Giant robot dinosaurs that combine into an even bigger giant
robot to fight giant monsters. That’s
the core concept of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” TV series and it is just
as appealing to 33-year old me as it was to 10-year old me back when watching
the show was a daily ritual before school.
As you can guess, I approached this new MMPR: Mega Battle beat-em-up for
Xbox One with a fair bit of excitement and I'm pleased to say I came away mostly satisfied. It isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but
having a love of co-op beat-em-ups and any nostalgia whatsoever for the classic
Power Rangers can make it pretty enjoyable overall. See all of the details here in my full Might Morphin Power
Rangers: Mega Battle review.Game Details
- Publisher: Bandai Namco
- Developer: Bamtang Games
- ESRB Rating: “E10” for Everyone 10+
- Genre: Beat-Em-Up
- Pros: Fun gameplay; local co-op; awesome music; wonderfully nostalgic
- Cons: Terrible Megazord battles; kinda boring solo; no online co-op
- MSRP: $15
Featuring key storylines from the first two seasons of
“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”, MMPR: Mega Battle includes cartoon look-alikes
of the original teenagers with attitude as well as the baddies we all know and
love like Rita Repulsa, Goldar, and Lord Zedd.
I have to admit that I don’t really remember the specific stories /
episodes referenced in the game, but I definitely remember the characters and
they really nailed them here. The
dialogue is corny, the plotlines are flimsy, bullies Bulk and Skull are still
doofy – everything is perfect.
In terms of gameplay, MMPR Mega Battle is a pretty standard
beat-em-up. In normal scrawny teenager
mode your attack options are more limited, but when you transform into a Power
Ranger you have standard attacks, weapon attacks (each Ranger has their own
distinct weapon), and projectiles. By
using different combinations of attacks you execute different combo moves and
you can also juggle enemies in the air.
The different enemy types all have unique weaknesses and attack patterns
and the game does a good job of throwing different enemies at you to keep you
on your toes. The gameplay isn’t new or
different or spectacular compared to any beat-em-ups that came before it, but
it is solid and can be quite fun.
Most of the game is played on foot as a normal Power Ranger
using martial arts to beat up enemies, but there are also a handful of boss
fights where you get to use the Megazord giant robot and kick some giant
monster butt. Unfortunately, the way
these fights are presented is pretty much the dumbest way they possibly could
have done it. Rather than awesome
battles where you have full control of your crazy awesome robot these fights
are broken down into glorified quick time events. In the first stage you just shoot targets on the enemy monster
with a cursor and then in the second stage you input onscreen button prompts
and the game does all the cool stuff for you.
The boss fights are easy and lame and totally awful, which is a major
disappointment considering that the giant freaking robots are the coolest part
of the franchise. Sigh.
Also disappointing is that the game is clearly designed for
co-op, which means solo play is kind of boring and can also be surprisingly difficult at
times. If you have friends to play with
the experience is much, much better, but even here there’s a distinct
problem. Unlike another recent beat-em-up RWBY: Grimm Eclipse,
which had online co-op but not local, MMPR: Mega Battle has the opposite
problem – only local co-op but no online.
This isn’t a deal breaker, and I’d rather have local than online anyway,
but come on devs / publishers! You
really need to have both online and local multi if you’re going to make a co-op
game!
The presentation is pretty good overall with bright and
colorful graphics that match the original series surprisingly well. The visuals are a little simple, but the big
bold colors of the Power Rangers and the distinct enemies make up the bland
backgrounds. The sound is excellent
with great use of the music from the show.
All in all, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle is a
fun dose of nostalgia for gamers who grew up with the franchise. I wish the Megazord battles were better – a
lot better – but the core beat-em-up gameplay is solid and the game is a blast
to play in co-op with other fans of the show.
If you love beat-em-ups and have fond memories of the original Mighty
Morphin Power Rangers, give MMPR: Mega Battle a look.
Disclosure: A review code was provided by the publisher.
