Ranger X review - Segadrunk
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Not a pick-up-and-play game, more like a pick-up-and-what-the-hell-are-these-controls game...
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The 3D effects of the scrolling on the background of the level you were showing in the last shot I always thought were very cool
So cool, those kind of effects were rarely if ever on Snes so thats one thing I'll sing the Genesis' praises over
Ranger X looks like a high-end Sega CD game, it looks too good even for Genesis.
You think that’s cool? Now let me really shock you: *you can CONTROL those cutscenes*
I’m not messing with you, I have an original model 1 genesis and an actual copy of this game and it blew me away when the cheat code worked
The way you get it to work is to hit X, B, Z and then Select specifically when the cutscenes flash WARNING
From them on, you have 2 more choices, you can fly the ship through the preprogrammed cutscene path with free camera control to view the geometry at different angles, or, you can even fly right out of the corridors the cutscene is in and actually see some unused models in the vast oasis
It’s flipping crazy more people don’t know about this amazing game
That really is amazing, I'll try it next time.
LucarioAnubis What the actual flying fuck , I just tried it and it worked !!! :O this whole game has a 3D environment where you can move around freely and it’s doing it only with the Genesis hardware and no add on chip, the devs of this game are insane :0 So if I understand correctly the developers of the game went trough all the trouble of coding a 3D environment simply for the sole purpose of cutscene and it has nothing to do with the gameplay? If this is not commitment, then I don’t know what is.
This is another undervalued, highly competent action game on the Mega Drive/Genesis. Your description of this game is pretty much spot on. I've always thought of R-Type mixed in with a bevy of classic Mega Drive run and guns and mind scrambling controls. It is still an exciting game to this day.
I remember playing and beating this game at 10 yrs old. Idk how I was able to learn and master such a mechanically technical game, but being 31 now and thinking back on it, I rly had a skill for figuring things out in games.
It still amazes me to this day how I beat games like this on the hardest difficulty, in an era where games were known for being so hard to beat.
What an awesome looking game. Never even knew this was a thing to know about. Thanks Drunk!
Launchpad, I saw a video awhile back on it but had never played it. Seen it in a game store yesterday for $25 so I bought it and overnight it has become my new favorite.
Definitely play it if you get an opportunity. It's still a challenge today.
128 on-screen colors, baby! This is a terrific showpiece for Genesis’ hardware and a great example of the brilliant coding that had emerged around that time.
One of my favorite Genesis games! Top 10 for sure. Hate that more people don’t talk about it more.
whats funny is the game called EX-RANZA in my country and I didnt know it was also Ranger X in US, we didnt have internet back then so we barely talk about it
Gosh, there is some beautiful and clever usage of parallax in that game. The hallway you were showing at the end and the reflections on the skyscraper levels are impressive. As a pixel artist, I love seeing these kind of things.
This game was developed by GAU Entertainment and it is known in Japan as Ex-Ranza, and the Japanese version has an extra stage, which can be putting a password in the options and the stage can be accessed in Easy mode. Noriyuki Iwadare (alongside Cube Corporation) did the sound driver for this game though. Western versions have a different color palette when played in high difficulty settings.
I noticed the different color pallet... i was amazed.
wow really? i have this game on cartridge from back then and never noticed it
(in fact i even have maxed this game score by killing every single enemy on it in the hardest difficulty without dying)
The Japanese version is also worse by a mile. Your machine gun fires at half the rate and I don't think Ex-Up's shots track when linked.
The different color for stage 1 is because you're getting less light I believe for the difficulty, meaning you get less power.
@Benjamin Jagun what a shame, considering how amazing this game is
Never knew that. Thanks for giving me something to look into.
Finally my favorite Genesis game! Now if we can just get Sega to resurrect this gem on new consoles.
If Sega won't, then you can via Hack.
In truth that’s how I first tried it. I was like everyone else who had never heard of it and Alien Soldier. But they deserve love.
+Dennis Sims
Maybe they'll be on the new Sega Genesis mini that comes out in October! They already announced "Gunstar Heroes" will be on it, so we have hope on our sides!
Me too so good
@@Dsims37 used to rent this at my local video store if they hadn't gotten any new genesis titles since I was last there. The eagle and the plasma beam are my favorite weapons
This is one of the vary rare times I can say that it is both exciting to watch your friend play and play yourself. This game is like an action movie.
And don't come at me with those "when I wanna watch a movie I will watch a movie" bs comments. Back then it was hard to find a game everyone wanted to watch you play. There weren't TV's in every room. You kids just don't get it.
THE MUSIC & THE INTRO ARE SI-FI GOLD
I love this game. It's one of my favorites on the Genesis. I didn't have it when it was new, but I wish I knew about it back in the day. It is a quirky game, from the controls, to the bike, and the vastly different stage designs. It's not the easiest game to get into at first. I had to take the time to learn the game, more so than others. The second stage, the one in the cave, is where I learned the most lessons. It's a tough level as you stated, though I've come to enjoy it a lot. Finding the openings for light was a happy accident for me. I don't think the game is as hard as some people seem to think it is, but it requires learning some things that are not obvious.
Here's another tip: The mech has a high jump. Briefly tapping up out of a crouch triggers a springy high jump. This allows you to get some height before using flight energy which allows you to fly a bit higher or farther, as well as saving flight energy in general. Also, it is essential for the building stage on the highest difficulty as the floating platforms are no longer there. In that case, you must maximize flight range and that's how to do it. Anyway, great video.
Blast Processing Baby!!
was a lie.
@@rd400d Blast processing refers to the CPU speed also.
Not exactly a lie. The SNES could not keep up pound for pound with Genesis when it came to shmups.
Granted SNES has a couple of notable ones, the Genesis was much better equipped as its processor had twice the memory which allowed more sprites on screen with less slow down.
@rd400d it wasnt a lie, it just wasn't some unique thing. Sure it was marketing hype, but that doesn't mean it didnt refer to a real thing.
I'd say this game was moreso Cybernator (Snes) meets Trouble Shooter (Genesis). Although Cybernator was a prequel based on the earlier Japanese MD title Leynos Assault Suits both made by Japanese developer Masaya.
Your channel has grown-up so much, that's really cool to see your efforts making it reach 100K ! :)
Great video on a cool game !
I always have a great rest of my day when I get to watch one of these in the morning!
The fact you know what this game is fills me with so much joy. One of a handful of Genesis games I had as a kid... I've never met another human who's even heard of this game, let alone played it.
Also, thanks for helping me rediscover Hyper Zone!!
You are honestly my newest favorite TH-camr! I grew up with the super nintendo and none of my friends have nostalgia for it like I do. So it's refreshing to see it still so relevant so someone nearly 30 years after its release. Thank you for all the awesome content!
played for the first time yesterday. At first i found it hard and by the second level I was surfing my bike like a pro, shooting stuff and dodging. The game teaches itself in the first 2 levels and after that is just so much fun and challenge. Loved it and can`t wait to play it again, such a surprise.
Look at something like Altered Beast and then Ranger X. The advancement of the graphics and depth of gameplay from the beginning of a 16 bit console (you could include most console generations but I always found the 16 bit the most striking) to what was show towards it's end is astounding. Just shows the true power of these old console's and the level of knowledge from the developer's learned over it's lifespan. Altered Beast and Ranger X look like their running on two completely different systems. Just look at Super Mario Bros 1 compared to Super Mario Bros 3, good example from the 8 bit generation. Or Sonic 1 to Sonic & Knuckles.
Hello Snes Drunk! Thank you so much for showing me this game! As a fan of mech genre, I'm always pleased everytime I see an awesome mech games that has good mech design(both real type, super type, and SD) from retro console that makes stuff go boom, which makes me think... since you're fine at listing specific games that has the same themes and genre, how about you do a list of mech games from retro consoles since no one seem done it on TH-cam. Again, thank you so much for good videos!
It always surprises me to see Ranger X pop up on anyone's channel since it seems super obscure.
Great game, great music.
The best way to describe the controls for me, twin stick shooter but using buttons. That seems to clear it up when I've gotten friends to try it. It's still confusing but it's worth it for such a fun game.
I love running through on the hardest mode.
Finding all the power ups is half the fun, I only knew about the last one, the shield when watching a speed run. It's the best one and it's REALLY hard to get on Heavy mode.
I haven't played this game in over twenty years, I'm still surprised that I even managed to complete it a few times back then. It was a tough game but really quite fun. One of those rare gems that is usually overlooked.
Ranger X was a rental for me back in the day, man was it worth it! What a hidden gem!
This would have blown my mind as a kid.
Another awesome video.
I must say, you instantly became a favorite of mine.
Keep up the good work, dude!
Always a great rest of my day after a shot of SNES drunk!
I enjoy the involved backgrounds! Also well done making the Sega sound like the good Sega startups in segadrunk
Dude more genesis reviews please!! Also it’d be great if you gave attention to the best games in each sports category like you did on the snes...please:)
Great video. This is a great game that doesnt get alot of attention. I rarely see it mentioned. I picked it up used through mail order many years ago. It definately has a unique feel and control scheme, but once you adjust its alot of fun.
Love this channel man! You still show me new games I wouldn't have thought to even try.
Too many SNES/Genesis titles look like simple shoot em ups at first glance, so I really appreciate the deeper look at these
Snesdrunk I swear you’re the best channel on this platform
Thanks so much for reviewing this amazing game! Did you know digibro recommended your videos by the way? It was in his Insomnia Analysis series I think
Played this when it was new when I was a kid. Didn't own it, just rented but it has stuck with me because of how well done it is. I'd say it needs a remake, but I feel every bit of its character is great as it is like this, but I'm not opposed to the idea if the remake was done well.
One of my favourite games for the system. It has 7 levels, not 5. I can finish this one on Heavy mode without losing a single continue, isn't as hard when you figure out how to maneuver your mech and which weapons to use in some areas. Also, as a note, when you play the game on Hard or Heavy mode the color pallete changes on all stages, for example the first stage on normal mode has a blue sky but in hard mode it is a sunset and Stage 2 instead of a blue-ish color it looks green. Maybe the action on the highest difficulties looks impossible to manage but it isn't at all, is even more exciting to play it that way.
This sounds amazing. Thanks for the info.
Great job. Also one of my favorite Genesis/Megadrive games. In addition to everything you said about the graphics, it is also a master class of how to fully utilize the colors of the Genesis/Megadrive.
holy baloney, this looks amazing. thank you for drawing attention to yet another great-looking title that SNES kids like me never knew about!
That vertical level was the bane of my existence but I loved every second of it and would come back for more. This was a great game and is still more challenging than a lot of games today.
This game looks rad! Sort of like a Genesis cousin to Metal Warriors, at least aesthetically. Admittedly, it sounds like the game mechanics differ in most ways.
This is one of my top 5 Mega Drive games for sure. Great graphics and music just solid presentation all around. Excellent controls and gameplay very unique nothing really like it on any system. Varied and solid level design, never gets boring or stale. Awesome bosses especially the final boss. Great difficult selection too. Imo pretty much flawless.
One of my favorite games in my Genesis collection. The gameplay is fast and fluid, the music is badass, and replay factor is infinite.
This game and Mark of Kri were my favorite "ran out of choices," rentals. Oh, and "whoomp em"
i loved this game when I was young. Especially the solar power mechanic. this was the closest thing to Tekkaman or Gundam that we could get in the states, and I lapped it up. Needs a full reboot for the modern times. The ability to fly the plane would be AWESOME.
The art style is indeed awesome.
I could go on and on about how good this game looks and sounds. That's what drove me to better understand the game play, the visuals and sound. I just love how unique and detailed the graphics are, and how the music perfectly complements it.
Man, I always wonder why there's not a channel just like SNES Drunk for Sega. I feel lucky when you do Sega Drunk. :)
You should check out Mega Drive Profile:
th-cam.com/channels/icmo3OzAmaul-lGc5ghV9Q.htmlfeatured
You can also control Indra with a 3-button controller, it's just a little awkward. If you hold down to duck then simultaneously press right or left, Indra will move right or left. You can also use down-holding to make Indra get lower to the ground, which really only allows you to make it do a jump when you release (or maybe it's if you press up after holding down, I can't remember). Sounds like 6-button control was ideal for this, but I made it work with my 3-button.
Glad to see Ranger X get some love!
Finally someone shines a light on this game when other TH-camrs ignore it ! Now if you could do something for the Panzer Dragoon series.. 😁😁
HELL YES! Ranger X has been one of my top favorite Genesis games since childhood. Along with Sonic 2, Sub-Terranea, Jurassic Park, Dinosaurs For Hire, and MK2, it is the first games I think of when I think of the Genesis. I honestly reference this game all the time.
This is one of those games you play for the graphics, but once you get into the meat of things your mileage may vary...
I felt it was a bit overwhelming when I played it, not that it wasn't fun, but that 2nd stage was a bit much to wrap my head around, but I think if I played it more I'd be able to get farther and even enjoy it more...
Yeah the 2nd stage isnt great and does leave a negative impression for sure (similar to Marble Zone from S1 after the amazing Green Hill). Imo it suffers from overdesign but the rest of the game is really solid and makes up for it, save maybe for the final stage, which is really tough and requires delicate technical control of RX otherwise you'll become frustrated.
Definitely consider giving it another go! The whole point of level 2 is just to destroy the generators, they look exactly the same as the ones you destroyed in level 1. I will admit it’s badly designed but for me I can get a lot of fun out of it, just like I can get a lot of fun out of bad Sonic stages like Marble Zone or Metropolis Zone.
Here’s some Other pointers
The radar will help you a lot, the stuff that looks like water will slowly kill you so dismount from your vehicle, ditch you vehicle, and the vehicle will follow you somehow unharmed. Don’t know how that works lmao.
The attention to detail in this game is nuts. It's a showcase on what the Genesis is capable of in the right hands.
BTW, speaking of detail, if you look closely in the windows on the skyscraper level you can see a woman taking a shower through the glass 😁😳
Lmao I love this game and even I never noticed that! But I see it now XD
I had a love-hate relationship with this game when I was a kid. There was so much to fall in love with, and yet it was frustratingly difficult for my younger self. I recall I stuck with it and managed to complete it once or twice, probably on easy setting. Just the other day I had a little play of it in an emulator and loved it to bits. I was prepared for the difficulty and was blown away by all the details I had forgotten about in the design, graphics and music. This game had incredibly high production standards for the time.
Great game great review I remember finding it in a charity shop on holiday as a kid
Just got this game today. Awesome
This has to be one of the best looking Genesis games. Those scrolling parallax backgrounds were awesome looking.
Tough game to get into for sure. I've tried on multiple occasions. It is beautiful tho
I got Assault Suits Valken for the SNES while my Mega Drive-owning friend got this. To this day we still haven't established which is the better game
That sounds like a fun standoff and a nice problem to have. Nice timing as well.
I recall playing this game a few times at my friend's house as a kid, pretty tough couldn't get past 2nd level, saw it reviewed as one of 50 best sega games on another channel, got it about 3 weeks ago, thanks for justifying my decision and giving me pointers!
Here's another tip that not many seem to know: tapping up out of a crouch does a high jump. This allows you to save a little bit of flight energy as the high jump uses almost nothing and it allows you to begin flight while already pretty high up. It's also essential when playing the vertical building stage on the hardest difficulty as they remove platforms that are there in normal mode.
10 who disliked couldn't get pass the 2nd level or figure out the controls lol. This is one of my fave Sega Genesis-Nomad-Megadrive games. Beautiful graphics, good music, great gamplay, actually very challenging game play too. The harder modes on this game make it very challenging.
A special and unique game. At the time of it's release it was a progressive game. The game mechanics were very clever for the genre. It has alot of fans, I'am a big fan, with the MegaDrive Mini looming I bet alot of fans will want Ranger X on the final roster.
I remember this gem well. Always loved the graphics and level variety. You're right about the controls though--button placement on the sega 6-button pad was awkward for everything but the street fighter ports. This would have played much better with an SNES controller.
Don't forget to mention Yuyu Hakusho by Treasure. So underrated and yet fun.
The Ghost Files?
Ranger x wasn't ignoredby me when it was released. I always thought the game rocked. True the controls take a while to master but they are worth mastering. A game that's always in my top 10 and I always go back to play.
this game has some advanced comcepts for the old sega and some really cool graphical trickery.
I know! The holes in the wall of Stage 3’s boss blew me away! Then I realized they move with the player to have 3D depth and enemies actually fly out of them and attack you! What?
One the best mega drive games I played
How ironic, I was looking at picking this up today, so I shall sit down and enjoy this review.
Have a great rest of your day too :)
I love this game. This to me was like how Cybernator was to SNES from the first time I played it.
I’ve had this game in a box of stuff to sell for like 2 years... beautiful enough that I haven’t sold it, but hard enough that it hasn’t found a home in the collection. Game purgatory!
I didn't think it was that hard on normal difficulty. It just required learning its quirks, such as discovering that the mech was solar powered and how to find light in the cave level, as mentioned in the video. The key for me was getting familiar with the special weapons. That really opened the game up for me and it's one of my favorites on the system now. If it's not for you, that's cool, but it sounds like you want to like it, so I thought I'd share my experience. The difficulty drops when you find and learn the special weapons and go slow in some stages. Good luck if you go back to it.
I just played this game last week, is a must play
Oh my goodness! That looks great!
I've been on a mech kick lately and I had no idea this was even a thing! Thank you for the PSA. :3
Never have played or even heard of such games.Good work Snesdrunk guy.
Well, the SEGA Genesis did have a better CPU, and was far more capable of displaying a lot on screen than the SNES was.
So SHMUPS and run in guns and so forth are just far better on the genesis.
I think developers started to get that figured out on the SNES later in its life, though.
Similar to how dev's found ways to do scaling and rotation for the genesis (as well as choose colors that won't make your eyes bleed, lol)
The hardwares better designed for it but thanks to the amazing level of support the SNES still got great games in the action and shooter department. Hagane and R-type 3 being good examples
Nintendo has *always* cheaped out on the performance in every piece of hardware they released. The only possible exception is the game cube, which was arguably more powerful than the Sony and MS offerings.
@@PlumbDrumb Yes Devs figured out the SNES more as things went on, but they also increasingly used extra chips in the cart - something Sega didn't do other than 1 game (Virtua Racing). There are dozens of SNES games using extra chips even as early as Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart, to many of the later games such as Kirby Super Star and SMRPG. Those latter 2 games used an SA-1 chip which literally added a second CPU that was 3x faster than the original + more RAM. Vanilla SNES is still more capable than the Genesis in terms of graphical features and colors, but that weak CPU held it back and it often needed extra hardware to make up for it.
I had never heard of this game until I saw a video that G to the Next Level did on it. Went and picked it up as soon as I could as I knew that a local game store had it
Turbo Drunk would be okay too! :)
DOPE! I love your videos dude.
Awesome game really!I tried this one once when I was a kid and couldn't pass the first stage, probably because I wasn't used to the controls.
Thanks for reminding me I'll try it again, maybe now I can get to the second stage :D
thank you for remember the thing in R-Type is called the Force, its not easy getting gamers to remember that and this helps :3
Good review. I personally found it fairly easy on Normal at least, but it's generally better to stick to finishing your objective than trying to beat everything that comes your way (and to find all the hidden weapons).
The perfect video to accompany my morning Pop Tart.
I loved this game! It’s a shame it doesn’t get much (or any) attention from collections/updates/digital/etc.
This is the kind of game that needs to be on the Genesis Mini!
I can't get past the second level yet. Truly difficult, but seems to be a great game overall. Thanks for another great video!🍻
It is tough, but you just have to really take your time and take advantage of the health recharge station.
The best game ever made
🔥🔥🔥
Wonder if this gem will be included in the Mega Drive Mini.
Hopefully the emulation won't be tailored for each game and they'll include an sd card slot.
Never played it but that second level reminds me of the Genesis shoot em up Steel Empire. Cramped cave like space after a first level that's outdoors with lots of sky to move around in.
I played the HECK out of this game as a kid, back when I picked out games from the game store based on the art on the box and the screenshots and stuff on the back. Awesome game. Also the music was amazing.
cool game great box art and good video. I'm going to bust mine out now thanks.
Massively overlooked gem.
It's really not that hard, the controls take a few minutes to get used to but it almost plays like a 2D shooter where you can fire forwards or back. You also have to know when it's best to use the vehicle or pop out as the mech, most of the time it's better in the mech but they do a nice job mixing it up, also don't play it like Contra, this game is actually a bit more methodical despite it's appearance.
Absolutely amazing game
I need it back in my life on switch
Never managed to pick this one up in the day, but boy did it always look great.
👍👍👍👍👍 one of the best Sega mega drive / genesis game
This one looks beautiful but stressful. Great find!
Maybe the best technically executed game of Mega Drive!!
(0_0 ) yes... YEEES!!! I'm freaking out... this... this is one of my favorite games. Also... this game uses a lot of the power of the Mega Drive.
So bad it didn't go very far in the game market :'(
bom dia
@@celokotio7161
Saudações 👍😎
This one is great! Still waiting for Dynamite Headdy review! ) Thanks you, man!
Damn! They were ambitious on this game and I'm happy about it.
Would be sweet if this on the Genesis mini. Also Musha 😊
I finally got an arcade stick. I can't wait to use it to pilot Ranger X.
This is one of the few games I owned as a kid and still own today
One of my favorite Genesis/mega drive games. Amazing review! Have you ever played Chakan, Snesdrunk?