At a glance, it’s pretty easy to get an idea of what Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is: a co-op arcade style beat-em-up with gorgeous sprite art, bearing some very clear similarities to 2022’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, all the way down to the title. However, after kicking, punching and morphin through the first two episodes, I’m happy to report that it’s more than just a palette swap, and developer Digital Eclipse clearly understood the assignment, but also wasn’t afraid to get creative in the margins.
For starters, the premise is a fun fan-fictional remix: in the far off year of 2024, Robo-Rita Repulsa (who apparently has the same plastic surgeon as Frieza) is facing defeat by Angel Grove’s teenage protectors. Assuming these are the same Rangers from the original series, they’re at least in their late forties at this point. In any case, that’s a non-issue, because Robo-Rita decides to travel back in time and join forces with her younger, less-cybernetically augmented self to put an end to her enemies back when they were still in high school.
There’s no shortage of easter eggs and fanservice, but Robo-Rita isn’t going back in time just to make the same mistakes again, so Rita’s Rewind is really more of a Remix. Anyone who knows the original series inside and out is in for some surprises. For instance, a boss fight against Chunky Chicken, an early monster of the week villain from the first season has a second phase where a second poultry-themed enemy appears, Turkey Jerk. It’s a cute joke at face value, but the deep-cut reference here is that in the original series, Chunky Chicken’s costume was repainted and retooled to make Turkey Jerk’s - basically, the analog kaiju suit equivalent of a palette-swap. Like I said, the team Digital Eclipse did their homework.
If you’ve ever played a sidescrolling beat-em up, you’re already familiar with the core gameplay. Up to five players team up, locally or online, and gradually move their
Fighting
UPS
Digital
Cooper
Rangers
fun
Show
Rita Repulsa