Burning Rangers is a game about futuristic firefighters equipped with jetpack boosters and flame-extinguishing lasers. You're joined via a cast of characters with names that would make Hideo Kojima blush (Big Landman). Your goal is to fearlessly dive into burning buildings with the intent to save as many people as possible, and stop the source of the flames.
The first thing you'll probably notice while playing is the performance and the graphics. 3D graphics were never necessarily the Sega Saturn's strong suit, and it shows. The draw distance is fairly poor, pieces of geometry will frequently disappear before they're off-camera, and the game is constantly hovering between 10-20 FPS. However, the game looks really damn good for 1998, especially in motion. The lighting effects are a real strong point here. The obvious example is how flames light up any area around them, but the standard light sources really help build the mechanical/futuristic atmosphere of the game's stages.
The controls are simple to describe, but tricky in practice. You have a jump and double jump at your disposal, and your character will automatically jump when running off the edge of a platform. This is definitely disorienting at first, but it ends up being a helpful concession in keeping the gameplay flowing well (considering the game's framerate). Your laser has no direct lock-on, only a soft lock-on. The camera rotates by 90 degrees each time you hit the corresponding shoulder button. You can still shoot stuff that's offscreen, but it's best to practice keeping what you're firing at in-frame. One of the more notable things to keep your ears open for is the sound of a high-pitched whistle, the signal that something nearby is about to blow. At this point, flicking the analog stick backwards causes you to do a "back loop" out of the way.
Putting out flames and continuing to move forward are integral to success in Burning Rangers. There's a graph in the top-right of the screen at all times showing the building's limit. Every 20%, it hits a new threshold and cannot go below that point again for the rest of the stage. If it hits 100%, that's game over. By putting out fires, you can bring the limit down a bit, and create energy crystals. These work like rings in a Sonic game. They'll get knocked out of you if you take damage, but as long as you have one, you won't die. However, it's good to keep at least 10 of them on your person at all times. If you find any survivors, it costs 10 crystals to transport them to safety. Doing so will give you thank-you letters you can read in between stages, giving them and the locations more personality. (Citizens also provide you with an extra continue, and serve as a checkpoint to return from when you use a continue, but c'mon. I'm a sucker for ingenious world-building like fan mail.)
The gameplay's most glaring flaw is the combat. You'll encounter a small variety of security robots while running around these burning buildings, and if you don't take them out from a distance (or get them in a charge shot-induced stunlock), they can become a real nuisance quickly. The soft lock-on is the biggest culprit of this. It can be hard to hit enemies if they're also in say, a room with billowing flames on either side of them. Every stage is also capped off with a boss fight, each of which varies wildly in difficulty. At the very least, these are made more tolerable due to the camera being locked onto the boss at all times.
Burning Rangers' most notable feature in my eyes is a fully voiced "navigator". There's no minimap. Instead, if you need directions, you can press the designated button to call your navigator, who will give you specific directions on how to proceed. It's actually a surprisingly cool and immersive touch to the gameplay. You'll also hear reports from the other rangers on your communications, sometimes to give ongoing developments on the current situation, and other times it's just for set dressing.
As a full package, Burning Rangers is honestly a pretty rough and jank-filled experience. However, there's something with passion and ambition found right beneath the surface. I'd be hard-pressed to find a game that plays like this, or covers similar subject matter in the current day. It's a true testament to what kind of creative ideas Sonic Team was capable of back then. It keeps me coming back to it, regardless of how short the game may be. The most recognition that the game has gotten since is a superb track in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. There's also a fanmade remake being built from the ground up, which you can check out here. Honestly, I wish this game would return in any capacity in the future, remake or sequel. I just want more, is that so much to ask? You're burning a hole in my heart here, Sega. Oh well, at least the music slaps.
The first thing you'll probably notice while playing is the performance and the graphics. 3D graphics were never necessarily the Sega Saturn's strong suit, and it shows. The draw distance is fairly poor, pieces of geometry will frequently disappear before they're off-camera, and the game is constantly hovering between 10-20 FPS. However, the game looks really damn good for 1998, especially in motion. The lighting effects are a real strong point here. The obvious example is how flames light up any area around them, but the standard light sources really help build the mechanical/futuristic atmosphere of the game's stages.
The controls are simple to describe, but tricky in practice. You have a jump and double jump at your disposal, and your character will automatically jump when running off the edge of a platform. This is definitely disorienting at first, but it ends up being a helpful concession in keeping the gameplay flowing well (considering the game's framerate). Your laser has no direct lock-on, only a soft lock-on. The camera rotates by 90 degrees each time you hit the corresponding shoulder button. You can still shoot stuff that's offscreen, but it's best to practice keeping what you're firing at in-frame. One of the more notable things to keep your ears open for is the sound of a high-pitched whistle, the signal that something nearby is about to blow. At this point, flicking the analog stick backwards causes you to do a "back loop" out of the way.
Putting out flames and continuing to move forward are integral to success in Burning Rangers. There's a graph in the top-right of the screen at all times showing the building's limit. Every 20%, it hits a new threshold and cannot go below that point again for the rest of the stage. If it hits 100%, that's game over. By putting out fires, you can bring the limit down a bit, and create energy crystals. These work like rings in a Sonic game. They'll get knocked out of you if you take damage, but as long as you have one, you won't die. However, it's good to keep at least 10 of them on your person at all times. If you find any survivors, it costs 10 crystals to transport them to safety. Doing so will give you thank-you letters you can read in between stages, giving them and the locations more personality. (Citizens also provide you with an extra continue, and serve as a checkpoint to return from when you use a continue, but c'mon. I'm a sucker for ingenious world-building like fan mail.)
The gameplay's most glaring flaw is the combat. You'll encounter a small variety of security robots while running around these burning buildings, and if you don't take them out from a distance (or get them in a charge shot-induced stunlock), they can become a real nuisance quickly. The soft lock-on is the biggest culprit of this. It can be hard to hit enemies if they're also in say, a room with billowing flames on either side of them. Every stage is also capped off with a boss fight, each of which varies wildly in difficulty. At the very least, these are made more tolerable due to the camera being locked onto the boss at all times.
Burning Rangers' most notable feature in my eyes is a fully voiced "navigator". There's no minimap. Instead, if you need directions, you can press the designated button to call your navigator, who will give you specific directions on how to proceed. It's actually a surprisingly cool and immersive touch to the gameplay. You'll also hear reports from the other rangers on your communications, sometimes to give ongoing developments on the current situation, and other times it's just for set dressing.
As a full package, Burning Rangers is honestly a pretty rough and jank-filled experience. However, there's something with passion and ambition found right beneath the surface. I'd be hard-pressed to find a game that plays like this, or covers similar subject matter in the current day. It's a true testament to what kind of creative ideas Sonic Team was capable of back then. It keeps me coming back to it, regardless of how short the game may be. The most recognition that the game has gotten since is a superb track in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. There's also a fanmade remake being built from the ground up, which you can check out here. Honestly, I wish this game would return in any capacity in the future, remake or sequel. I just want more, is that so much to ask? You're burning a hole in my heart here, Sega. Oh well, at least the music slaps.