Review GigaDeathNullGolem 4/5 · May 6, 2017
Pretty Good Mecha Run N Gun on Genesis
Ranger X has a lot to like. It captures and encapsulates lot of the aspects of a mecha anime. MY favorite thing about this one is is the vehicle support role, and some actual companion AI. It works great and is really cool (especially in stage 3-1) AFAIK, I dont know of another game quite like this in this regard. …
Ranger X has a lot to like. It captures and encapsulates lot of the aspects of a mecha anime. MY favorite thing about this one is is the vehicle support role, and some actual companion AI. It works great and is really cool (especially in stage 3-1) AFAIK, I dont know of another game quite like this in this regard.
And it makes sense. You are basically a pilot in a mech, so why not have some kind of support? (While Mech pilots arent mechanized infantry, that is very much the feel here)
Other nice things are the stages, they are all rather unique, you also have impressive cutscene transitions that have a VR wireframe thing going on, (which is high tech in this era) Some of the stages not only look different but have a bit of play style, and most were kind of cool.
The bosses are also pretty neat. I played the first stage twice (before resorting to cheats, huhr huhr) and discovered that the boss battle had variation depending on
there are hidden weapon upgrades, and other things.
A few things I didnt like about Ranger X was the fact it's on the genesis. The music composition is actually quite good but it certainly feels held back by the genesis and it's tinny sound. (it's personal preference really) Also while most sprite art looks great, the game isnt that smooth and will slow down in some areas, but worse is we frequently get Sprite Flicker in Ranger X, the bane of classic games, and it's quite noticable with such sweet graphics!. :o However, note all the sprites are as good as they would appear at a glance. Some are lazy and ugly, (not many but you'll notice them most likely)
On the flip side, this game really does highlight a lot of stuff the genesis can do (stuff i havent even seen! but i'm a bit green with megadrive as of this writing) it's an excellent example of the system and some of the weird video effects, like stuff happens in the background to make it look 3d, the wireframe thing, and more. a lot of these video effects aren't ostenetatious but just look nice and are well designed (like the parallax in stage/boss battle 2-2)
Genesis fans should see some of this one. if you like mech stuff its worth looking at too. This doesnt hold its ground against Run N Gun titles like Contra series or metal slug, but it is still quite groovy. and decently fun
the cheat for infinite health (wasn't easy to find: