Some issues are simply meant to be. Peanut butter and chocolate. Movie theaters and popcorn. The Cleveland Browns and failure. By all rights, Power Rangers and a mid-90s arcade beat ‘em up also needs to be on that listing. It simply looks as if one thing written within the ebook that determines cosmic historical past, willed into existence by a better energy. But it by no means occurred. Yes, there have been a few middling SNES/Genesis sidescrollers, however like most console beat ‘em ups on the time, they have been restricted by their at-home {hardware}. We by no means acquired a correct, wonderful four-to-six participant arcade cupboard, or perhaps a recreation designed prefer it was made for one. At least, not till now. With Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, developer Digital Eclipse has taken it upon itself to present us the Turtles in Time/X-Men/The Simpsons-style Power Rangers beat ‘em up we by no means acquired. A pair underwhelming gimmick sections imply Rita’s Rewind doesn’t fairly handle to carve out a spot for itself amongst the style’s all-timers, however it’s a fairly nice beat ‘em up that’ll make you wish to go well with up and make a journey again by means of time.
As somebody who completely loves arcade-style brawlers like this however doesn’t have a lot nostalgia for Power Rangers particularly, belief me after I say you don’t must know “The Lore™” to observe Rita’s Rewind. In the distant future, the yr 2023, Robo Rita decides to return in time along with her previous self, Rita Repulsa, and take out the Power Rangers. The 2023 lineup can’t cease her, so it’s as much as the unique 1993 crew to step up and care for enterprise. (Time journey, child! We’re making diagrams out of straws.) The story is fairly easy right here, but it surely permits Digital Eclipse to put in writing in some humorous moments and interactions (the Ritas, regardless of working collectively, don’t get alongside) and put sure enemies in areas they shouldn’t be.
That setup additionally provides to the entire “this can be a 90s arcade recreation” really feel, similar to the CRT filters, glorious, guitar-heavy soundtrack that may stand beside the style’s finest, and the completely gorgeous pixel artwork. Arcade video games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and X-Men – in addition to fashionable follow-ups like Shredder’s Revenge – labored partially as a result of they nailed a vibe, not as a result of their tales made logical sense, and Rita’s Rewind will get that. You’re not right here for the lore; you’re right here to kick some butt as a Power Ranger.
In numerous methods, RIta’s Rewind adheres to the requirements of the fashionable, retro-style beat ‘em up. The gameplay isn’t overly complicated: you’ve acquired a primary assault combo, a throw if some mook will get too shut for consolation, a double bounce, rising and falling assaults, a working kick, a dodge, and a screen-clearing tremendous assault you possibly can unleash as soon as your meter is full. If you wish to pull off a sick combo past that, you’d higher be taking part in with a pal who’s keen to throw dudes at you so you possibly can juggle ‘em. Streets of Rage 4 this ain’t.
What it’s, then, is a three-hour beat ‘em up constructed on the basics that make the style nice: characters which might be simply fascinating sufficient (the Rangers — Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, and Pink — are kind of the identical functionally), enemies which might be enjoyable to combat, cool environments that vary from a theme park to a poisonous waste dump, engaging Easter eggs and unlockables to search out, and distinctive boss fights, like the wonderful one towards Bones or the goofy brawl with Chunky Chicken. Rita’s Rewind has all of that. It feels nice to play, the degrees are memorable, the enemies drive you to adapt on the fly, and the bosses are a ton of enjoyable. And, after all, it’s all even higher in co-op – as of launch, you possibly can play with as much as six folks regionally (aside from on PlayStation, which is at present capped at 4, however Digital Eclipse plans to carry that quantity as much as six in a future replace), although sadly on-line co-op continues to be to come back in a free post-release replace and might be restricted to 2 gamers when it does arrive.
All that’s to say: beat ‘em ups are type of a magic trick, the key sauce could be onerous to establish, however you’ll know when it’s not there. In Rita’s Rewind? It’s positively there. But Digital Eclipse wasn’t content material to simply trot out a superb Power Rangers-themed brawler and name it a day. One of Rita’s Rewind’s highlights is its Super Scaler segments, which plop you into both the cockpit of the Megazord, the motive force’s seat of a bike, or behind the controls of your individual particular person Zord. These sections are, for probably the most half, fairly nice, although sure ones could be irritating.
In basic, they function like arcade basic Space Harrier. You zoom towards the display screen by means of a pseudo-3D stage, chasing down a boss that Rita has jumbo-sized after you’ve overwhelmed them in a fistfight, or simply rolling by means of Putties should you’re in your bike. These sections are each visually spectacular and a ton of enjoyable as you dodge incoming fireplace, shoot down enemies, and purchase power-ups like missiles or the Double Shot. I beloved all the motorbike segments, however the Dinozord ones have been extra blended, partially due to some fairly loopy problem spikes.
Taking the flawed hit or lacking a bounce in your Zord can price you one among your restricted lives, and it’s onerous to dodge all the stuff coming at you as a result of there’s usually a lot on-screen directly. Certain Zord segments took my co-op companion and I a number of tries simply because we saved shedding lives to single hits or missed jumps. When they work, these segments are nice, and supply some fascinating differentiation between characters (the Pink Ranger’s pterodactyl is exclusive in that it could possibly fly, as an illustration, making it simpler to keep away from assaults). When they don’t, nevertheless, they are often fairly depressing. Every proceed I spent throughout Rita’s Rewind was in a Zord stage. There’s definitely extra good than unhealthy right here, however the unhealthy… effectively, it’s notable.
The Megazord sections, which function the cap to any given boss combat, are additionally extra blended. You can’t lose throughout these encounters, which is superior, however they are often irritating differently. You pilot the Megazord in first individual, dodging the boss’s ranged assaults and charged strikes till you will get shut sufficient to land some punches, which prices your Power Sword, in levels, for the ultimate blow. Getting hit knocks you again and also you lose any cost in a stage you haven’t absolutely constructed up (and in co-op, taking sufficient hits switches pilots, as effectively). That’s all superb and good, however the subject is that the boss can simply bounce away from you while you get shut, so your objective is just not solely to get in with out making too many errors, you additionally must get fortunate and hope the boss truly helps you to punch them. And should you’re unhealthy at dodging their projectiles, it could possibly get very outdated, in a short time, particularly in co-op. (In one other weird twist, these ranges add much more to your rating than the beat ‘em up ranges do, which feels odd on condition that Rita’s Rewind is a beat ‘em up in the beginning.)
So the Super Scaler ranges are a blended bag, however the further one-off concepts definitely aren’t. Whether it’s a Super Scaler part aboard a rollercoaster, the compulsory elevator stage, or wild time journey mechanics, Rita’s Rewind is at its finest when it is experimenting. Take the time journey, as an illustration. Sometimes, Rita’s goons may have giant tanks carrying the crystals that make time journey doable – damaging these tanks will trigger time to rewind, placing you and your enemies in precisely the identical place you have been earlier than the assault. It additionally resets your tremendous bar, so you possibly can spend it, set off the rewind, and do it once more till you are taking out the crystal. It encourages good play whereas livening up in any other case customary encounters.
Speaking of cool one-offs, between missions you’ll hang around on the Juice Bar, the place you possibly can discuss to skilled losers Bulk and Skull, verify in with Ernie, and see how any of the characters you’ve rescued over the course of the journey, like Mr. Caplan and Ms. Appleby, are doing. The coolest factor in regards to the Juice Bar, although, is the arcade video games you possibly can play. These are model new, authentic video games designed to reply one easy query: what arcade video games have been the Power Rangers taking part in throughout their downtime?
Each one is lacking a component, however should you discover it out in one among Rita’s Rewind’s ranges, you unlock that recreation for good. They’re fairly grand, whether or not you’re taking part in Karate Chopshop (suppose Mortal Kombat’s Test Your Might), Drive Bomber (a racing recreation the place you attempt to blow up different automobiles and keep away from the injury your bombs trigger), or Nanopilot (Asteroids, however you’re making an attempt to protects cells from invading viruses). They’re actually enjoyable, and my co-op companion and I usually discovered ourselves stopping by for a run or two between missions. If I’ve one grievance in regards to the Juice Bar, it’s that I want you could possibly change Rangers right here between missions as a substitute of getting to again all the way in which out and re-select your save file. That’s type of a bummer, particularly since there’s no choice to change Rangers if it’s good to use a proceed.
That mentioned, Rita’s Rewind isn’t brief on replay worth. Beating the marketing campaign unlocks the Green Ranger to allow that sixth (at present non-PlayStation) co-op slot, and there’s excessive scores to chase, S-ranks and deathless runs to attain, new difficulties to beat, collectibles to search out, and a velocity run mode. There’s lots to do right here after you’ve rolled credit for the primary time, and I can see Rita’s Rewind changing into a staple in my beat ‘em up library.
