Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (video game)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | |
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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 |
Platforms | SNES, Sega CD, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy, Sega Game Gear |
Release date(s) | SNES |
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.
Contents
Super NES
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. 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 Megazord Saber, 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.
- Area 1: Bones
- Area 2: Gnarly Gnome
- Area 3: Eye Guy
- Area 4: Genie
- Area 5: Dark Warrior
- Area 6: Mutitus (second form only)
- Area 7: Cyclopsis (two forms)
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]
Production
The gameplay engine is based on that of Chojin Sentai Jetman for the NES, based on the Super Sentai franchise of the same name. Both games are action-platformers, feature a two-act segment consisting of a team member in civilian form and in Ranger form, special attacks unique to each character that can be used once per level, and "Megazord" levels in the same style as a fighting game. Five years later, Toei would be so impressed by Bandai of America's efforts that they would release a game of the same style for the Super Famicom, Gekisō Sentai Carranger: Zenkai! Racer Senshi, based on the Super Sentai franchise of the same name.
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. 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).
- Level 1: Squatt
- Level 2: King Sphinx
- Level 3: Baboo
- Level 4: Goldar
- Level 5: Rita Repulsa
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version is a one-on-one competitive fighting game much like Capcom's Street Fighter II, featuring two different game modes, a 1-Player Scenario Mode and a 2-Player Battle Mode. 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.
- Minotaur
- Evil Green Ranger (summons the Dragonzord during the Zord battle portion)
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.
- Madam Woe
- Goldar
- Cyclopsis (a two-part Zord-only battle)
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.
- Stage 1: King Sphinx
- Stage 2: Knasty Knight
- Stage 3: Evil Green Ranger
- Stage 4: Dragonzord
- Stage 5: Shellshock
- Stage 6: Polluticorn
- Stage 7: Goldar and Cyclopsis
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
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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
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (video game)
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
References
External links
- Pages using vgrelease with named parameters
- Pages with broken file links
- 1994 video games
- Bandai games
- Beat 'em ups
- Game Boy games
- Sega Game Gear games
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
- Natsume (company) games
- Power Rangers video games
- Sega Genesis games
- Sega CD games
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
- Versus fighting games
- Video games featuring female protagonists
- Side-scrolling beat 'em ups
- Video games set in 1994