that formed Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, basically a rehashed Japanese Super Sentai

series in an easy to swallow westernized pill. It's a series and a pop culture phenomenon

that took the United States by storm virtually overnight, and soon, you were enrolling in

taekwondo classes and getting up early every Saturday morning to see what would transpire

between the teenagers of Angel Grove California and the twisted alien witch Rita Repulsa.

The Power Rangers media empire spanned across the map, from television and movies, to action

figures and of course, video games. Controlling your favorite character, whether it be because

they wear your favorite color or perhaps because of their overall style and fighting flair,

was like living the dream, and when Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers showed up to play on

the Sega Genesis, you were in for an afternoon of button mashing, name-calling goodness.

Basically everything that happens in this game is what happens in the series: Rita Repulsa

throws her monstrous goons at you, and you must defeat them in true fighting game fashion,

as opposed to the Super NES version which is a side-scrolling putty patrol beat-em-up,

not to be confused with MMPR the Movie. To counter her attack on Planet Earth, you will

select a ranger of your choice, and after a little bit of typical fanservice and 16-bit

cutscene, you'll find yourself on the battlefield, starting off with Minotaur. I'll be honest,

each fight feels a little bit like a boss battle in Final Fight, Streets of Rage or

any other 2D beat-em-up. Your opponents' movements can seem somewhat scripted, making it easy

to come up with a broken strategy to defeat him. For example, my man Zack Taylor, who

was the Black Ranger before Vash the Stampede beat him out, has a spin attack can be implemented

over and over again, and since the fighting area can go left or right infinitely, there

is a chance that you can use such a strategy to your benefit until your enemy falls. Along

with the minotaur, you'll come across some of the show's most popular villains, such

as a possessed Green Ranger, and a giant version of Rita's henchman Goldar and a few mechas

which you will battle with Dragonzord and Megazord, each with an arsenal of devastating

power attacks. The biggest beef I have with this game is that it probably lasts about

as long as an episode. The battles against your childhood enemies are actually a lot

of fun, but the replay value is about as deep as a kiddy pool. Fortunately, there is a multiplayer

mode that might serve you, but in an age of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, which would

you choose? Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a good dose of nostalgia that will keep you

occupied for about an hour, tops. You might even get the itch to tug at Mom's skirt for

a trip to the toy store all over again.