Saban's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle Reviews
Not even nostalgia can save Saban's Mighty Morphin: Power Rangers from feeling like a mediocre and rushed licensed screw-up.
I consider myself a pretty big fan of those Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. It was everything to me when I was a kid and it does sadden my inner child to have played this game. It'll appeal to some that are new to the franchise who may want to tune out and just wallop on endless, nameless clay men for a few hours but, as a long-time fan, I found only disappointment with rare sprinklings of flair.
Saban’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mega Battle is a love letter to both the show and beat-em-ups that falls short of reaching its goals. The franchise’s earliest games were largely better than this, and while this does scratch a nostalgia itch to some degree, it isn’t a satisfying gaming experience. Movesets are far too lean and there are too few enemies to keep the action interesting for very long. Dedicated fans of the show may want to check it out, but everyone else can safely skip it.
While I appreciate the idea behind making a Power Rangers game that taps into nostalgia, I can't help but feel that the Power Rangers property can - and should - do far better with the brawler genre.
While the gameplay can be fun in spurts, the bland visuals, overly long levels, repetitive enemies, and lack of checkpoints all make this game a Mighty Morphin’ mess.
From the looks of it, Bamtang likely had to deal with a tight deadline and a low budget when they undertook this project, since Bandai Namco probably wanted the game to come out before the Power Rangers movie hits theaters. Seeing that the title showed a bit of potential with the way how the Rangers played, I could see this being true. However, this doesn’t prevent the game from leaving a huge dent in the Command Center.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle hits the right nostalgic notes, but it's a clearly rushed affair. The most important elements are in place, the fighting system is solid and pretty fun, and the campaign is suitably lengthy. However, the lack of polish just buries it. The wonky hit detection and control issues are a constant nuisance. Support for up to four players is appreciated, but there aren't any online modes, which is just plain baffling. Altogether, this makes for a game that's just not as tightly designed as it could be. Another few months of development time could've made a big difference.
Personally, my girlfriend pointing out that the noise basic grunts make before attacking is comparable to someone motorboating a pair of breasts was the highlight of the game for me. Read into that what you will.
Saban's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Mega Battle is a cheap cash in and the price reflects it. However the game is so bad that it's not worth buying. My recommendation is wait for it to hit one of those PS+ or Games with Gold free game deals and then maybe think about it.