Fighting Games:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
I actually posted this earlier in the Fighting Games Hidden Gems section. I feel the game is excellent and unique. Here's what I wrote for it at the time:
While it may be difficult to consider playing a game with Power Rangers all over it, this actually turns out to be a solid game once you get past that. Control is smooth, characters are well animated, and there’s a unique special move system utilizing a timing mechanism. Execute one while the power gauge is full, and you’ll be bumped up to the next level, until you finally unleash an uber-powered version. And wandering around the battlefield in giant megazords or as a massive monster is a lot of fun. It’s not surprising, considering this game uses the same engine as another title on our list where giant robots duke it out. The only complaints I have about it are the lack of stages(half the character roster defaults to the same stage, and it’s not a very attractive one), and the limited music selection. Does every other musical track really need to be the Power Rangers theme?
Also, arguably one of the best fighters on the console if not the best. I also included this one in that article:
Gundam Wing: Endless Duel
If you were wondering what title I was referenced in Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition, this is it. It is extremely unfortunate this never made it outside of Japan, because it’s one of the best fighters on the Super Famicom. Players take control of various Mobile Suits from the popular Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime series. Endless Duel featured the ability to boost twice, air block, and hover for a limited time, and some Suits are capable of air throws and aerial super moves. To accommodate this, stages scroll both horizontally and vertically. Players must also rely on building high energy levels via blocking and attacking to use special moves or fire their machine guns. The game features music from the anime, and also included a “Trial Mode,” a survival mode where the player must continually fight more difficult opponents while gaining only a little health back each round. The game tallies up the number of successive wins to 99.
Beat 'Em Ups and Hack-N-Slash:The King of Dragons
While Knights of the Round was a solid fantasy Hack-N-Slash in its own right, Capcom went for a more Dungeons & Dragons-esque feel with The King of Dragons, a game that holds similar themes and styles to their later D&D titles Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara. Characters choose from a group of classes at the start, picking between Warrior, Wizard, Cleric, Elf, or Dwarf. As characters continue to battle hordes of monsters, they gain experience for leveling up and more powerful equipment. While many of the enemies(and a couple of bosses) consist of pallet swaps, the game is pretty, controls well, and the audio is well done. The bosses are well designed, culminating in a fierce battle against a massive red dragon that was a lot of fun for me.
Magic Sword
Another Capcom fantasy Hack-N-Slash, Magic Sword takes the player on an epic journey to climb the 50-floor tower known as Dragon Keep to defeat the dark lord Drokmar, whose control over the Black Orb may enable him to conquer the world. You play as the Brave One, an able fighter who must use keys to unlock new equipment and free imprisoned sidekicks while navigating traps, fending off hordes of monsters, and slaying magical bosses. The game also features two endings, offering the player a choice at a key moment to decide which one. While it's not as pretty as Knights of the Round or The King of Dragons, it was also released in arcades a year before either, and the SNES port was released two years before the ports of the other two.
I also believe the Rushing Beat series of Beat 'Em Ups needs to be mentioned! In the US, the Rushing Beat titles would see release as Rival Turf!, Brawl Brothers, and The Peace Keepers. The plots were utterly mangled, intro screens were sometimes dropped, names were changed, but the ever-growing casts were kept, as well as the branching pathways to get through the game, depending on what doors were taken, what bosses were defeated, and whether characters manage to pull off certain events. It's a series that I really wish would get more love, because from what I've played of them(I own Brawl Brothers and The Peace Keepers), they are quite enjoyable.
