Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind Review (Zephwoof)
Pros:
-Retro pixel art style is pretty on point and even the 3D modeled zords and Megazord/Dragonzord look pretty damn good.
-Music's enjoyable and catchy
Cons:
-Pretty much everything else.
Let's make a list
1) The story continues after the fantastic Power Rangers: Once & Always as a "What If Robo Rita succeeded?" storyline. But it really isn't much more than "Monsters from other seasons show up before they should. Sometimes."
2) Gameplay is clunky and awful-feeling. Many have compared it to Shredder's Revenge and RIGHTFULLY SO. That game was a masterclass on how to make each individual character shine on their own while having fun combat and leveling systems. This, on the other hand, a game that released AFTER TMNT:SR, couldn't even be bothered to try cribbing notes. None of the rangers feel any different to one another and aside from cosmetic flair, they all fight the same. This isn't hard:
-Jason's balanced
-Zack's tanky
-Billy's got reach
-Trini has speed
-Kimberly's got ranged attacks.
There, I just did your work FOR you, Digital Eclipse.
3) Instant death pits do not kill you...unless they sometimes do. Only in Zord stages? What? Why?
4) Fighting was clearly intended for mulitple people, especially with the cheap attacks that bosses can hit you with. Unbalanced is not the way to go.
5) Why would you even bother advertising online co-op and then NOT HAVE IT BE READY!? TMNT:SR took extra time to get it right and we were all *fine* with that. Cook it til it's done, not give a halfassed "Oh it'll be later on." That's sheer laziness.
6) Difficulty spikes all over the place. On Normal, I'd be fine for a little bit, then have a boss kick my butt. Then the next boss would be fine and rando enemies would waste me easily.
7) Why even bother putting in a grab mechanic if it doesn't work 75% of the time? I couldn't activate it on my own and the game didn't bother explaining it during its training stage.
8) A brawler beat-em-up released in 2024 and you didn't put in either on-the-ground attacks or a Superjoy move (press Jump and Attack at the same time, clears immediate area around you at cost to health)? Are you freaking kidding me?
10) I get it, the Green Ranger was extremely tough for the OG Rangers to beat. But his boss fight is pretty much unfair. He can keep comboing you and chase you down WHILE DODGING. Hell's bells, he can *stunlock* you. That's unreasonable game design.
If I sound angry, I am. I really, *really* am. This game looked amazing and I feel I've been lied to, that this was pushed out in an "Eh, that'll do, good enough" state and that's just not acceptable for a $35 game. I did not beat it. I stopped when I kept dying to the Dragonzord fight and it made me RESTART the fight all over again. On Normal.
I'm also angry because I've been a Power Rangers/Super Sentai fan since I was a kid. It helped me grow up and, corny as it may sound, helped shape part of my moral code. Being like Billy was a goal to reach towards since I was that glasses-wearing nerd in school too. MMPR Once & Always showed how to pay tribute to where we came from and point us towards a future we can be proud of.
This is lazy, halfassed, unfair, and just plain dismissive towards a fanbase that's been craving a game like this since Shredder's Revenge came out.
I can't get my money back because I tried my best to like this. I put effort in but the game just will not let me enjoy it. So fine, you can have it.
You slapped us all in the face with this, Digital Eclipse. You and Hasbro both. I hope you're proud of yourselves. Because we sure as hell aren't.