Power Rangers is one of those franchises absolutely begging for a large-scale renaissance. It’s something I’ve spoken about at length before, but aside from a long-gestating movie reboot, there’s been nothing of much note outside of regular annual seasons and the 2017 film.

Out now on modern consoles and PC, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind aims to change that. It clearly takes a lot of inspiration from other recent beat-em-ups like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge or the Scott Pilgrim arcade game, but how does it hold up as its own experience?

Lifting heavily from the current multiverse craze, Rita’s Rewind sees the Rangers’ age-old foe warp timelines by blasting herself into the past, with our roster of teenagers following. What results is a five-episode blitz through some of the original iteration’s most iconic story beats, complete with the same structure fans of the show will warm to.

A fight on a rooftop in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind.

From a gameplay standpoint, Rita’s Rewind is a side-scrolling beat-em-up harkening back to classic franchises like Streets of Rage and Double Dragon. As one of the five main Rangers you lay waste to seemingly endless waves of Putties, usually taking on one of Rita’s grunts at the end of each stage. The combat doesn’t reinvent the wheel but is perfectly serviceable, purposefully keeping it to a three-button approach without many combos or more complex inputs. You can punch, kick, jump, or combine the three, but it doesn’t really get more in-depth than that.

There’s also no tangible gameplay difference between each Ranger, meaning you can dive into one and not necessarily need to test others out. For the purposes of this review I went through all five of the playable characters, and aside from animations where they pull out their unique weapon, nothing really changes. It’s an unfair comparison to make given the latter game’s quality, but compared to the depth of the combat in Shredder’s Revenge, it doesn’t hold up a candle.

Fortunately, one thing Rita’s Rewind does differently is the array of special levels that shake up the gameplay entirely. Just as with an episode of the show, most sections end with an on-rails vehicular section where you take on the boss, before a first-person punch-up where you control the Megazord. These are really unique sections that help break up the slightly barebones combat, taking the 2D perspective and adding novel forms of depth.

An on-rails shooting section in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind.

During these parts, the team at Digital Eclipse toys with other genres in very creative ways. Some of the vehicular levels feel like bullet hells with swarms of enemies to defeat on rails, which is really cool to run through for the first time. They’re far from balanced, though, because as it stands Kimberley’s jet is so much more effective in these levels, hovering above a lot of obstacles and far more manoeuvrable the rest of the time.

The team’s creative DNA also seeps into some of the enemy designs, with Putties occasionally having two heads – and a few instances of especially ‘punky’ foes. Sparks of flair like this are fun, and it’s clear that the game was developed by dedicated Power Rangers fans.

The biggest issue with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind isn’t its quality. The gameplay might be shallow and lacking in too much impetus to replay each level, and difficulty spikes in terms of enemy density and environmental hazards towards the end are annoying, but the primary issue here is a lack of meat on the bone.

A fight in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind.

All things told, I cleared the story mode of Rita’s Rewind in two hours and 32 minutes. For transparency I was provided a code for this review, but had I forked out the requisite £25 for that experience, I’m sure I would’ve felt aggrieved. The game does attempt to mitigate its length, including extra playable characters after you beat it for the first time and offering speed runs and time trials, but there’s definitely a conversation to be had about the mileage you’ll get.

Regardless, it’s practically impossible not to recommend Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind to fans of the franchise. Its retro presentation and solid beat-em-up mechanics are a perfect fit for the series’ aesthetics, and more than anything it’s just nice to see Power Rangers back on the map again.

★★★

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is out now. Reviewed on Steam Deck/PC. A code was provided by the publisher for review purposes.