|
-- Burning Rangers --
|
Formats: Sega Saturn
Genre: Action
Developer: Sonic Team
Rating: E
Debut: February, 1998
|
No image available
| |
A routine mission leads to the discovery of a transmitting device which is calling an
unidentifiable spacecraft to Earth. Problem is, the craft is covered by a layer of space junk,
and its sheer size makes it a serious threat to the planet and all the people on it. It's up to
the Burning Rangers to get to the heart of this junk barge, and find a way to stop the monster
before it breaks into Earth's atmosphere.
|
One of the very final Saturn titles released (it was the third-to-last in the
US), Burning Rangers never got the attention NiGHTS received, and certainly never got as
much as it deserved. The general idea is to dash through the massive levels, putting out fires
and rescuing victims. Fires are extenguished with futuristic "Pulse Lasers", which cause a small
implosion at the point of impact and suck the oxygen out of the flames. The guns can be fired
in a sequence of small shots, or charged up for larger attacks (Laser Blasts) that put out fires
faster and reduce the Danger level by 5%. (Although the larger blasts destroy any Crystals in
the vicinity, including those that extenguishing the fire would otherwise create.) Fires come in
several different colors, and each color fire reacts differently:
- Orange -- Standard fires, they just burn in place until you put them out. Worth one
Crystal each.
- Blue -- Blue fires are much stronger than orange ones, but still just burn in place.
They take more hits, but reward you with eight Crystals each. They're usually found in groups,
so this adds up to alot of Crystals.
- Green -- These mean flames'll hurl fireballs at you. They're worth five Crystals
each, but it's usually not worth the risk, so put 'em out fast and furious with a charged Laser
Blast.
- Pink -- The rarest of the fires, Pink flames only appear regularly in Winged Cradle.
As far as I can tell, they're just a slightly stronger version of orange fires, but not as strong
as blue ones. Worth two Crystals each.
- Flaming Spheres -- Flames just don't get any meaner than these great balls of fire.
(Sorry...) They only appear at a few points in Fallen Memory and Winged Cradle, but they usually
pop up in cramped places, and they don't let their existence known until you're up close and
personal. These things hurl fireballs at you and are massively strong...pummel 'em with a
barrage of standard Pulse shots and they eventually explode into a shower of Crystals.
Crystals are created when fires are extenguished with the Pulse Laser, but can
also be found scattered around the levels. They work alot like Rings...you lose them when you
get hit, and if you get hit without any Crystals on you, you're toast. Aside from serving as a
shield, Crystals are also used to transmit victims back to the Burning-Ship. A minimum of five
is needed, but for each survivor you save with the maximum of ten, you receive a continue.
The pace is kept frantic every step of the way with the "Danger" level system.
As you trek through the massive levels, the danger percentage is constantly rising. For each 20%
higher it gets, an annoying flurry of flames blasts up behind you, so you can't stop moving at
all until it's over. The higher the percentage, the bigger the explosion of flames, and the
longer you have to avoid 'em. (At 100%, the flames never stop, and you're pretty much
screwed.) The only way to keep the Danger level down is by putting out flames and rescuing
victims.
The most enjoyable thing about playing through each level is hearing the
transmissions from your teammates, which usually describe certain events that form the overall
story. It's almost like hearing a good radio show with alot of immediate action to keep you busy
inbetween and during transmissions. Some of them are even comical, and for the most part they're
well-acted. Aside from moving the story along, the intercom also utilizes the unique
"voice-navigation" system, whereby Chris Partn directs you around the level.
As with most Sonic Team games, however, the most enjoyment derived is after the
game has already been completed. The "generate" feature sort of randomizes level-design after
the game has been finished, meaning certain doors and areas will be open a second or third time
through that you couldn't get to the first time. Indeed, there are huge chunks of level you'd
never even know existed if you didn't utilize the random-generation feature to replay Missions.
If there is any notable flaw in BR, it's that the game's demands seem to far
outweigh what the Saturn is capable of handling. Pop-on, non-stop polygon glitching, and a poor
frame rate dog BR every step of the way. Although one can just imagine how incredible a
Dreamcast sequel has the potential to be...
Fallen Memory: There's been a breach of the core reactor at the 3rd Energy Plant, causing
the central computer to go haywire and take control of the plant and its HST-2000 series robots
-- "Working Bee"s, as they are called. As it turns out, the plant's administrator, Dr. Bradley,
had been experimenting with genetically altering the last specimen in an otherwise extinct
species of flower. The flower - which was given to him by his deceased wife - mutated, took on a
mind of its own and began growing faster than expected.
|
Silent Blue: Fire from an unknown source has set Ocean Park, an underwater aquarium and
marine life research lab in New Zealand, ablaze. Apparently, the park is closed that day and
the only victims in the building should be workers...about thirty of them. But as the Rangers
begin finding children in the inferno, it becomes obvious that something is very wrong. As it
turns out, although the park is closed, a special event is being held and over 200 children
were invited. The only way to possibly save all of them is to destroy the central joint
where the two halves of the lab meet -- which, in theory, would allow the upper half (the park)
to float safely to the surface. The blaze started due to an "earthquake" caused by an old
transmitting lab that was on the location where the aquarium was built. Although the purpose of
the lab is unknown...
| |
No image available
Gravity Zero: An abandoned space colony is being dismantled by a cleaning crew, when the
crumbling ship is hit by a meteorite. The Rangers must get the workers safely out the ship,
which might be a bit easier if their leader wasn't so stubborn about the whole thing... Coupled
with the fact that there are two stowaway children on board, Neal Belmondo and his brother Mel.
Neal went off to watch the meteorite, and as such landed himself in the most dangerous area of
the colony: right at the point of impact. The Rangers use the last escape pod to send Neal to
safety, leaving one Ranger left behind. The only exit comes in the unexpected form of a HUGE
conglomeration of space junk as it hits the crumbling colony...
|
No image available
Winged Cradle: Chris' transmissions are unable to make it through to the massive cluster
of space junk, but the seperated Ranger is guided by an unidentifiable female voice. After the
junk ship's defense system (which is in the form of a blue crystal and was also responsible for
the mechanical monsters at the end of Silent Blue and Gravity Zero) is destroyed, the mysterious
voice reveals herself and unravels the mystery. She is Iria Klein, and at the heart of the
massive shell of space junk lies the actual small craft, which contains the unit where she has
been held in suspended animation for an unknown number of years. When Iria was sixteen, she
contracted a fatal disease for which there was no known cure, and thus her father secured her
body in suspended animation, and sent her off into space for safety until a cure would be
discovered. In order to achieve this, he set a transmission lab (the one found on the site where
Ocean Park was constructed) that would relay the news to Iria's ship; and in order to protect the
ship, he programmed his own consciousness into it. As a result, the "live" system began pulling
in space junk to create a protective shield around Iria's vessel, but there's been an unforseen
side-effect. Now that a cure has been discovered and the ship has received the message, it's
heading back home, and is on a collision course with earth. The only way to stop it is to
destroy the ship's central computer, one seriously mad dad...
|
|
-- MIDI Collection --
|
None available
|
|
|
Secret Passwords: Input the following passwords for the indicated effects:
- Voice Test: "NAVIXXTEST"
- Movie Test: "MOVIETEST?" Replace the "?" at the end with a letter from A-I to play one of
the following movies:
- A: Introduction
- B: Mission 1 (Fallen Memory) Complete
- C: Mission 2 (Silent Blue) Complete
- D: Mission 3 (Gravity Zero) Complete as Shou
- E: Mission 3 (Gravity Zero) Complete as Tillis
- F: Shou's Ending
- G: Tillis' Ending
- H: Mission 4 (Winged Cradle) Complete as Shou
- I: Mission 4 (Winged Cradle) Complete as Tillis
- Play Fallen Memory as Lead Phoenix: GS4LEAD2ZU
- Play Silent Blue as Lead Phoenix: J5LEAD4XGA
- Play Gravity Zero as Lead Phoenix: 2LEAD6DHUY
- Play Fallen Memory as Big Landman: 3BIG2BPLCK
- Play Silent Blue as Big Landman: VZ5BIG5PGW
- Play Gravity Zero as Big Landman: J6BIG3OJYS
- Play Fallen Memory as Chris Partn: DH5CHRIS5H
- Play Silent Blue as Chris Partn: K3CHRIS4AS
- Play Gravity Zero as Chris Partn: ADG2CHRIS5
- Play Fallen Memory as Iria Klein: KB3IRIA5KF
- Play Silent Blue as Iria Klein: HTL2IRIA50
- Play Gravity Zero as Iria Klein: GHJK3IRIA2
- Fallen Memory as Shou Amabane with BGM: G2SHOU2JKY
- Silent Blue as Shou Amabane with BGM: 3SHOU5GHJK
- Gravity Zero as Shou Amabane with BGM: GFGF5SHOU5
- Fallen Memory as Tillis with BGM: NM3TILLIS5
- Silent Blue as Tillis with BGM: B5TILLIS2D
|
Level art taken from Sega Online.
Box cover and screenshots taken from Sega Entertainment
Universe. Information compiled and arranged by Jared
"Green Gibbon!" Matte.
|
