Power Rangers Dino Thunder

Publisher: THQ

Publisher 2: Buena Vista Games

Developer: Natsume

# of Players: 1

Category: Action

Release Dates

N Amer - 08/30/2004

Intl - 11/01/2004

Official Game Website

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Power Rangers Dino Thunder Review

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In the early 90's you would have been hard pressed to find a bigger toy line then the Power Rangers. Using old Japanese footage from Godzilla-like TV shows featuring cool robots battling men dressed up in giant foam rubber monster suits. It was oh-so enjoyable to watch as SABAN meshed new footage of teenage martial artists with old camp. So now, over 10+ years later, we have gone through many new "zords" (the robots the ranger's pilot), Bandai (the creators of the Rangers) are launching a new line of toys and what better way to increase awareness then to have a game company (THQ in this case) put out a game coinciding with the launch.

Dino Thunder is almost a throwback to the old side scrollers of the 80's. Where you battle left to right as bad guys as all sorts of higgly piggly erupts in a plentitude of action and power-ups.

From a gameplay standpoint, the game is relatively easy. The controls are fairly smooth and although the characters seem a bit stiff, the action is easily controlled and varied on some levels with the introduction of some simple puzzle elements. Of course this being a Power Ranger game, you will end up using the Zords and combining them to do battle as a Megazord in stage boss fights while the actual teenage heroes get to do all sorts of crazy martial arts attacks.

Each of the three Rangers (Blue, Red and Yellow) has its own original abilities which will be used throughout the game's 20 levels. Unique attacks and power-ups dot the landscape as well as the introduction of the new evil bad guy named Mesagog. The Zords all resemble dinosaurs which is of course why this is called Dino Thunder and this in turn will make younger kids want to play it all the more. This is an example of a game that, while there is action and kung-fu violence, it clearly is aimed at the 9 year old market with no blood and reeeeally bad violent action.

The colorful graphics and relatively smooth framerate are all good signs of a solid game. The audio however was a bit lacking. Considering that there are a zillion episodes of Power Rangers out there, I wanted something with a bit more punch to it in terms of the hero music. The sound effects were adequate, however, it wasn't anything I would write home about.

This may not be the best GBA game out there right now but chances are you may have a young child in your family that would really dig on this one.

Review Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.0

An easily controlled game, it has a little bit of a learning curve in terms of getting used to the attacks the different characters have, but nothing tough after all.

Graphics: 6.8

I liked the bright colors the game has. Pretty nice boss battles. I liked some other recent game boy games a bit better, but this one is fairly solid in terms of the visuals.

Audio: 5.9

I was expecting more from the game, and it certainly could have benefited from some stronger action noises.

Difficulty: Easy

It's aimed at the younger set, so most parents will look like video game master when they defeat a tough boss on the first try. Look like a hero yourself.

Concept: 7.0

There can never be enough giant robot games as far as I am concerned. It's not the first Power Ranger game, but it's one of the better ones.

Overall: 6.4

I believe you can pick this title up fairly cheap, and it just may be the answer for that young Power Ranger fan in your house. I can't say that this is a must have game, but it would certainly occupy a young child for a while on a car trip with it's 20 levels. Anyone over 18 will probably tire after the 7th level.