Power Rangers: Super Legends

"Is this the best Power Rangers game EVER? No..But its certainly a good few steps in the right direction."

Well, I must say when I heard word of another Power Rangers game floating onto the shelves, I was skeptical, despite being a long-time fan of the show. My skepticism is of course due to the fact that many of the recent Power Rangers games (with maybe one or two exceptions) have all sucked harder than a vaccuum cleaner on Max Power.

Power Rangers: Super Legends, however, is a different story. Although, thats not saying too much...

Without trying to spoil TOO much, here's the lowdown on the narrative...

The story is centered around one of the most cliche plot devices there is: Time Travel. However, the way it is used in this game makes it work. The protagonist of the game, the Omega Ranger from the future law enforcement agency Space Patrol Delta is left stuck in a dimension outside of time and space known as the Hall of Legends when the crystal he uses to go time-hopping is shattered during an encounter with the mutant criminal Gluto, who is one of many villains encountered as the story progresses. Unable to return to our world without his Omega Crystal, the Omega Ranger, with the assistance of the Hall's ethereal Guardian, goes about astral-projecting throughout the time-stream and recruits Rangers from various points in history in order to restore his broken crystal and, in the process, prevent a much larger and deadlier plot from taking place.

Im gonna say this right now: THEY SHOULD MAKE AN EPISODE USING THIS PLOT. Too bad it'll probably never happen in the series, since this is Disney I'm talking about, and they LOVE to squander their money on countless unnessecary explosions and such.

The game itself is a mixture of 2D sidescrolling platformer fare presented in a fluid cartoon-esque style (with melee and weapon combos, and a laser pistol at your intial disposal), and 3D top-down flying stages reminiscent of old-school arcade games such as Raiden or Galaga. These flying levels are kinda fun, but ultimately become somewhat tedious thanks to the random and generic enemies. I would've liked to see a bit more variety in the vehicles themselves as EVERY Ranger has a flying vehicle, even those who didnt use one in the show. A Wild Force Ranger zooming the skies on a "Savage Flyer"? Ye..NO! Thankfully these stages are rather breif.

Now, what would a Power Rangers game be without Megazord battles? Going toe-to-toe in your giant robot against equally giant monsters...Sounds fun, does it not? Of course it does. Nothing beats putting the smackdown on a humongous freak of nature, right?...

RIGHT???

Well. sadly, you dont get to use the Megazord itself, but are instead thrust into a first-person view of the battlefield, using the DS's stylus pen to fire LASERS at your opponents and the control pad to dodge incoming attacks. Its...different, I'll give it that, but its also a wasted opportunity.

Also, whenever you complete a level, you can back-track and play as a Ranger of your choice from any one of the selections available, (most of the Rangers have to be unlocked) picking up extra crystal pieces which will allow you to upgrade your combo attacks as well as unlock various new abilities.

The music is half-decent. Nothing terribly memorable (save for the "Go Go Power Rangers" remix at the end of each stage) but its not gonna put you to sleep either.


Overall the game is fairly enjoyable and as I said, it easily trumps the sucktacularity of past Power Rangers titles (the Power Rangers Dino Thunder game for consoles springs to mind), but it could use improvement in quite a few areas.

Story: 8/10 - Perhaps one of the most sensible time travel-related plots to come out of the Power Rangers Universe in any medium. Definitely above and beyond what I expected.
Gameplay: 5/10 - Its fun for a while, although the flying levels bring the experience down a bit.
Sound: 4.5/10 - A decent enough soundtrack, despite the annoyingly generic character voices.
Graphics: 6/10 - The animation is fluid and eye-catching on all fronts. They graphics could've been better, but they also could've been MUCH worse.
Overall: 6/10 - Wether youre up to date on all things Power Rangers or a curious former fan, or even just a casual gamer, this game is worth picking up.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/05/07

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