue full of deepcut references, Rita’s Rewind simply feels like being in the Power Rangers world. And yes, I teared up a bit every time the main theme song burst onto the scene.

Satisfying Brawling Goodness That Lacks Some Depth

A rooftop brawl in Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind.

As you’d expect from such a well-trodden genre, the majority of your time spent in Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is in side-scrolling levels where you move to the right and beat the snot out of Putties, Tengu Warriors, and whatever else crosses your path. The core mechanics are fairly simplistic for a brawler, with each Ranger having basic combos, a launcher, grab attacks, a limited-use special, and the series staple backflips as a dodge.

While smashing through enemies feels as great as a brawler should thanks to the hit stop, crunchy sound effects, and the iconic particle effects when attacking, the combat was otherwise surprisingly basic. Aside from some variety in animations, all five (eventually six) of the Rangers play exactly the same in these sections, leaving little reason to replay levels or experiment.

Combine that with the lack of enemy variety and any sort of progression systems between Rangers, and Rita’s Rewind is on the basic end of the beat ‘em up spectrum. It’s still a good and satisfying time, like most sidescrollers are, but beyond the Mighty Morphin coat of pain, there’s not much separating the majority of Rita’s Rewind stages from its contemporaries.

Zord Sections Put The Might In Mighty Morphin

The Power Rangers riding a rollercoaster in Rita's Rewind.

The one area where Rita’s Rewind stands out is with its Outrun-esque Zord and vehicle sections, which appear towards the end of each major episode. These surprisingly challenging levels have the Rangers jumping into their Zord and chasing an enemy down while shooting everything in sight.

Beyond offering a nice change of pace from the regular levels, these Zord sections also give each Ranger a chance to feel unique, as they each ride a different robo that controls a little differently, with Kimberly’s even acting as an easy mode since she can fly around and avoid most of the obstacles.

These levels also culminate with a climactic Megazord boss battle that acts similarly to Punch Out and has you dodging and attacking in first-person. Like the Zord segments, this is where Rita’s Rewind shines a bit brighter by wearing its love for the series on its sleeve while also offering something that other brawlers don’t.

All of the Power Rangers together in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind.

Sadly, a similarity that Rita’s Rewind does have with other games in the genre is its short run time of around two hours, which can be beefed up to three to five with collectibles and an unlockable speedrun mode. Beat ‘em ups are short by nature, but Rita’s Rewind’s quick pace is a little more noticeable considering its asking price of $35.

Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind’s simplicity and short pace sadly mean that it doesn’t come close to trading blows with the bar-setting Shredder’s Revenge like I hoped. Still, by lovingly capturing the series’ trademark energy, providing simple but satisfying brawling goodness, and setting itself apart with unique Zord sections, it manages to be a good time and a treat for hardcore fans. I just wish there was a little more to it and a lot more of it.

Score: 3.5/5. A PS5 code was provided by the publisher.

A review card for Antonblast.

Next


Antonblast Review – Crash Blasticoot

Antonblast is like Crash Bandicoot if it was part Wario Land, part Ed, Edd n Eddy, and all awesome.

Source link