Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (video game)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Developer(s) Natsume (SNES)
Banpresto, Nova (Genesis)
Sims (Game Gear)
Tom Create (Game Boy)
Publisher(s) Bandai (SNES, GB)
Sega (Genesis, Game Gear, Sega CD)
Designer(s) Game Gear:
Hiroyuki Kikkawa
Tetsuya Takei
Hiroko Kato
Composer(s) SNES:
Iku Mizutani
Kinuyo Yamashita
Game Gear:
Keisuke Nishino
Platform(s) SNES, Sega CD, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy, Sega Game Gear
Release date(s)

SNES

  • JP November 25, 1995
  • NA September 1994
  • PAL 1994

Genesis/Mega Drive

Game Gear

Game Boy

Genre(s) Fighting game/Scrolling fighter/Action/Platformer/Adventure
Mode(s) Single player, Versus

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is the title of five different video games based on the television series of the same name, which were released for the Sega Genesis (a.k.a. Mega Drive), Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Gear, and Sega CD. The Nintendo versions of the game were released by Bandai, while the Sega versions were published by Sega themselves.

Super NES

The first level in the SNES version of the game showing the roster of Rangers and Jason fighting Putty Patrolers.

The SNES version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a side-scrolling action game composed of seven stages, with two different gameplay styles. In the initial five areas, the player controls one of the five original Power Rangers (Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Billy, and Trini) as they're sent to a location that is being invaded by Rita Repulsa's Putty Patrolers. Unfortunately, the game was developed before the before the introduction of the 6th Ranger (Tommy), so he is not featured in this version. The player begins the area as their selected character's civilian form, who will fight enemies using their unique hand-to-hand fighting style. When the player confronts that level's boss, they morph into their Ranger form, which fully refills the health meter and enables a greater range of attacks, wall jumps, and body blows. As a Power Ranger, the player is armed with that Ranger's signature Power Weapon and a special "bomb" attack which damages all enemies on the screen. The bomb is a one-time attack and can only be replenished by picking up a rare "bomb" item in the stage.

After level 5, a cutscene will play where each Ranger teleports onto the screen, with an outline of their Dino Zord in the background. When all five Rangers and Zords have appeared, the combined robot form of the Megazord will appear. The MMPR theme music plays in the background during this sequence.

In the final two areas, the player will control the Megazord and fight against a giant monster. The Megazord is equipped with the Power Sword, which charges up with special attacks using an energy meter on the bottom of the screen. When the enemy monster is defeated, Megazord charges up its sword for a finishing move. There are also two-player versions of these Megazord battles accessible via passcodes in which the second player can control the enemy monster.

The seven bosses in the game are all based on villains which were featured during the first season of the series.

Reception

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a solid score of 6.5 out of 10 but a unanimously negative assessment, saying it has poor animation and dull level design and "is simply way too easy for experienced players." They praised the character selection feature, but concluded that even Power Ranger fans would find the game entertaining for only a short while.[1]

Development

The Super NES version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was developed by Natsume, who previously worked on the Chojin Sentai Jetman video game for the Family Computer released exclusively in Japan. The Famicom Jetman game feature a structure similar to MMPR on the Super NES, in which the game consisted of standard side-scrolling levels where the player controls one of the rangers and fight against human-sized enemies, followed by end-level boss battles where the player controls the team's giant robot in a fighting game-like combat system. Natsume would go on to develop all the subsequent Power Rangers on the Super NES (Power Ranger Rangers: The Movie, Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition and Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers), as well as the Gekisou Sentai Carranger video game for the Sufami Turbo add-on in Japan.

Game Boy

The Game Boy version is a side-scrolling action game as well with five levels, each consisting of two segments. In the first segment, the player will control one of the five original Power Rangers as they fight the Putty Patrollers throughout the stage in order to reach their goal. Once again, as in with the SNES version, no 6th Ranger. The player can switch between a standard punch attack or a Power Weapon attack that will gradually consume their life gauge when used. When the player reaches the end of the level, they will control Megazord and fight a giant monster. Like the rangers, the Megazord can switch a regular sword attack and a lightning bolt sword attack that will consume a great portion of the life gauge.

The five bosses featured in the game are all recurring villains from the first season of the show, with the exception of King Sphinx (who only appeared in one episode).

Genesis

The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version is a one-on-one competitive fighting game, featuring two different game modes, a Scenario Mode where the player competes against a series of CPU-controlled opponents and a Battle Mode for two players. Like most fighting games, the objective is for both players to fight each other until either one drains the vitality of the other. Each character has two basic attacks (normal and fierce), as well as a set of command-based special moves.

In the Scenario Mode, the matches consist of two segments: the player will fight against a regular sized monster as one of the rangers during the first segment and after the defeating the monster the first time, they will battle a giant version of the same. Initially, only the five original rangers and the Megazord, are available. The scenario mode consists of five stages with the following adversaries in order of appearance.

A cutscene after Level 2 shows the Rangers freeing Green Ranger from his evil spell and joining the team, making him a playable character from this point forward. The playable form of Green Ranger does not have the Sword of Darkness like his Evil counterpart, but he does summon the Dragonzord for the giant-monster half of the level.

In Battle Mode, the player can choose between the six rangers, the two zords, and one of the four monsters in a standard best-two-out-of-three match. The Megazord, the Dragonzord, and Cyclopsis cannot be matched against any of the six rangers and vice versa. Additionally, neither player can choose the same character. A special cheat code will allow the player to play as Evil Green Ranger in Battle Mode. Like the Evil Green Ranger the player faces in Scenario Mode, he is identical to the regular Green Ranger with the added ability to use the Sword of Darkness. Unlike the regular six rangers, Evil Green Ranger may be used to fight Megazord, Dragonzord or Cyclopsis.

GamePro panned the game, chiefly for the one-dimensional gameplay and unbalanced difficulty.[2]

Game Gear

The Game Gear version is a fighting game that is similar, but not identical to the Mega Drive/Genesis version. In this version, the player has three basic attacks (one which is done by pressing the two action buttons simultaneously), a throw, and three special moves per character. The game consists of three game modes: a single-player story game which features a series of plot-based battles against an assortment of enemies, a single-player VS. game, and a 2-player Link game in which two players battle each other using the link cable.[3]

The Story Game consists of seven stages, each consisting of two segments. In the first segment, the player controls a member of the Power Rangers as they fight against a series of Putty Patrols sent in by Rita, as well as occasional encounters with Goldar, before confronting the stage boss at the end. In the second segment, the player will control one of the Zords and fight a giant version of the stage boss. Only Stage 4 deviates from this format by having the Zord segment occur before the Ranger segment. Initially only the five original Power Rangers are available at the start, along with the Megazord. After defeating the Green Ranger in Stage 4, he will reform and join the other rangers as a playable character, bringing with him the Dragonzord, which can be used during the giant monster segments in place of the Megazord. The player can also use the Dragonzord Fighting Mode as well. The Story Game features the following stages and monsters.

In the Vs. Game and Link Game, the player can choose to play as any of the game's sixteen characters fight against an opponent in a round-based match. The six Power Rangers and the Putties cannot be matched against the three Zords and Cyclopsis, while the Dragonzord Fighting Mode cannot be matched against the regular Dragonzord nor against the Megazord. The same character cannot be used by both players. After completing Story Mode, Dream Mode is unlocked as a Vs. option which allows any character or Zord to battle any other character or Zord, including character vs. same character, human-sized character vs. Zord, and Dragonzord Fighting Mode vs. Megazord or Dragonzord.

GamePro described the game as "a satisfying blend of fighting and adventure, perfect for beginning players." They commented that the game's story mode is simplistic and very easy, but enjoyable, and is enhanced by the ability to control any of the Power Rangers in the game's other modes.[3] Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the large number of moves and the ability to play as the Megazord, and scored the game a 6.2 out of 10.[4]

Sega CD

The Sega CD version is an FMV-based quick time event game. The game uses footage from the show, and the player must press certain buttons at action sequences. The game features ten levels covering five different episodes ("Day of the Dumpster", "Green with Evil", "The Green Candle", "The Crystal of Nightmares", and "Doomsday").

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Review Crew: Power Rangers". Electronic Gaming Monthly (62) (EGM Media, LLC). September 1994. p. 32.
  2. ↑ "ProReview: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". GamePro (66) (IDG). January 1995. p. 49.
  3. 1 2 "ProReview: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers". GamePro (65) (IDG). December 1994. p. 218.
  4. ↑ "Review Crew: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". Electronic Gaming Monthly (65) (EGM Media, LLC). December 1994. p. 46.

External links

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