Review - Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers (SNES)
Licensed games, especially those of the 8 and 16-bit era, can be tough to pin down as good or bad not just because of how people remember them, but because of how a fan or non-fan may show leniency because of how a series is treated. The Power Rangers and their many encompassing series are a piece of television, toy, and even video game history that seems to have just barely missed the chance to draw me into its massive media empire. Even kids in the same class as me in elementary school were obsessed with Power Rangers while I didn’t have the slightest clue as to how these people with different colored suits were also associated with dinosaurs and robots and aliens and so much other crazy shit that somehow didn’t seem to interest me even with all those things put together.
Naturally, one of the most important pieces of merchandising a violence-based series such as the Power Rangers can put their name on is a video game, or, in the case of the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers game, several different video games of varying style and quality. While the Sega-developed Genesis version went the direction of a head-to-head fighter like there were so many of in the 90′s, the SNES version plays more like a beat-em-up, albeit a rather simple one. And so, while I don’t care in the slightest to learn the Rangers’ names or what their enemies have done to receive such lame, bloodless beatings, the idea of another brawler-type game for the SNES, at a reasonable price, no less, certainly drew me in enough to make me play this first Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers game.
Much like the gameplay, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers’ graphics and music are very simple and par-for-the-course for the SNES. Yet while 2-player co-op would have been great, even top-tier brawlers like Final Fight didn’t have that luxury on the SNES.
The reason I call it a “simple” beat-em-up isn’t just because it lacks the character development of River City Ransom or the weapons featured in Streets of Rage, but because the level design itself is much more like a platformer, moving only on a strict 2D plane. The distinctions between the various Rangers are clear enough in fighting style and weapon choice, yet not vastly different such as with the protagonists of Golden Axe. There is very little complexity to the fighting system, with only one button for standard attacks, as well as a special “bomb” attack that can be used to hit all the enemies on the screen.
What is interesting about the way the game is set up is, for one thing, the way it enables the player to experience all the Rangers in one playthrough. Unlike most games, each of the five characters is available to choose from between each level, allowing impartial players to play around with each Ranger’s different tweaks, or hardcore fans to stick with their favorite through the game’s seven levels. It’s also interesting how the levels are structured - the first half starts with your Ranger in street clothes, which feels rather feeble and vulnerable but still capable of kicking some ass. After a midpoint staredown with the upcoming level boss, your character transforms into a much more powerful and sleek-feeling Ranger in full uniform and wielding appropriate weaponry.
The epitome of the boss fights being the most impressive and enjoyable part of the game comes in the final battle in the “Megazord” robot. It’s got plenty of awesome factor even for non-fans, but it begs the question: why wasn’t there more of this?
And it’s these boss fights that very likely make up the most interesting part of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. While the standard enemies are only interesting enough to make for a passable brawler, the boss fights against what I can only assume are fan favorite foes are actually very well designed. A familiar retro design permeates fights with interesting enemies with such cheesy names as Gnarly Gnome and Eye Guy, the latter of which plays almost like a poor-man’s Mega Man battle. It’s in these fights that not only the combat reaches a respectable peak, but the sometimes redundant platforming that plagues the rest of the level design becomes actually useful. Levels are typically rather straightforward, but occasionally shift into what would seem like basic platforming sections made frustrating by stiff control not fit for such gameplay. In boss battles, however, such as against Gnarly Gnome, the sometimes cumbersome control is catered to just enough to show off the potential of it that is otherwise untapped by lackluster level design.
As a regular beat-em-up, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers is the embodiment of “meh.” It takes the easy route in many areas such as level design, graphics, and music, but flashes of originality and clever design make it just good enough to be worth playing once or maybe, just maybe twice on gameplay alone. And yet, for fans of the series, it may very well become a favorite, due to what seems like plenty of fan service with enemy design, playable characters, and even choice of environments. For this reason, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers seems to be the epitome of a license making or breaking a game’s legacy. It’s by no means a bad game, but certainly only memorable or replayable to those who enjoy the way it presents itself, and easily passed up by those not drawn in by the allure of the Rangers.
Grade: C
