HyakuJuu Gao Ranger
By Sigma Project X1
System: Playstation
Developer: Bandai

What is it About?

Hyakujuu Sentai GaoRanger for the Sony Playstation is a rather interesting video game because it’s one of the best-licensed games of all time, and even more scarcy, it’s that its better than the license it’s based on.

The game was released in late November 2001, and just recently, it was released as a part of Bandai’s "Bandai the Best" game line with a reduced price.

Review

The game casts you, as GaoRed and you must fight the Evil Orgu. Since the show didn’t have much of a plot, the game doesn’t have much of one either. So as a result, you are basically reenacting an episode of Gaoranger. Despite the lack of plot and characterization, everything else in the game is much stronger. The games camera perspective looks like it’s played like a 3D fighter, but the game really plays like a beat-um-up that’s reminiscent of games like Streets of Rage and Final Fight.

Except in those games you had much more freedom with the character's movement, but that doesn’t ruin the game. The gameplay is easy to learn and is very fun. The Mecha sequences are a little odd though; you basically stand still for the entire fight and hit the bad guy. And if you move, it’s sideways. Even though the program was filled with mecha, you never get to make your own combinations of Mecha – or use existing ones from the show other than GaoKing.

The biggest problem with this game is that there are a ton of menus in Japanese. However with a little luck and patience, you’ll easily be able to figure them out. But since the game was developed for the Japanese market, it’s very reasonable and to be expected..

The game’s graphics are very good, and they look better than most PlayStation games. The character models are well designed and look good. The game has good sound quality and the music comes directly from the show's soundtrack. In fact, there are quite a few video clips from the show,and even the theme song is included.

There is a decent amount of replay value in this game, which is odd, as most games of this nature lack such an accomplishment. While the game gets repetitive sometimes, there is a survival mode can be unlocked and there are more hidden goodies that I’m sure of.

Conclusion

In the end, the game is very average, yet fun. The lack of decent licensed material ruins this game, even though the game is stronger than the license it’s based upon.

Sigma Project X1