Burning Rangers is initially very off-putting, and confusing similar 
to NiGHTS in fact. The first level is predominantly made up of sparse, 
metallic and seemingly repetitive corridors with little to distinguish 
one from the last. The gameplay appears unbalanced, as you become 
engulfed in a flash-fire bursting through an unstable exterior wall 
with no prior warning. Not to mention the distinctly Japanese 
influence of the game, which will appear alien to the Western gamer, 
force fed on a staple diet of arcade racers and beat ’em ups.  
Granted, it’s not too dissimilar from Core Design’s Tomb Raider 
series, but what elevates Burning Rangers are the hallmark Sonic Team 
innovations. Supporting your progress through the vast and expansive 
labyrinth of flame-filled corridors, information is communicated about 

the best possible route to the trapped civilians and the condition of 
each area. This is available wherever and whenever you need it, simply 
by pressing the “Z” button.

It’s a good job too, as there’s no time to plan out a route. With 
speed being a key concept in Burning Rangers, everything moves at 
breakneck speed, so there’s never any respite in the action. Exploding 
walls, falling bridges and collapsing floors ensure that only players 
who are able to think on their feet will survive. This is where the 
versatile controls come into play. As with the incredible NiGHTS, 
mastering the controls of the agile characters is essential for 
progression through the game. Strapped into their jet pack the Burning 
Rangers control like a cross between Lara Croft and NiGHTS - with 
jumps, rolls and back flips being amongst their versatile repertoire 
of manoeuvres. Pulling off these stunts couldn’t be simpler, thanks to 
the near-essential analogue pad, enabling novices to pick up the basic 
movement system, whilst experts are able to manipulate the characters 
with pinpoint precision. In terms of visuals, Burning Rangers is a bit 
hit-and-miss really. Sonic Team are doing things with the Saturn that 
no other developer has achieved, with some jaw-dropping translucent 
fires and incredible real-time lighting effects. The problem is 
though, Burning Rangers also exposes the hardware limitations of the 
Saturn. Polygon glitching is a regular occurrence, the frame rate is a 
tad jerky at times and the draw-in distance is questionable. It’s 
something we thought would be sorted out for the final copy, but 
unfortunately that isn’t the case.
Shame.

Our only other criticism is that Burning Rangers isn’t massively 
difficult. Like most Sonic Team games, it doesn’t take a superhuman 
effort to complete the four levels. Given a couple of days, most 
reasonably accomplished players should have it clocked. But as with 
NiGHTS, the incentive is there to keep going back to each level until 
you’ve attained a grade “A” on each one, at which point we suspect 
some cool new game options will become available. Ah, but only four 
levels, you say? Yep. But when you take into consideration the 
multiple routes which become accessible with every subsequent game 
(3125 different routes in total).

An excellent addictive game, fun to play with some great new touches. 
 It’s certainly not without its faults and doesn’t really attain 
must-have status. But get past the scrappy graphics and the initial 
shortcomings and you’ll discover yet another innovative and unique 
gaming experience from Sonic Team.

reviewed by

Gus Swan