‘Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind’ Is a Blast From the Past (Review)

Although they’ve had an impact through several generations, I don’t think any version of the Power Rangers has had as much of an impact as the original crew. Synonymous with the early- to mid-’90s, every kid wanted to be a Power Ranger. I grew up playing countless hours of the Power Rangers Super Nintendo games, especially The Fighting Edition. Much like its predecessors, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is an electrifying and exciting side-scroller that suffers from a short playtime but makes up points in many other ways.

It’s Morphin’ Time — for About two Hours or So

As with many classic beat-’em-up games, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is short. It’s meant to be replayable, and I plan on playing it a few times. Much like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, it looks to bring a forgotten genre to a new generation. This game feels like something I would have spent my monthly allowance at the arcade playing. The vibes are near impeccable, with detailed and gorgeous sprite work throughout all 15 levels of the game.

Rather than focusing on being just a purely side-scrolling adventure, Rita’s Rewind offers a few different types of gameplay. While the standard punching and kicking action takes up the majority of the game time, some vehicle sections look to help it stand out from the crowd. These are also some of the most decisive parts of the game. Especially due to the massive difficulty spike that accompanies them.

While I would consider myself a seasoned veteran of these particular games, the vehicle sections can be brutal. The Zord sections, in particular, feel like quarter-munchers if this was an actual arcade cabinet. I may have had one or two deaths during the main campaign on normal. But the vehicle sections were a completely different beast. That being said, I still loved the additional challenge. Even if it felt like the equivalent of jamming a branch through a bicycle wheel while it was spinning.

What comes after these Zord sections, however, is one of the most satisfying moments in any of these retro-styled arcade revivals. Taking control of the fully assembled Megazord and fighting bosses in a glorified Punch-Out! was one of the coolest parts of the game. Every time was hype, without a doubt.

Classic Villains Are Reborn for a New Era

There are some Power Rangers villains that I remember from my childhood more than others. Goldar, for example, is one that immediately stands out in my mind. Part of my subconscious must have decided Turkey Jerk and Chunky Chicken needed to be locked away forever, only to be reminded of their existence due to Rita’s Rewind.

The selection of Villains on display is impressive. While there are only a few, with a number of them taken from other Power Rangers experiences, they all offer a unique challenge and an interesting gimmick. For example, Chunky Chicken and Turkey Jerk will fight in tandem. Chunky will disappear through Portals and try to snip you with scissors. This happens while Turkey fires a massive laser I need to dodge to survive.

The boss fights are easily some of the stand-out segments in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind. They offer a nice challenge without feeling unfair. And there are some deep cuts here, rather than just going for the most obvious choices. Sure, I would have loved to fight against Lipsyncher, but Crabby Cabbie was a surprise.

The battle against a fan favorite (you can likely already guess which one I’m talking about) was one of my favorites. Seeing as I had to fight him and his Zord at the same time made the fight more impactful and difficult.

While the Rangers Play the Same, They Have Their Own Unique Factors

Depending on the player, this could be the best or worst part about Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind. Every ranger plays the same. They all have the same basic combo, which consists of a few hits, followed by a weapon attack. While I would have loved to see a bit more uniqueness, it also stops any confrontation about picking “the best” character.

Even the unlockable character plays the same as the other Rangers. This makes it about choosing who you like, rather than finding the “Meta” character. It’s a nice change of pace. Especially since it means that balancing issues don’t need to be addressed in the future. I could pick any character and instantly have them mastered while cruising through these stages.

Rita’s Rewind also decides to keep things simple when it comes to combat. It’s a single-button masher, with an alternate up attack to keep things interesting. Even throughout my playtime, I never found myself longing for additional attacks or combos. It all felt refined, and I never felt outnumbered or at a disadvantage. Every Ranger feels plenty powerful, and they all feature a special attack that can wipe out anything on the screen.

While I realize the Time Crystals were part of the overarching story, the novelty of having to destroy them did wear off rather quickly. In each stage, a Putty would come out holding a massive Crystal in a container above their head. I needed to quickly destroy it, or it would loop me back to the start of the battle. Repeating this over and over again was kind of a drag. But I can’t deny it wasn’t a neat little addition.

‘power rangers: Rita’s Rewind’ Is Between the Past and the Present

There are some baffling choices I hope are ironed out in the future, as Rita’s Rewind is a technically sound game. One of the biggest issues I’ve seen and experienced so far is the inability to save online co-op progress. Sure, Rita’s Rewind is a short game. Its 15 levels can be completed in just as short as two hours or so. But life happens, and sometimes, we need to leave the game behind to do other things.

It also means if the game unfortunately crashes, all of the progress is completely lost. And for a game about saving the world, the lack of an online save system can be a deal breaker for some. Unless you plan on making your way through the campaign in one fell swoop with your friends? It may be wise to wait until this feature arrives before you purchase it.

Maybe it’s meant to emulate the feeling of trying to blast through a game at an arcade with your friends. Either way, it feels like an unfortunate oversight at this point, and something I hope Digital Eclipse adds in the future. It could help elevate this retro romp to new levels of hype.

I’m also hoping for the potential of additional DLC, with more characters from the series’ long history. There is a wealth of creative creatures I would love to face off against, and I would be more than happy to jump back into the world of Rita’s Rewind to do battle with them.

‘power rangers’: Four Steps Forward, and One Step Backward

For every flaw I could find with Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, I could find multiple positive points to put in its favor. It’s a beautiful recreation of a lost era and something that fans of the series can cherish. It features some of the best in-game music for any Power Rangers project, clearly made with love and attention.

While its playtime may be short, it does offer a nice amount of replayability. Finding collectibles and mementos, while seeing if you can beat the game on higher difficulties, adds to the already fun core game. I just wish some of the online hiccups would have been addressed before launching it. Still, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a technically sound and extremely fun romp through nostalgic memories. I’m just glad I can punch Goldar in the face in 2024.

Verdict: Recommended

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Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.