In case you missed it, I’m a massive Power Rangers fan and so I was hyped when Rita’s Rewind was announced. I’m still waiting for a fighting game akin to the classic Power Rangers game for the SEGA Game Gear, but I’ll be patient.
Before I dive too far into my thoughts, I do want to get some facts out of the way. If you play the game on PlayStation, then you’re limited to 4-player couch co-op while all other platforms support 6-player couch co-op.
If you want to play online, Xbox gamers can have up to six players across two consoles and PlayStation and PC support 2-player co-op. The team is working to expand online play with the feature on the Switch expected “early in the new year” as that update awaits Nintendo’s approval.
There is cross-gen play (PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S), but there is no cross-platform play. Finally, the game is not terribly long and should take most people just a few hours to clear it.
Let’s start by talking about what Rita’s Rewind got right in my opinion. Having the option to have up to six players is always a win in my book.
Sadly, I don’t have that many friends nearby who would play this game with me, but a guy can dream. Second, there are various filters you can apply if you want a more retro aesthetic. I kind of liked 720p but my wife felt like she couldn’t see anything if any of the filters were on and so it is definitely a matter of personal taste.
In addition, the story is short and really nothing special, but it is a little unique as it utilizes Robo Rita from the Once & Always special time traveling and throwing in things like the evil Green Ranger along with other monsters that Mighty Morphin fans will recognize.
In addition, there are fun collectibles for you to gather (there’s gotta be some reason to replay the levels, right?) that reference other monsters from the beloved series and you can rescue NPCs such as Mrs. Appleby and Marge (big points if you know who that is without looking it up).
One of the greatest strengths (although not perfect) of Rita’s Rewind is that there are essentially three different gameplay modes you’ll switch between as you go through the story.
Primarily, you’ll be a Ranger doing the good old fashioned beat ‘em up. You beat up various Putty Patrollers and Tenga Warriors and more to progress through.
Then, you’ll have to hop into your Zord for a rail shooter experience similar to Star Fox. Finally, the Zords combine to form the Megazord for an experience most like a first person Punch-Out!!. Each of these has its strengths and weaknesses, but I do like the variety.
Unfortunately, Rita’s Rewind does have problems. Thankfully, a fair number of complaints I had were improved upon in the update that went out on December 24 for Nintendo Switch.
If it were not for that update, this game would have a much lower score honestly. I also have faith that the Digital Eclipse team will continue to make improvements to the game as they go through and work on implementing their online goals.
My first complaint is that the Rangers are all cookie cutter characters. There’s literally no reason to select one over another except you like that color more. While this helps fans be able to pick their favorite Ranger without worrying that they won’t match the player’s playstyle, I feel like it makes the game much shallower than it could be.
There’s not even a simple leveling system like the one in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge which rewards sticking with any given character with more health, more special gauge, etc. Even the Zords are essentially the same with the exception of the Pterydactyl Zord which is genuinely overpowered because it flies and therefore automatically avoids pits and ground debris.
Another big complaint is that the Megazord sequences are frustrating. It boils down to basically moving side to side to avoid the enemy’s attacks and when you manage to get close enough you try to wallop them.
The side to side dodging is very swingy and so it’s incredibly easy to accidentally just go from one side to the other instead of returning to the center for your attack. In addition, if you get hit at all, the monster retreats, requiring you to once again approach the monster to attempt to beat them up.
It all just gets frustrating, especially if you’re dodging projectiles and then the monster summons a projectile as you go to punch them and therefore it all gets reset. This is especially frustrating when playing with younger gamers. The plus side is that I don’t think it’s possible to lose during the Megazord stage and it does cycle through each player after every three hits or so.
At the end of the day, Rita’s Rewind is not a bad game but I was disappointed in it. First, I’m always sad whenever crossplay is not a feature. Second, the lack of individualism among the characters and no kind of level up or power up just feels bad in a modern context.
Third, while the December 24 update (earlier for other platforms) was a godsend and raised this game from bad to decent, I hope that the team continues to make tweaks to improve the game. There’s a really nice skeleton but maybe leg day got skipped one too many times.
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