Exactly what you think of when you think "Power Rangers video game."
Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers is a 1996 Racing Game developed by Natsume and published by Bandai for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, based on Season 4 of the TV show.
Unlike all previous Power Rangers games, which were either a Beat 'em Up or a Fighting Game, this game has you tackle sixteen tracks (plus one secret track) as either one of the Zeo Rangers or one of the Machine Empire in order to claim the championship trophy. Why are the Zeo Rangers and Machine Empire racing each other instead of trying to beat each other up? Who knows?
The game is an extremely blatant ripoff of Super Mario Kart, down to using the same split-screen display and even the same course layouts and track visuals. The main differences are that there are only four racers instead of eight and that items are junked in favor of Blaster shots, which each racer has five of (with the exception of Cogs Ace, who has unlimited). There is also a battle mode where, depending on the mode selected, you are trying to push your opponents off the track, destroy them in a regular deathmatch, or run over targets to gain the most points.
The playable roster includes:
- Zeo Ranger I Pink (Kat)
- Zeo Ranger II Yellow (Tanya)
- Zeo Ranger III Blue (Rocky)
- Zeo Ranger IV Green (Adam)
- Zeo Ranger V Red (Tommy)
- Gold Zeo Ranger (Jason)
- King Mondo
- Cog Warrior
- Cogs Ace*
Tropes:
- The Ace: Cogs Ace, naturally. It has all its stats maxed out and can fire unlimited Blaster shots.
- Adapted Out: Zordon, Alpha 5, Auric, the Zords, and everyone in the Machine Empire aside from King Mondo and a Cog are junked completely.
- Athletic Arena Level: The City Circuit tracks give off this vibe, as recolored Mario Circuit tracks.
- BBC Quarry: The Grand Canyon tracks give off this vibe.
- Butt-Monkey: Should Cog Warrior or Cogs Ace win the Grand Prix, they'll slip when celebrating and fall off the podium.
- Canon Foreigner: Not a character, but the vehicles the Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink Rangers, along with Mondo, ride were invented for this game and do not come from the TV show nor the toyline.
- Cool Bike: The Red and Gold Rangers ride the Jet Bikes from the show, while the Blue and Pink Rangers ride hover cycles. Mondo rides what is essentially a knockoff Harley.
- Cool Car: The Green and Yellow Rangers ride what is essentially an off-road buggy, while the Cog Warrior and Cogs Ace ride modified versions of their fighter jets from the show.
- Covers Always Lie: The Gold Ranger on the front cover has his show look with appropriate cycle. In-game, he is always missing his chest armor and gold armbands, while his gameplay sprite has the star symbol from the Red Ranger instead.
- Digitized Sprites: All of the portraits are rotoscoped from the show, while all the gameplay sprites are digitized 3D models similar to Super Mario RPG or Donkey Kong Country.
- Expy: South Island, Rangers Base, Grand Canyon, Enemies Town, and Ice Sheet are blatant copies of Koopa Beach, Donut Plains, Choco Island, Bowser's Castle, and Vanilla Lake from Super Mario Kart. Not just the theming, but the layouts as well.
- Fragile Speedster: Pink Ranger has max Acceleration, but her Speed and Grip stats are extremely poor.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: King Mondo, Cog Warrior, and Cog Ace are normally trying to kill the Zeo Rangers, but in this game are simply trying to beat them in a race.
- Graceful Loser: If one of the Rangers comes in first place, the other Rangers who finish below them will look happy for their friend.
- Green Hill Zone: Both Ranger Base and City Circuit qualify, though the actual first track is South Island 1.
- Insurmountable Waist-High Fence: Due to being a blatant Super Mario Kart ripoff, the same restrictions apply. You cannot jump over the colored blocks encircling the track.
- Jack of All Stats: Red Ranger has the most balanced stats. Green Ranger trades a little bit of Acceleration for Grip, but is otherwise similar.
- Mascot Racer: Taking all of its characters from Season 4 of Power Rangers.
- Mighty Glacier: King Mondo is the Bowser of this game, having top Speed with poor Acceleration and Grip.
- Moveset Clone: The Zeo Rangers are divided up like this. Red and Gold ride their Jet Cycles, Blue and Pink drive hover cycles, while Green and Yellow go around in cars.
- Mythology Gag: Points Race 1's map is shaped like the Gold Ranger's personal symbol.
- Nightmarish Factory: What Enemies Town is going for, based on the Machine Empire's home base.
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Nintendo Hard: Later races are agonizing tough that it's almost impossible to come in first place unless you play as Green Ranger or Cogs Ace. - No Plot? No Problem!: There isn't even an Excuse Plot as to why these mortal enemies are racing each other for a championship.
- Oil Slick: City Circuit has some splayed throughout the track.
- Palette Swap:
- All of the Zeo Rangers' gameplay sprites are recolored from the Red Ranger. Thus, they all share his star-shaped helmet.
- The Gold, Pink, and Yellow Rangers' vehicles are color-swapped from the Red, Blue, and Green Rangers respectively.
- Cogs Ace is simply a slightly darker shade from Cog Warrior, and his car is the same, just painted grey instead of bronze.
- Many of the courses are straight-up ripped from Super Mario Kart, just with slightly altered colors. South Island is arguably the most blatant, as a copy of Koopa Island without the Cheep Cheeps.
- Palmtree Panic: Though no palm trees are seen, South Island takes place on a set of islands.
- Secret Character: Cogs Ace is only unlocked after finishing in first in every race.
- Secret Level: Sky Circuit, only available after finishing first in every other track at least once.
- Shout-Out: The third variant in 2P Battle is called Blaster Master.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Ice Sheet 1 and 2 fulfill this role.
- Sore Loser: If Mondo or one of the Cogs wins the Grand Prix, any Rangers who finish 2nd or 3rd will be in an angry or upset position on the podium.
- Two Girls to a Team: The Yellow and Pink Rangers are the only female racers in the game.
- Vehicular Combat: The Bumper Chase and Blaster Master modes have you battle your opponent directly, similar to Mario Kart's Battle Mode.
- You Don't Look Like You: All of the gameplay sprites of the Zeo Rangers share the star-shaped visor with the Red Ranger. The Gold Ranger is also missing his chest armor and arm bands. Funny enough, the portraits for the Battle Mode do show the Gold Ranger with his proper symbol on his helmet and bike, though still missing his chest armor.
