If you grew up in arcades in the 1990s, you probably have fond memories of some very specific games. Multiplayer beat-’em-ups based on popular media of the era were the centerpiece of any arcade at one time. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and X-Men were the kind of games that made kids excited anytime mom said she was making a pit stop at the mall to go clothes shopping. While lots of great ’90s shows got their own cabinets, there was one glaring omission: The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers never got their own game.
Decades later, developer Digital Eclipse is finally looking to right that injustice. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a new arcade-style brawler that looks like it was pulled right from the ’90s, TV scan lines and all. When I went into my first hands-on demo of it, I was sure I knew exactly what to expect. Retro revivals like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge are pitch-perfect fun, but they aren’t exactly surprising. That’s not the case with Rita’s Rewind, which is going the extra mile to make the Rangers’ adventure feel special.
It’s morphin time
My demo began exactly as I expected it to. I hopped over to a TV, where another member of the press was playing with a developer from Digital Eclipse. I picked up a controller and seamlessly jumped in as the Yellow Ranger. It took me no time to figure out what to do. Within seconds, I was slamming enemies and eating food out of destroyed crates. It’s very much a “how you remember old games playing” kind of project. Movement is quick and my attacks are varied. I launch at some enemies with a leaping kick and ground pound them between punches. It’s all fast, furious, and familiar.
Even the story needed little introduction. I quickly learn that Rita Repulsa has teamed up with Robo Rita to mess with time. That gives Digital Eclipse a lot of room for creative liberty, as it can retell moments from the original series, complete with actual dialogue from the show, while peppering in foes from across the franchise’s history. It’s a classic premise for a game like this, one that you’re meant to accept as “arcade logic” rather than trying to fit it into canon.
Frankly, all of that would be enough to make Rita’s Rewind a nostalgic beat-’em-up that fans of the series would eat up — but Digital Eclipse didn’t stop there.
At the end of one stage, my teammates and I face off against Goldar. We punch him while avoiding his fireballs and hit our special attacks to inflict massive damage. Everything goes as expected until he grows gigantic. Suddenly, we’re thrown into a Space Harrier-style shooter where each of us runs through a canyon on our Zords. It’s a total surprise, and a thrilling one at that as we blow up spaceships with missiles. Digital Eclipse says that these perspective shifts are a big part of the game, estimating that they take up around 30% of it.
When we catch up to Goldar, things change again. We form into the Megazord and suddenly the camera shifts to the inside of the cockpit. Now we’re fighting in a first-person brawler, where each player takes turns trying to rack up enough hits to charge up a segment of the Power Sword. I duck and weave as he launches fireballs at the cockpit, waiting for an opening so I can hit him with a running punch. It’s like a Power Rangers Punch-Out battle. When we finally charge our sword, we all collectively mash our attack buttons to deliver a final blow. It’s a childhood power fantasy delivered in all its 1990s glory.
The more Digital Eclipse shows off, the clearer it becomes that this isn’t just some quick and easy side-scroller with a Power Rangers skin. Take the Juice Bar, for instance, which acts as a cooldown hub between levels. That space features three arcade cabinets featuring totally original games. They aren’t Power Rangers-themed games; they’re entirely invented because Digital Eclipse wanted to explore what kind of games its heroes actually play in the universe.
It’s those details that elevate Rita’s Rewind above a fun nostalgia project. It isn’t just a love letter to the Power Rangers, but the era they were popular in. Its gameplay twists pay tribute to the ’90s arcade scene in a way that makes the project feel more substantial. It’s an approach that’s especially fitting for a studio like Digital Eclipse, whose work is centered around preserving older games. Rita’s Rewind is an extension of that mission, capturing the social energy that propelled the Rangers to stardom in the first place.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is set to launch in 2024 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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