Ever since video games have been popular, franchises have wanted a slice of the action. Everyone from the Teletubbies to Playboy has had a game and Power Rangers is no different and as this is a Power Rangers site I have put it on myself to review every PR game released.
The first Power Rangers game released was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1994 with versions released on different consoles within months of each other. There where versions for the SNES, the Mega Drive/Genesis, the Game Gear, the Game Boy and even one for the Sega CD/Mega CD the following year each with their own gameplay and style so first I’ll start with the SNES one.
The SNES version was developed by Japanese company Natsume who previously worked on the game for Chōjin Sentai Jetman. The game is a side-scrolling action game taking elements of Beat ‘em ups, platformers and even fighting games in latter stages with each level giving it’s own form of challenges from jumping under a steel bridge to swimming in a sewer. You take control of one of the 5 original Rangers as you battle though the stages, staring out in their normal human form until they Morph later in the level until you take on the boss.
Each of the civilian modes of the Rangers have their own fighting style fitting their character; Jason used more Karate style moves, Billy is more passive with ducking while he’s fighting, Zack uses his hip hop kido, Kimberly using more gymnastic style mores and Trini using a style between Jason and Kimbly. Even though Jason’s fighting stance gives me a cheap giggle. But as Rangers the moves are virtually the same sans one power weapon move even the character models are just the Red Ranger recolored. Even when playing as the Pink Ranger I thought something was wrong with the TV colour until I saw Kimberly was whacking putties with her bow like it was a sword.
The control are simple but work really well, B jumps, Y attacks, X launches special attack bombs while a Ranger and Y with Up uses the Ranger’s power weapon. At no point in the game did I feel like the controls weren’t responding. The graphics have aged well representing everything well with a nice colourful style. The putties looks great with different colours represent different strengths, the bosses are taken from the show and easily recognizable for fans. Later in the game you get the chance to play as the Megazord and there’s even a cheat code to play two player. Each level is designed very well feeling different from each other and never feeling repetitive.
The music is fantastic with a 16 bit arrangement of the classic theme on the title screen with voice samples for Go Go Power Rangers, if you like nostalgia it will explode your mind (and maybe your pants). The stage music is also great giving each level it’s own identity but never going to far from the Power Ranger style but the boss music is recycled and that can get annoying especially after getting stuck on a few.
GRADE
Overall I say this is a good game for anyone want a Power Rangers game or just a simple action game if you’re looking for a more complex it might be worth going elsewhere. Controls, music and graphics are top notch for a game of this age. I would have liked at least a separate character model for the female characters so not all of them looked like roided muscle heads. I wish the two player was part of the game and not just a cheat, two player with the normal stages would have been a nice addition too. One for all the fans to check out. 4/5
