Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind Review

I have been a fan of many games released by developer Digital Eclipse. They have created nostalgia-filled games using franchises that I loved as a child in the 90s, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the Cowabunga Collection and now the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in Rita’s Rewind. Will they pay homage to that original series that so many people grew up with and loved, or will it feel like every other side-scrolling beat ‘em up out there?
As soon as you begin the game, you are treated with a hand-drawn introduction that feels like it is right out of the original show, with the iconic “Go Go Power Rangers” theme song included. If you don’t get excited hearing that classic theme, seeing the Rangers, their dino-themed Zords, and the massive Megazord, then this game may not be for you! All I know is that fans of the original show will be excited seeing this.

In the animated cutscene, we see Rita Repulsa — now known as Robo Rita — in the year 2023. She is looking pretty rough and seems to be a robotic reincarnation of the Power Ranger’s long-time nemesis. She has managed to create a magical portal that will allow her to travel back in time, to 1993 in particular, so she can team up with her younger self to rewind and rewrite history in order to stop the formation of the Power Rangers. The future Rangers are present when she jumps into the portal, but Billy the Blue Ranger warns the others that if they also jump in to follow her, they will disrupt the timeline, so they should leave it to their original selves to take down both of the Rita’s.

We go back 30 years and 10 minutes into the past, where we see Zordon warning of a major disturbance in the spacetime continuum; this current time stream is under attack. He asks Alpha to find five teenage humans who aren’t overly emotional and overbearing and teleport them to the headquarters. This is where we meet Jason, the red ranger; Kimberley, the pink ranger; Billy, the blue ranger; Trini, the yellow ranger; and Zach, the black ranger. They look just like they did in the original show!

The gameplay is structured into “episodes,” each resembling a self-contained adventure from the original series. Just like in the show, the episode begins with Rita Repulsa plotting her next evil scheme at her moon base before transitioning to Angel Grove, where the Rangers are located. If they aren’t in school, they are hanging out at the Youth Centre until they are summoned by Alpha 5 to get prepared to fight her forces. Most of the time, these forces are made up of different types of putties. Once defeated, you will move to a stage that involves piloting a Dino Zord or driving the Ranger’s motorcycles in a shoot ‘em-up mission that feels like an arcade game where you blast obstacles and weaken the episode’s boss. After this, you will face said boss, who is someone you will know from the show, like Bones or Goldar in the Megazord. These battles were always the coolest part of the shows, but now you get to be in the cockpit of the Megazord, where you are tasked with pummeling the foe and evading their attacks. Once your attack meter is full, you can summon the Power Sword to deal the final blow to the enemy, ultimately bringing them down.

The game’s combat relies on hand-to-hand combos, dodges, and special moves that can be used once your meter is filled. Lining up your attacks can be a bit tricky, as you need to position yourself precisely in this side-scrolling beat-’em-up style. The controls are easy to learn, especially if you have played other titles like the ones in the Ninja Turtles series. Though, if needed, there’s a “Combat Training” mode where Zordon offers guidance on moves like double jumps, dashes, and dodges.

Special collectables like lightning bolts grant temporary power boosts, while mementoes from the show (such as a sleeping potion disguised as a soda can) add fun nods to the series that you can view on the bulletin board in the Juice Bar.

The game has multiple difficulties to choose from for your playthrough, ranging from Easy which gives you unlimited continues and weaker enemies, Normal, is limited to 10 continues so it is more challenging, or Hard, which is a challenge for experienced players. Once the game is completed on Hard mode, a headache mode that is incredibly challenging even for hardcore fans. I found that even playing on Easy mode got very difficult when it came to the episode where you have to fight the Green Ranger and his Zord; it felt impossible to do with one player, and the only way to successfully beat it was to have other Rangers jump in to help you out. Each episode has a ranking system when it is completed that gives you a score based on the amount of time it took to complete, your highest hit streak, and the number of hidden collectibles you found while playing. Trying to get an S-rank on every mission and locating all the secret items in the episodes is sure to motivate perfectionists to keep playing.

Playing Rita’s Rewind feels like a love letter to those of us who grew up with the original series. The Power Rangers have finally gotten the Super Nintendo Turtles in Time side-scrolling game that I was wishing for many years ago. There were some side-scrolling games put out for this franchise, but they were never as good as the TMNT titles. It’s great being able to play with up to five players with your favourite Rangers to make the complete team. Once you complete the game, the Green Ranger will be available to play as. With 15 stages that make up five different episodes, there’s a lot of fun to be had here! While it has its flaws — like uneven difficulty and occasional combat frustrations — it’s hard not to appreciate the passion and care that went into its creation. This is a game that fans of the original series need to play; this game is morphinominal, not my word; it is used in the game!