When Power Rangers came on the scene and took over the pop culture spotlight kids not only watched the show religiously – I should know, I was one of them – but they reached a point where they would consume just about anything and everything they could get their hands on if it had Power Rangers on them. From action figures to coloring books, it ran the gamut. Naturally there was the question: What about video games? Considering how hot the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo were during this time it seemed like a natural thing, and Bandai delivered with these classics:
While some were better than others, there was no doubt that Power Rangers had grown from a small TV show into something much more, and Saban and Bandai took full advantage of it. Now, many years later, despite attempts at reinvigorating the IP, things have fallen flat. So what was Hasbro to do?
Well, enter Digital Eclipse with a surprise no one was expecting.
As someone who had already played TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, I already could tell from this trailer and the launch trailer that this was going to be a 2-D Beat-em-up platformer with all the pixels you could shake a Power Sword at, but how would the gameplay feel?
Well, having bought my digital copy, I can say that this game is a morphinominal one. Not only does it have those same kind of gameplay elements that the early SNES/Genesis ones had, but it adds new elements to it that make it distinct from what’s come before.
So while you have the tried-and-true fighting/platforming elements that most games from the late 80s/early 90s would have, there’s also platforming on rails when you are either in the zord/motorcycle stages. And those stages will definitely make you feel like you are in said cycle/zord, trying not to run into things while at the same time get to your objective, and it’s tweaked just enough for you to get that feel of immersion which really adds to the gameplay a great deal.
Speaking of immersion, when you get the part where you are in the fully assembled Megazord, you definitely feel like you are going head-to-head with Rita’s henchmen. From dodging attacks to then being able to give jabs/combos of your own, the developers spared no expense in really giving the audience true immersion in this game. And it shows.
Plus, with each successful attack you land on Rita’s monster you charge up the meter for the Megazord’s Power Sword which can then be used for the final finisher.
While I haven’t completed the game as of this post, I am already hooked on this game and what it brings. Though my only experience with a Power Rangers game was the Game Gear version of MMPR, I still get just as much joy playing Rita’s Rewind as I did playing on my GG.
So if you haven’t yet had a chance to check out this game yet, do so. Especially if you are a fan of 2-D beat-em-ups. And if you were a kid during the original seasons of Power Rangers, then you will love this game even more.
As one developer said best, “It is an extremely emotional franchise.”
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