Digital Eclipse’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind attempts to bring back arcade-style beat-em-up action with a nostalgic flair, but unfortunately, the game falls flat in nearly every category except its visual style and music. While the $34.99 USD price tag might suggest a premium experience, the reality is that this game feels like it should cost no more than $9.99—and even at that price, it might still be too much for what you’re getting.
Visually, the game’s vibrant art style captures the essence of the original show with a 90’s arcade game twist with its bright, nostalgic visuals that will appeal to longtime fans. The soundtrack is equally praiseworthy (despite being a little loud at times), but unfortunately, these elements are the highlights of an otherwise lackluster experience. The core gameplay features overly simplistic combat, a disappointingly short campaign that clocks in at under three hours, and a lack of differentiation between the six playable Rangers. Seriously, each Ranger plays exactly the same with no difference whatsoever, except for their suit color.
I first played the campaign as the Red Ranger, Jason, and was quickly disillusioned by the shallow combat system. Calling the attack options “combo moves” feels generous, as the gameplay boils down to button-mashing with only five distinct attack forms (there is only one button to attack and it does the work for you). There’s little to no variety to keep the gameplay engaging, and switching to another Ranger doesn’t improve the experience since they are identical in every other way. Each Ranger has the same limited move set, with the only differences being their Super Move animations (which are still just the same screen-clearing attack) and suit colors. Unlocking the Green Ranger after completing the story was particularly underwhelming, as his moves and playstyle are identical to the rest, leaving no reason to replay the game as a different character.
The story, while quirky and lighthearted, is disappointingly short and lacks any meaningful payoff. It revolves around a robot version of Rita Repulsa teaming up with her past self to stop the Rangers with no new strategy to do so and no innovative approach to create a challenge for the Rangers, which ends up being rather pointless. But while the premise could have been fun in theory, the execution feels rushed, and by the time the campaign ends, players are left with little incentive to revisit the game.
Even the addition of the Green Ranger as a playable character introduces plot inconsistencies when you play him, especially considering his role as a main villain in the storyline. His inclusion as a hero adds nothing new to the experience, and his lack of unique dialogue or interactions (he has neither) when replaying the story adds to the overall sense of laziness in design.
The Zord stages, where players control the Rangers’ respective Zords in rail-shooter-style levels, initially offer a refreshing change of pace. However, they quickly become repetitive and fail to provide any long-term satisfaction and quickly whereout their welcome. The MegaZord battles follow a similar trajectory—fun at first but repetitive after a few encounters.
The boss battles are perhaps the only gameplay aspect with any real creativity. Facing off against iconic villains like Goldar, Madame Woe, Bones, and Eye Guy introduces unique mechanics and move sets on their part for the player to avoid, which are a welcome change from the monotonous combat against waves of Putties, but these moments are too few and far between to save the overall experience. Which is really saying something considering the game’s incredibly short length.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is an overpriced and underwhelming beat-em-up that squanders its potential. While the nostalgia, visuals, music, and boss fights offer brief flashes of enjoyment, the shallow combat, lack of character variety, and short campaign leave little reason to recommend it. If you’re a diehard Power Rangers fan, wait for the game to go on sale for under $10 USD. Otherwise, save your money and skip it altogether—you’re not missing much.
