If there’s one factor you may’t accuse Digital Eclipse of, it’s resting on its morals.
Final month the Atari-owned studio launched Tetris Eternally, the third entry in its distinctive Gold Grasp Sequence assortment of playable retro documentaries and arguably the perfect of the bunch thus far.
Not content material to shut the yr out with this 5-star assortment of retro gems, the studio is rounding off 2024 with an old-school sport of its personal, one which lends a pseudo-16-bit type to the Mighty Morphin’ Energy Rangers (particularly these first few seasons from 1993-95).
The sport’s plot makes an attempt to bridge the hole between that authentic collection and final yr’s Netflix reunion film Energy Rangers: As soon as & At all times (although don’t fear should you haven’t seen it). That film’s fundamental villain, Robo Rita, travels 30 years again in time to search out the unique Rita Repulsa and the pair crew as much as deliver down the Energy Rangers.
In a little bit of brain-bending time journey shenanigans, the Energy Rangers on this sport have actually simply met Zordon and been given their powers, so that they’re fully inexperienced – nicely, they’re crimson, blue, black, pink and yellow to be exact – and are subsequently discovering the sport’s number of vibrant enemies concurrently the participant.
It’s an fascinating twist on nostalgia as a result of the entire “bear in mind this man?” gimmick lands otherwise when the protagonist clearly doesn’t, as a result of they’re solely simply assembly them for the primary time.
Regardless, all the above is principally fan service, with entertainingly written cutscene dialogue between every stage. The meat of the sport is clearly in its beat ‘em up sections, that are designed with the perfect of the style in thoughts.
Fight is simple sufficient with a typical combo assault, a leap kick, a double-jump and a floor pound. The actual game-changer, nevertheless, is an upwards thrust assault carried out with Up + Assault, which fires your Ranger diagonally into the air.
Your combo ends with a transfer that pops the enemy into the air, so it’s doable to combo them, launch them upwards, pop them greater with the upwards thrust assault, slam them again to the bottom with a leaping kick, then juggle them after they bounce. It’s not essential to get by means of the sport, however we’ll be damned if it isn’t deeply satisfying to drag off.
Additionally within the ‘you don’t must have this however it helps’ class is a information of the beat ‘em up style. The sport has loads of in-jokes that improve the expertise for many who get them, from the TMNT: Turtles in Time nod close to the beginning of the sport, to the subway prepare with greater than a passing resemblance to Ultimate Struggle, to the fairground enemies on big balls á la The Simpsons arcade sport.
Apparently, Digital Eclipse has determined {that a} straight beat ‘em up isn’t sufficient for this sport, with 4 different gameplay varieties showing in sure phases. Maybe probably the most notable of those are the rail shooter sequences, the place you’re taking management of your Ranger’s particular Dinozord and tackle numerous enemies earlier than going through a boss on the finish.
These really feel like extra visually spectacular takes on one thing like Star Fox, and a few of the later phases can get a tad on the irritating aspect, particularly one part with a leaping part which results in immediate loss of life.
You may make issues simpler in these phases, to an extent, by taking part in because the Pink Ranger, as a result of her pterodactyl Dinozord clearly can’t hit any objects on the bottom and doesn’t have to fret in regards to the leaping part. The best way its flying is delayed, nevertheless – it appears to comply with your cursor with some delay, maybe intentionally so as to add some problem – makes dodging enemy bullets fairly a problem.
Once in a while you’ll come throughout street phases which have the same over-the-shoulder viewpoint to the rail shooter sections however have you ever driving a motorcycle as an alternative. That is armed with a gun (giving us, should you’ll forgive us for being area of interest, critical NES Mach Rider vibes) and, in our view, these sections deal with higher than the rail shooter ranges.
Add to this a collection of first-person boss battles the place you’re taking management of the Megazord and should dodge a large monster’s assault – which is kind of like Punch-Out!! however to not an excessive diploma – and a light-weight gun shooter part on a rollercoaster, and the range within the sport actually can’t be questioned, even when they maybe don’t match as much as the beat ‘em up sections by way of sheer bliss.
There are even a couple of unlockable arcade video games, which might be performed on the Angel Grove Youth Middle (which acts as the sport’s hub space in between phases, the place you may chat with the hidden characters you’ve rescued, in addition to collection longstays Bulk and Cranium.
Given the sport’s 1993 setting, these arcade video games have one thing of an early ‘80s really feel to them – a youth centre’s not going to be shopping for cutting-edge cupboards, in spite of everything – and are all entertaining sufficient in their very own manner.
Our private favorite of those is Drive Bomber, which seems to be impressed by Halfway’s Spy Hunter however provides an fascinating bomb-dropping mechanic which feels just like the definition of a danger vs reward system.
The total bundle, with the beat ‘em up phases, the assorted different gameplay kinds and the unlockable arcade video games, ought to maintain you entertained for some time, however solely so long as you’re the kind of participant who doesn’t thoughts retreading outdated floor – as is the way in which of this style, this actually isn’t a protracted sport.
We began a sport on Regular issue and had been watching the credit roll after about two and a half hours, however the replay issue then is available in looking for the hidden collectibles in every stage, and making an attempt to get an S rank by beating it inside a sure time.
The one main draw back we had with the sport was the heroes’ voices. The music is totally excellent, that includes an amazing variation on what’s objectively among the best TV present themes of all time, however every character is proscribed to a small handful of soundbites that they’ll utter time and again. It begins to get annoying throughout the first couple of phases, and there’s a lot extra the place that got here from.
This apart, Rita’s Rewind is a wonderful try at a ‘new outdated’ sport that Energy Rangers followers ought to contemplate a must have, and everybody else ought to give critical consideration to trying out too.
