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You know, I'll admit it too-at one time I was intrigued with the idea of the Power Rangers. When they first came out, I had this urge to watch it. The show reminded me of a live action Voltron combined with Godzilla's cheesiness. Then I saw it, and I hated it. Too cheesy. Too strange. Not worth it.
But then something happened. Kids loved the show no matter what I thought. It kept evolving, movies were being made, toys were being sold, and even pictures of Power Rangers' characters were being placed on cakes. Yet, I didn't see much in the way of video games. At least, not until now. All of a sudden, the Power Rangers are getting pushed back down my throat again. So many years after they were "cool," the Power Rangers are still here and they have invaded the Playstation, Nintendo 64 and Gameboy. In our first issue, I reviewed the Gameboy version, a game I actually enjoyed. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the console versions.
| Nintendo 64 | Playstation |
Nintendo 64's version is absolutely lame, the graphics are supposed to be superior but there is something retarded about them. The characters move around rather slowly, following an equally cheesy comic book adventure through the streets, saving civilians and shooting slime off the block. The other villains move rather lethargically and are relatively easy to beat, and the effort it takes to get to them is boring and tiring.
About the only funny aspect of this game are the scenes where you drive around in your light speed rescue vehicle, saving those in dire circumstances. I laughed at the fact that I was able to smash other cars off the road to save distressed citizens, without any repercussions. I could even smash cars right into civilians and save them. Even funnier was when I drove past them. They would scream, "I'm over here." I had to laugh as I ignored them. Ha! Ha!
Badseed's Bottomline: 1 out of 5. I give it a one because it did make me laugh and that's cool, but other than that, this game is not worth buying. Nintendo 64 games are expensive and I don't own many for that reason. Just seems disappointing that despite the limited number of games in my library, Power Rangers will not receive much game play.
The Playstation version is a little better. The graphics weren't that great, but the gameplay was a little more enjoyable because of the Double Dragon style environment (Read this month's review of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for similiar game play). This is not a game I would seek out to buy, but it is a game I would definitely attempt to beat. I enjoyed Double Dragon so much that any game that follows the side scrolling, fist slinging action, is a game that I enjoy trying to get through.
This veris is the same as the N64 and Gameboy versions, in the fact that you have to save people from certain doom, while at the same time grappling with bad guys, and using your Megazords to battle big bosses. Still, this is the Power Rangers and it is hard to get into a game where the characters aren't desirable.
Badseed's Bottomline: 3 out of 5. Here is how I judge games. I pop them in and if I can't wait to just finish the game, I give it a low score. I mean, if I just want to shut the power off and never want to touch it again, the score is not going to be pretty. In this case, I got semi-involved in the game, had a desire to try again when I died and in comparison to the N64 version, I totally enjoyed this one more. However, the Power Rangers franchise is a dying franchise and it is going to be nearly impossible to get this game off the shelves without superior gameplay, something this game doesn't really have. "Hey, why are the Power Rangers ignoring me when I need help? I'm over here!! Ah, maybe something better will come along. Send your comments and or questions about this article to Badseed@ybfree.com