Rendering Ranger Rewind Review (Switch)

The last few months have seen an increase in companies taking obscure retro games, giving them a lick of paint and then re-releasing them back into the world. As a result, we’ve had games that were never likely to appear on the Nintendo Switch Online Service brought back into the light. Rendering Ranger, one of the rarest and most expensive Super Nintendo games is the latest of these and another welcome addition.

Rendering Ranger is a side scrolling platform shooter similar in some ways to Super Contra. It’s not up there in terms of the legendary status but the general running, gunning and jumping are within the same area. There are also certain levels which move into a horizontal shooter where you pilot a ship. There’s also a basic powerup system where your weapons improve through pick ups but that’s about it. It was a simpler time.

Graphically, the game ties into the dystopian sci-fi aesthetic of the time in pretty standard fashion. There’s some cool enemy design and the game runs at about a million miles an hour as well so everything comes together in a slick and fun way. The action is intense and unrelenting, but the controls can be a little lose compared to other games which can lead to frustrating deaths. The game world does seem a bit cramped as well.

The levels themselves are also a little long and often have some repeated elements that verge on outstaying their welcome. There’s only so many times you want to go through the same loop of enemies and obstacles after all. Boss fights are well judged though with them being challenging without them falling into the realms of bullet sponges or being seemingly unfair.

Luckily, there are a fair few quality of life elements added to ease the old school difficulty. You can save and load at any point and there is also a rewind function. The game is fairly forgiving as well so all these combined mean players not used to older games should have a good chance of settling in and having a good time.

If you do die there is also a password system in place so you should be able to keep making progress. There are also a whole host of filter, screen size and border options to play around with and even the unreleased, European, version of the game has been included under the Targa title along with a music player and some museum options.

Overall, Rendering Ranger Rewind does an excellent job of presenting the very best version of the game and giving players the best chance of engaging and enjoying it. The game itself is just below the level of the cast iron classics of the time but is a fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable experience for retro game fans. We can also never get annoyed by companies spending the time to bring these more difficult to get hold of games to a wider audience.

Overall 7/10

A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection Review (Switch)

 

Of all the franchises floating around the retro sphere A Boy and His Blob is certainly among the more niche. There was a revival on the Wii, which later moved to over platforms, but this is the first time that the original two games have made their way out of the retro abyss.

This is a fairly simple package which contains the NES game ‘Trouble on Blobonia’ and the Gameboy sequel ‘The Rescue of Princess Blobette’. There’s a nice bonus in that the Western and Japanese versions of the games are included which have different graphics but there is little in the way of archive material or other extras outside of some fancy borders and a basic CRT filter.

The games themselves are a mixture of platforming and puzzles which players overcome by feeding Blob different flavoured jellybeans. Each flavour transforms the Blob into something different, Tangerine for instance turns him into a trampoline while Liquorice transforms Blob into a ladder. There’s a host of different transformations such as an umbrella, blow torch, rocket or even a bubble. Each of which can be used to overcome a range of different obstacles. None of the jellybeans turn Blob into any sort of weapon though, which means any enemies need to be avoided as a single touch will cause death. As a nice touch each game does have a couple of unique transformations as well.

Both games are set in different places. The NES game is split into two different sections and starts on earth. First, you need to search through caves under the city streets to find treasure then take it to the shop and buy packs of vitamins. You then blast off to the planet of Blobonia and use the vitamins to neutralise the marshmallows and other sweets that have invaded it. The Gameboy game is set in a castle with the overall goal being to find and rescue Princess Blobette who has been locked in a tower.

In terms of general controls, the game is ok, if not spectacular. Your character slips around a bit so it can be difficult to position him precisely. Blob is pretty rubbish at moving where you want him as well, but you have a jellybean which will teleport Blob to where it lands so you can move him around if he won’t get in a specific place. You don’t get an awful lot in the way of modernisation to help you either.

There is a very handy map of both games accessible from the menu screen but in terms of save states it is very basic. There is no rewind function and while you can save, there is only one slot and it exits you from the game when you do it. This is a really strange decision as it’s not a quick save so you’ll return to the spot if you die, but if you want to save often you’ll have to go through the process of booting up the game again each time from the menu.

Overall, the two games offer something different for retro fans. We enjoyed both games upon original release and while they are a bit rough around the edges neither are impossible to finish. If you are willing to look through the flaws and the lack of modern options, there’s some wholesome fun to be had at a pretty reasonable price. Fans of the newer game and NES games in general will find a lot to like and we are always happy to see more niche titles brought back for a wider audience.

Overall 7/10