Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Overview

Based on the popular children's show of the same name, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers is a 2D side-scrolling brawler developed by Natsume and published by Bandai for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game allows the player to be any of the five original cast of Power Rangers as they fight through waves of putty patrol and five different monsters created by Rita Repulsa. The game ends climatically with the Power Rangers calling for the Megazord and flying to the moon to battle Rita's overgrown creature in front of her fortress.

While the game's plot doesn't mirror any particular storyline from the live-action series, the game captures many concepts characteristic to the show. Zack is seen dancing during the credits, and incorporates dance moves in his fighting style. Billy, not being a trained martial artist, fights in a cowardly way. Lastly, just like every episode of the show, the game ends with the Power Rangers calling for the Megazord in order to defeat a building-sized monster that Rita grew.

The game is not to be confused with the Genesis fighter of the same name released the same year. While both were released to coincide with the show's run, they both have different genres and were developed by different studios.

Plot

After seeing Rita Repulsa wreaking havoc on Angel Grove, the Power Rangers put it on themselves to protect the city. The rangers fight in a variety of locations, including the city streets and parks, an industrial factory, the sewers, skyscrapers, and a secret underground headquarters. After having the putty patrol and her monsters defeated at the hands of the Power Rangers, Rita resorts to growing one of her minions, named Mutitus. The rangers call for the Megazord, and a giant battle ensues at the shores of Angel Grove. After besting Rita's overgrown creation, the Power Rangers fly to the moon with the Megazord for one last fight against a leviathan called Cyclopsis. Once the rangers have defeated all of Rita's forces, they come back home to a safe Angel Grove. Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Kimberly are seen enjoying their victory with a joyride on the coast of the beach in a convertible.

As the game starts before the Green With Evil arc in the series, Tommy the Green Ranger is not present.

Gameplay

At the beginning of each level, the player is able to choose any of the five Power Rangers to fight with. The first half of the level consists of the player fighting in civilian form against a variety of putties. Once the level's boss appears to confront the player character, he/she morphs into a Power Ranger. As a Power Ranger, the player gains extra strength, more life, a special 'bomb' attack, and a weapon specific to the character they chose:

• Jason - Sword
• Zack - Axe
• Billy - Bō / Staff
• Trini - Dual Daggers
• Kimberly - Bow and Arrow

The later half of the level has the player fighting more enemies until they reach the boss, who must be defeated in order to continue to the next level. The five bosses in the set of on-foot levels were:

• Level 1: Bones
• Level 2: Gnarly Gnome
• Level 3: Eye Guy
• Level 4: Genie
• Level 5: Dark Warrior

The last two levels have the players taking control of the Megazord as they fight a gigantic enemy one-on-one. The last boss having 2 forms. The Megazord is equipped with a power sword and various projectiles. A 'POW' bar increases over time, allowing the player to unleash stronger projectile attacks during the fight. The 'POW' bar depletes after using a projectile, and time must pass before another shot can be fired again.

Game Boy release

The Game Boy version included a Megazord boss battle at the end of each level, and different boss characters, as well as Super Game Boy functionality.