In the game, the sinister Emperor Grimm has discovered the Hall of Legends, a mystical place which stores the energies of every Power Ranger that has ever existed. Wanting to rule the entire galaxy, Emperor Grimm gathers a group of villains who all share a common goal; to destroy the Power Rangers. Before they can realise their ambitions however, the Omega Ranger discovers the plot and sends a warning to all Rangers across time.
The main game is split up into three areas: Street Brawler, Flyer Combat and Megazord Battle. Street Brawler is a 2D side-scroller beat ‘em up mode where you have to collect crystals, investigate enemy bases and of course, destroy enemy forces. During these stages, you’ll have access to your fists, a sword and a ray gun to fight enemies. Your fits and sword cause your opponents damage, however the sword also has the ability to penetrate enemies that have advanced armour. In contrast to this, the ray gun is more of a defensive weapon and stuns enemies, which is particularly useful if you find yourself surrounded. At the start of the game, you’ll only have a few basic combos to perform but as you progress, you’ll learn more advanced techniques including the ability to double jump, dash, punch enemies so they slam into your screen and wall jump.
When will it end?
Our main gripes with the Street Brawler mode come from its poor execution. Firstly, enemies feature limited AI; all they do is run towards you and await your punishment. Although you’ll be traveling to different timelines, you will always be fighting the Putty minions and robots. Another thing we found disappointing was that each ranger controls identically. As a result, the game gets really repetitive and frustrating, ultimately making you want to turn it off after the first 15 minutes.
Between stages, players are treated to the Flyer Combat mode, which places you in a motorcycle-helicopter vehicle. These stages are displayed from a top-down perspective and have you shooting at flying objects above cities and forests. Occasionally, you’ll come across pickups including advanced weaponry, shielding and bombs, which can be deployed by either tapping on the touch screen or pressing a face button. Like Street Brawler, these moments are also poorly executed due to low AI and the recycling of enemies.
Finally, at the end of each world you get to take control of a Megazord. Unlike the rest of the game, Megazord battles completely utilise the touch screen (save for strafing via the d-pad) to attack and defend against opponents. During battles, the enemy will at first be evasive and fire missiles at you from a distance, which can easily be disposed of by laser fire. After a while, they’ll eventually come in close for hand-to-hand combat, where you have to slash their weak points which are indicated by the top screen. Supposedly, drawing a circle allows you to defend against attacks but during our playtime, the game had difficulty recognising our strokes. To be fair, the game did at least respond to us after a few attempts, unlike others where we would spend minutes at time trying to accomplish the desired effect. However, having a strong focus on combat, it is still disappointing and could’ve been better executed.
It was really nice to see the original Mighty Morphin' characters in the game. They were easily the best of the series.
Power Rangers: Super Legends also features a 2 player co-op mode. Unfortunately, you’ll need to find a friend who owns a copy of the game.
Visually, the game is a little mixed. The Super Brawler stages feature simple 2D animation and backgrounds that would even look average for a Game Boy Advance title. On the other hand, the Flyer Combat and Megazord battles have 3D environments which run smoothly and look clean. The game’s audio is just plain boring, putties sound like dieing turkeys as they emerge from the sides of the screen, while everyone else murmurs short grunts. The soundtrack is also basic and completely unmemorable.
Even die-hard fans will be pressed to find enjoyment from Power Rangers: Super Legends. The combat system is really repetitive due to the game’s low AI and recycling of enemies, all rangers control identically and there are few issues with the game recognising strokes on the touch screen.
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