Later this year, Digital Eclipse will make magic yet again. Along with its tireless effort on Atari 50 expansions, it has a heck of a brawler coming. That game is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, based on the classic franchise. And, yes, it’s looking good.
Before we suit up and whup baddies, however, we need to know more about the game. With that, industry veteran and Digital Eclipse content editor Dan Amrich stopped by to chat with us. Closely working on Rita Rewind’s story, he knows the importance of all things Power Rangers. And we didn’t even need to bribe him with Krispy Kreme!
The interview with Dan is below, and we thank him for taking the time to chat. Before Rita overtakes the city, of course
First up, what inspired you guys to work on a Power Rangers beat-em-up? Was it just time for them to return? Were you inspired by other arcade brawlers that have been a hit lately?
A lot of the devs on our team grew up in arcades, so brawlers are just part of our collective DNA here. We were just finishing up work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection — where we spent a lot of time with Konami’s games like Turtles In Time — when we heard that Hasbro was interested in building their Retro Arcade brand and making new games with classic gameplay.
So we realized, wait, how come the Power Rangers never had a coin-op brawler like TMNT or The Simpsons or the X-Men? So that became our goal: Give the original 1993 MMPR squad the game they needed 30 years ago, but never did. And Hasbro was very open to that idea.
What can you tell us about the story that doesn’t go into spoilery territory? We know Rita’s back, at the very least.
We’re using the Netflix special MMPR: Once and Always as a creative springboard. That established two important things for us: Robo Rita exists, and she has access to a time portal.
The question we then asked is “Instead of using her portal to kidnap Rangers from different eras, what if she simply goes back to the beginning and tries to wipe out the Rangers before they have a chance to get started?” A Robo Rita from present day teaming up with her former self — and knowing all the mistakes she’d made over the last 30 years — would be a really wicked and fun combination.
So our core setup is an alternate history of the original team of Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Billy, and Zack, where the past is being altered from what fans know, but the characters themselves don’t realize they’re battling the combined power of two Ritas. Time-travel stories are fun.
Be honest — how many Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episodes did you watch for research as you put this game together?
Most of the game’s events focus on the first half of Season 1, so I focused a lot of my character studies on the first 20 or so episodes, but our time-travel angle lets us sprinkle in some fun references to later seasons. For instance, the Tenga Warriors don’t appear until Season 3, but Robo Rita decides to introduce them earlier to cause more chaos.
Talk to us about the beat-em-up gameplay. What can gamers expect when they team up with their ranger of choice?
Since this is truly in the spirit of an arcade game, we wanted to preserve that feeling that you’re a hero from the start. Everybody has a favorite Ranger, but they all have skills; each has unique animations and a special super attack. For instance, Zack’s idle animation shows a little more bounce than the others, because that’s part of his dance-based Hip Hop Kido style. When Kimberly performs her ground smash attack, she has a quick animation that shows her sticking the landing, like the gymnast she is. So we’ve tried to show the personalities of each Ranger whenever we can, even if it’s small flourishes that only big fans might spot.
There are also 3D racing sequences of some kind within the game. How do those tie into the story, and what can players expect from these?
About 70% of the game is the brawler, but the rest is a nod to the other forms of arcade gameplay from that early 90s era — “super scaler” graphics that you might find in games like Space Harrier or OutRun. Since we’re able to make an optimized version of a 90s arcade game, we wanted to offer some variety and figured that would be a fun way to nod to gaming history at the same time. Each player will get to pilot their own Dinozord during these 3D sequences, chasing kaiju villains and blasting targets at the same time. The Megazord battles will also be in the super-scaler mode, where you’ll be in the cockpit of the Megazord for the first time.
How closely did you work with Hasbro on development of this game?
Hasbro is now the owner of the MMPR IP, and they’ve been very supportive of our creative goals. We pitched them on the idea and they said “Sounds good, but you have to show us.” So along the way, they’ve had full visibility and approval on the script, the art assets, gameplay videos and playables — and the response has consistently been “That looks great, keep going!” So we’re honored that they’re offering us so much creative freedom and letting us simply make the best game we can make.
Tell us about the music. It sounds great so far!
We are lucky to have composer Sean Bialo on board for our soundtrack. We were able to license a few key themes from the show but most of the music is going to feel spot-on for the era of arcade gaming we’re targeting. I have offered live demos of the game at events for several days at a time and I’m still not tired of hearing Sean’s music!
You recently had a showcase at Gamescom and many of the hands-on previews are absolutely glowing. How does this make you feel as a whole about the game?
The reactions at Gamescom, PAX West, and Portland Retro Gaming Expo were strongly positive. We hoped fans would see the care we’re putting in, but if anything, it seems we underestimated how happy this was going to make people. Seeing fans pick up the controller at PAX, figure out the controls pretty much instantly, then start laughing and talking with their friends during multiplayer sessions really was a relief — we feel like we’re on the right track, and we’re going to be able to offer something that satisfies fans of 90s-style arcade games but still honors the legacy of classic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. And if you’re a fan of both, we can’t wait for you to try it yourself.
Is there any word on a release date, or just sometime in 2024?
We are getting very close to finalizing our date. One of the hurdles is, we want to coordinate a launch on all platforms on the same day and time, so that does require some fancy planning. But we’re also using every last second we have to tweak and improve the gameplay, dialogue, and all those other little things that fans will expect to be top-shelf!
If successful, would you consider revisiting other classic franchises? We hear the Street Sharks need to make a comeback.
In addition to hopes that we’ll be able to tackle other eras of Mighty Morphin Power Ranger history, we’ve had requests for pretty much every 90s TV franchise you can think of. We’re open to anything, but for now, our focus is on those teenagers with attitude from 1993. The “if successful” part is really the key to your question, so we’re really focused on making a game worthy of people saying they want more.
Dan Amrich. (If he were wearing Power Ranger armor.) Borrowed from Halloweencostumes.com.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind releases later this year for consoles and PC.
Thanks to Digital Eclipse for working closely with us on the interview. Check out our interview with Chris Kohler, as well as our reviews of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord and Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition!
