Taking control of any of the five Rangers, you'll be up against all the
characters from the film. You'll take on some of the putty patrol before actually facing
the giant rubber suited beasts tossed at you. Once you've beaten them, you'll transform
into one of the massive 'Zords to take on the slightly larger rendition of the creature
you just faced. Later in the story, Ivan Ooze is resurrected and you'll take on a few of
his minions. The gameplay doesn't change.
Each battle is presented like Street Fighter or any other fighting game of the day. You'll always be facing one opponent at a time until they're defeated and another appears. For each enemy you defeat, you'll gain a sliver of life back, perfect to help the kids through this one. Character sprites are huge, taking up most of the screen with hardly any flicker to ruin the experience. Cinemas tell the story in-between stages and show off some of the best graphics the handheld can offer.
Each special move is pulled off via half-circle fireball motions, only changing which button needs pressed. Combos can be surprisingly brutal and the entire game is easily accessible for any level gamer. Buttons 1 and 2 pull of basic attacks and both together perform a stronger attack. Special moves vary between characters, but the standard attacks are always the same. This makes some of the available two-player fights a bit mundane, but the feature is of course welcome.
The game is only a measly six stages and can be beaten in under a half-hour. A cinema explains the trouble the Rangers have on Ivan Ooze's home planet, but why don't players get the chance to play through a segment like this? The theme song (which plays through most of the game) has a few notes that are completely out of tune. Finally, the engine, the graphics, the music, and even some of the cinemas are lifted right from the previous Power Rangers Game Gear game. There's no reason to play through this one if you own the latter game since the story doesn't affect the gameplay.
Though the lack of any new features, graphics, or sounds is an obvious attempt to make a quick cash-in on the franchise, the gameplay is solid enough on it's own and makes for a great brawler. The fighting engine is kept simple to appeal to a younger set, and die-hard fighting game fans can appreciate what they were trying to do. Fans of the series will of course end up with the most enjoyment, and that's the crowd that should be playing this anyway.
