It would have made sense, right? A side scrolling Power Rangers arcade brawler in the style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time or Streets of Rage, but it never happened in the golden age of the genre. Following the arcade brawler’s new lease on life in recent years, Digital Eclipse is here to finally make it happen in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, with a reveal trailer having come out of today’s Summer Game Fest showcase.
And the new Power Rangers game looks quite good indeed, reminiscent of the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge as a real labor of love to do the genre and subject matter justice. The make or break for a game like this is definitely how it feels in the hand, but I can already tell Rita’s Rewind nails the look and sound, with gorgeous, detailed pixel art environments and one of those jammin’ chiptune soundtracks you would have expected out of an old Konami arcade cabinet.
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I was also impressed with the variety of weird 2D graphics tricks and gameplay changeups on display in the game’s first trailer: it looks like Rita’s Rewind will have a Mode-7 style, faux 3D shooter game mode, a roller coaster level, and a playful sensibility for transforming enemy sprites, with one opponent growing to colossal size in the middle of a fight.
I’m not exactly an authority on Power Rangers lore here—I was born late enough that I was doing the moves in front of my TV along with Goku instead of the Green Ranger—but I’m sure the time travel story is suitably respectful of the rich tapestry of Power Rangers canon, such as it is. If nothing else, I’ve got enough secondhand nostalgia through my older brother to appreciate the love and effort that seems to be going into Rita’s Rewind.
We won’t have long to wait for Rita’s Rewind either: the Power Rangers brawler is set to release this year, and you can wishlist it on Steam.
