Power Rangers: Super Legends

"Like most legends, lost in translation"

Once upon a time, I remember a show that came to my attention. It wowed me with its massive robots, interested me with karate, and won me over with transforming (or morphing) powers. At the time, no other show I had seen could come close to its originality, and I was hooked.

Looking back with fifteen years of hindsight, what was I thinking?

Whatever you can say about Power Rangers as a franchise, or its origins, the Super Sentai series in Japan, Saban (the original creators of the US versions) and Disney (who now owns the series) milked the Super Sentai suits and robots for all they were worth.

So now, fifteen years after the first Power Ranger series kicked off in the US, Disney decides one way to celebrate their cash cow is to churn out a game. Granted, Power Ranger games are not the cream of the gaming world (the one exception being the original SNES game, but that is more nostalgia), but there are worse games flowing out there (Bubsy, I see you under that rock).

So deciding to take the plunge, I picked up a copy of Power Rangers: Super Legends for the DS.

My first reaction was confusion.

Why, you ask? Maybe it was all of the anime-influensed games on the DS of late, but I was shocked that there was no FMV playing at the beginning, showing parts of the various series in action. Granted, this is not key to the game itself, but given Disney's own Spectrobes game, I was confused.

This first impression did not improve any. The very first level saw me as the Blue Time Force Ranger. Setting aside why the game starts off with Time Force (instead of, say, the original MMPR or the new Operation Overdrive), why am I the BLUE Ranger at the start? Shouldn't I be the RED Ranger?

Things only get more confusing when you realize that Gluto, a villain from Time Force (who, I might add, cryogenically froze himself to prevent himself from being killed) somehow has gathered enough forces to begin to launch a campaign to take over a time portal to change the past by - suprise - destroying prior Ranger teams.

After you fight through, of all things, PUDDIES (the grey-skined clay monsters from the original Mighty Morphing Power Ranger series) and Krybots (from, I believe, the SPD series), you encounter the Omega Ranger (or whatever SPD called the Dekabreak from the Japanese Sentai Dekaranger series). Somehow, Omega Ranger has traveled to the future from his own time, and for his troubles has his Omega crystal shattered. When he warps again, he ends up in a temple of Legends, where a specter in ranger form offers cryptic clues and hints. Also, in exchange for crystals you get for beating foes, you get more abilities (such as a Kung Lao-inspired Dive Kick).

After you talk to the (old?) figure, you can wander around the temple, realizing that the only available path is to the Operation Overdrive era (or what have you).

If this "plot" sounds wierd or cliche, it is actually about average for an older Power Ranger series. The problem is, the plot is bashed aside by the game's core game play.

Like most Power Ranger games, you get to beat up foes. While you do see the odd foe that takes more hits (the red things that show up during Operation Overdrive; I have NO idea what those are, since I have yet to see that series), things that require you to use the heavy attack (the Krybots), or things that just take what you can dish (Puddies). There are a few others, but like all side scrolling brawlers, you see the same faces over and over again. One wonders where they all come from, and I'm not sure I like the lack of an explination, given the time traveling plot.

As noted above, there is a punch button and a heavy attack button. There is also a blaster button (for stunning foes), a jump button, and a pause button. No real guard button to speak of, and no "uber" attacks to clear the screen.

The AI for the foes are about as one could expect from a game aimed at younger gamers, to the point where you can stand on a lower ledge, swinging your sword at the feet of a foe until they die. The odd boss can add a challenge, but they are quickly figured out.

To break up diversity, a few random mini-games come up. One of these, the "Flyer Combat" mode, is initially amusing in an old school way, but quickly becomes sadistic when you realize that it is almost impossible to dodge attacks while shooting, and that you have to also fight the slowdown. The Megazord mode is just a joke; why control the lasers from the powerful robots instead of brawling like we all want to?

Graphically, the graphics are quite smooth and nicely animated (except for the odd slowdown in the flying levels), but the art style (more of a comic book style) means sparse backgrounds and generic effects. The soundtrack (if you can call it that) is almost a joke, a few theme variations, and no classic title themes (I was quite upset that the original MMPR theme didn't show up (heck,that NONE of them showed up vocalized). For US$30, I thought some minor effort might have gone into this.

There is a multiplayer mode, but it is multicart (of course). However, it is hard to believe that you could convince a friend to pick this up, as the game gets boring within minutes of playing. The only things that keep me going is the promise of eventually seeing the original Rangers (though I doubt that the Green Ranger will show), as well as the fact that the plot is above what I would have expected from this game).

Power Rangers may be 15 years old this year, but this title plays almost the same as any other PR game over the years (though FAR better than some - the N64 Lightspeed Rescue coming to mind). It's not the worst DS game on the market, but it is easily outclassed by better fare on the market (Transformers: Decepticons being one).

Score: 4 of 10

+ Best Features: 15 years worth of Power Rangers, controls actually respond to what you do, the original rangers make appearances, plot is above average for a Power Ranger/Final Fight game

- Worst Features: No theme songs for any of the series, flying stages hurt the game, no Megazord deathmatch mode, realizing that this is ten dollars overpriced.

* If You Liked: Bleach DS, Transformers DS (Autobots or Decepticons), Viewtiful Joe DS

* Guilty Pleasure: Realizing that I was a Power Rangers fan back when the series was first created. Elements, this makes me feel OLD.

- (Ugly) Reality: Despite some cute efforts by Disney, Power Rangers will never equal the Japanese Super Sentai series. Said series is a kids show in Japan, yet the content and dialog would be a young adults show over here.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/07

Game Release: Power Rangers: Super Legends (US, 10/23/07)