Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind review

A childhood favourite of many a person of my sort of age, the ultra-campy Mighty Morphin Power Rangers telly show took its cues from the very best of Japanese kaiju monster sci-fi, pinching a load of stuff from things like Super Sentai, and blended this with wholesome all-American teens and explosive – and near the knuckle for its time, given the violence levels – martial arts action. Unless you have a heart made of stone it is almost impossible to dislike. It also has a bittersweet element given the sad early passing of original actors Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank.

Hot on the heels of their superb Tetris collection, Digital Eclipse have teamed up with Hasbro to develop this ace scrolling fighter based upon iconic moments in the legendary and long-standing franchise. It has to be said that there are more than a few nods to the recent Turtles belt scroller, right down to the fact that certain fonts are very similar, and the structure of some stages is almost exactly the same. However this is a different beast. On the actual fighting sections the pace is a lot more measured and deliberate, more in keeping with Konami classics like Vendetta. There are also some wild variations thrown into the mix, meaning that this is much more than a mere beat ‘em up, taking a cue from the likes of Geomon by adding 3D stages that are a heady blend of SEGA scaler shooters and stuff you would have seen on a SNES laden with patented Mode 7 tech.

The plot for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind features a time-hopping dance through Angel Grove and beyond, with series mainstay Rita Repulsa harnessing time travelling technology to try and destroy the Power Rangers at their inception, a bit like the plot of Terminator, but with more high camp and reverential nods to the high-camp kaiju energy of the tv show. There are familiar faces all over the place, little easter eggs hidden in the stages, and deep-cut characters which I won’t spoil for you, other than to say a couple of hilarious, feathery ones that show up instantly touched the receptors in my brain and flooded me with memories of watching MMPR after school as a nipper. The scrolling stages are the meat and drink of this one and play like a slower take on Turtles, with familiar tropes like super moves that are unleashed once a bar is fully charged, destructible scenery, food based pickups, and little secret things to discover as you beat down a ton of instantly recognisable Power Rangers enemies.

Things really kick into a different gear with sprite scaler style into-the-screen racing/shooting sections when you Dinozord up and go after the various Big Bads, starting with Goldar. Catch him and beat this highly enjoyable segment and you go into Megazord territory, complete with a nifty animation intro, and enter into a Punch-Out-style 3D fist-fight with him, dodging his attacks and attempting to plant one on him and power up your legendary sword. It is a brilliant and beautifully implemented change of pace that absolutely on-brand for the franchise – pitch-perfect.

Between the episodes you can go back to Angel Grove and spend some time in the company of beloved series characters like Ernie and the nefarious Bulk and Skull. In the Juice Bar you can even unlock games-within-the-game in the form of completely original 8-bit style arcade cabinets that feature three blindingly implemented mickey-takes out of vintage arcades, such as one Spy Hunter clone that I had great fun with.

If I had to be a party pooper then I would have to mention the highly-repetitive in-game speech, with your Rangers sometimes repeatedly uttering the same phrase ad nauseum on a stage, however that is what things were like back in the olden days, right? And the characterisation of nemesis Repulsa is spot-on, she makes up for the sometimes dull Rangers with her bonkers tyrannical flex. Some may find that the slightly slower pace and occasionally clunky hit-boxes are a downer too, but when the screen is full with Putties and you are controlling the Power Rangers, it soon becomes an afterthought.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a warm dose of nostalgia, a highly amusing, varied and reverentially detailed step back in time for a beloved IP that wraps everything up in a very satisfying package. The variation breaks up the action nicely, it looks fantastic – even if it does borrow almost indiscriminately from other recent fare – and is a timely reminded how bloody brilliant Power Rangers was, and still is.