Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

"Surprisingly good"

For some unknown reason, Power Rangers became popular with the kiddies when it first debuted in 1993. Maybe it was the flashy costumes. Maybe it was the poorly-dubbed Japanese footage. Maybe it's the giant robots. So it's no surprise that a bunch of video games were released during the series' popularity. Nintendo's MMPR games were sub-par to say the least, but around a month later, Sega released MMPR games for their Genesis system. Unlike the Nintendo games, Sega's Power Rangers is of the one-on-one fighting game variety as opposed to the Final Fight rip-offs.

STORY: The game's plot is similar to the TV show. You are the Rangers and you have to save the world from Rita Repulsa's evil forces. There is nothing more to it. However, Sega's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers games featured the two things that Nintendo's sorry MMPRs lacked: the Green Ranger and his Dragonzord, who you have to earn in the one-player mode to play as. Nice touch. 7/10

GRAPHICS: Argh! What is up with these palette-swapped Power Rangers?! What laziness. At least the only two distinguishable Rangers are pink and green, which is more than I can say for the Nintendo games. The other characters and mechas are nicely done and the backdrops are alright. The cinematics are actually pretty good considering the limitations of the Genesis system. 7/10

SOUND: The music and sound effects in this game is horrible... I mean, they're just awful. The generic voices featured in this game are also pretty bad. Why bother with voices if you couldn't feature soundbytes from the TV show? That would have a little better. 4/10

GAMEPLAY: I found the game to be quite playable and the moves possible, despite what others may say. They do take some effort to pull off and execute properly, but you can do it. 7/10

CHALLENGE: Customizable and balanced. Except for a couple of cheap CPU opponents, the game is very easy when it's at Level 1 and the game is nigh impossible when at Level 8. Of course, the skill of the hopeless chap you plan to fight in the 2-player mode also comes into play. 8/10

REPLAY VALUE: You don't play the game for the one-player game. You play it to beat the living [bleep] out of your buddy. However, there isn't much appeal going into this because of the limitations imposed. (Rangers can't fight robots, can't pick other levels, etc.) 6/10

OVERALL: One of those surprise examples where you don't judge a game by its cover or the material it's based upon. Of the first-generation Power Rangers video games, this is actually the better of the bunch, with the Game Gear version topping it. It doesn't have much long-term appeal, but it's a good game for a quick diversion. Say what you will about the Power Rangers, but this game is worth the cash. 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/03, Updated 07/10/03