"Did I miss something?"

Ok. First of all, let it be known that I played the Japanese version of Burning Rangers. This is probably a significant issue because this game has more cutscenes and audio cues than most games of its type, and understanding them probably would have made the game a little more interesting. Now I could sit here all day and go on my favorite rant about how gameplay has been destroyed by games being required nowadays to include a cutscene every minute or so, but that would be pointless since games that emphasize flash over substance are here to stay. While this is indeed a serious problem I have with Burning Rangers, it is far from the only one. I was very disappointed in this game and I advise you all to think twice before snatching it up from the bargain bins.

Graphics: 5
While the graphics are fairly well designed, the graphic engine is not. Unlike the 3d graphics engine of Nights, through which I almost forgot I was playing a game, The one in Burning Rangers needs serious work. On the plus side, the game is very colorful. Unfortunately, these colors are sometimes distracting. In addition, textures will often flicker and disappear in a really annoying way which hurt my eyes a lot. Add to this the camera troubles, but more on that later.

Sound: 6
Not too bad. There is a LOT of voice acting, which seemed to sound ok, but there is no in-game music. The bouncy song that plays over the menu screen is pretty good though. Not much to write home about overall.

Story: I wouldn't know, since its in Japanese.

Gameplay: 2
Oh dear God. Games used to be simple and fun. But that's all changed with the lineup of flashy mass market games that have been leading the market ever since FF7 came out. Obviously this has given us some classics, but Burning Rangers is an illustration of pretty much everything that is wrong with this gameplay de-evolution. Where to begin? First of all, it's impossible to see where you're going. I don't recall having camera troubles this bad since Croc 2. You can rotate the camera to get a better view, but as soon as you move in any way, the camera whips around at light speed to a behind the back perspective. This is very disorienting. Basically I didn't couldn't see where anything was, and when I did see where a platform was, I couldn't control my character well enough to have any hope of reaching it.
The worst thing about this game is the gameplay itself. Typical gameplay proceeds as follows. You run around gathering energy crystals until one of the following things happens: 1)You run into a collapsed innocent victim (roughly once every 30 seconds) then go get a cup of coffee while the cutscene of them whining at you then being teleported to safety plays. 2)The ground glows orange, and a quiet sound like wind blowing (which is supposed to be an alarm) plays, supposedly alerting you that any nanosecond the ground is going to burst into flames. At this point you hit back on the controller which is supposed to make you do a backflip and leap out of harm's way. In reality, due to the twisted camera angles, you were facing some angle to the right, meaning that tapping back simply makes you spin around like an idiot as the explosion hits causing you to lose energy. Eventually this kills you. There's also a time limit, after which the level doesn't end, but cruelly taunts you as every step you take triggers an explosion.
I have yet to beat the first level. Now I know you're probably thinking ''This guy couldn't beat the game on the first try and now he's a sore loser.'' I am sore, but not because I lost. I am angry because whether I win or lose doesn't appear to be determined by any sort of skill on my part. It always ends up that I'm just walking along, then suddenly the ground bursts into flames and I'm dead. Whee. In addition, it isn't my idea of fun to have gameplay interrupted every 30 seconds by repetitive cutscenes. I would sell Burning Rangers if I thought I could get any money at all for it. This goes right under Panzer Dragoon Saga as the second most overrated Saturn game. Stay away.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/00, Updated 10/09/00