Ranger-X

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • NTSC-U/PAL
  • NTSC-J

RangerX TitleScreen.png

ExRanza MD JP TitleScreen.png

Ranger-X
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Sound driver: Cube/Noriyuki Iwadare
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad
Genre: Shooting[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP 		¥6,8006,800 G-4097
Sega Mega Drive
US 		1076
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Mega Drive
EU 		1076
Sega Mega Drive
DE 		DM 110110[6] 1076
Sega Mega Drive
UK 		£39.9939.99[5][3] 1076
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
BR 		044510
Sega Mega Drive
KR 		GM8098JG

Ranger-X, known in Japan as Ex-Ranza (エクスランザー), is a Sega Mega Drive action run-and-gun game developed by Gau Entertainment and published by Sega. First released in Japan in May 1993, it was localized and brought to the United States and Europe the following year. Sometime later, the game was also brought to Australia, Brazil, and Korea.

Story

The Rahuna, a coalition of warrior beings from the fringe worlds, have invaded the Free Galactic Systems Council on the Homeworld. It is believed that they want to usurp the Council's peaceful rule over the galactic systems. The Homeworld Tribes were caught unprepared by the attack and have suffered heavy casualties. Tribe Tech and Tribe Ranger, two tribes on the far side of the Homeworld thus far spared by the assault, are sending their Ranger-X armored exo-skeleton suit and Courier support units on a series of missions to destroy strategic Rahuna targets throughout the Homeworld.

Gameplay

The player plays as Ranger-X, a robot fighter equipped with a jet pack and an assortment of weapons. Each stage presents a special type of target in a wireframe 3D introduction sequence, and Ranger-X must find and destroy all of these targets in the mission before facing a boss. A radar at the top of the screen shows when an objective target is nearby as well as showing the number of remaining targets.

The jet pack allows for short periods of flight by pressing the Up button. The duration of the flight is limited by the jet pack's temperature (shown in a gauge in the corner of the screen). Upon overheating, the player must land and wait for cool down.

Ranger-X is equipped with a standard pulse rifle, which is fired to the left by pressing A and to the right by pressing C. The player also has access to various special weapons, including a flamethrower and homing attacks, which are fired with the B or Y buttons. Unlike the pulse rifle, the special weapons drain a power bar, which can only be recharged when Ranger-X is in a bright light source. This special arsenal can be increased by collecting power ups scattered across the stages.

Couriers

On each stage, Ranger-X is accompanied by a support vehicle, called a Courier.

Ranger-X, Couriers, Ex-Up Indra.png
 Ex-Up Indra
The Ex-Up Indra is an agile motorbike. It is equipped with a similar pulse rifle to Ranger-X and can move and fire independently of Ranger-X. The X button moves it to the left and the Z button moves it to the right. If Ranger-X is standing on it, it can be moved with Left and Right. If Ranger-X is on the ground, it can be moved using the Down-left and Down-right buttons (allowing the player to move the Indra separately even without a six button control pad). Ranger-X can also enter the Indra by standing on it and pressing Down (and exit with Up), which allows him to change his special weapon (using the B or Y buttons). In this mode, the Indra has its own health bar and its weapon changes to automatically target enemies rather than firing straight ahead. Additionally, it can jump by holding and then releasing Down.
Ranger-X, Couriers, Ex-Up Eos.png
 Ex-Up Eos
On some stages, Ranger-X is provided with the Ex-Up Eos instead, which is a flying craft. Unlike the Indra, the player cannot directly control the Eos. Instead, it follows Ranger-X throughout the mission and provides air support by automatically firing lasers at enemy targets. Ranger-X can similarly enter the Eos by standing on it and pressing Down (and exit with Up) in order to change his special weapon, but the Eos does not have its own health bar.

Levels

Ranger-X, Stage 1.png

Ranger-X, Stage 1 Boss.png

Desert
The File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Flame Unit.png Flame Unit and File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Seeker Mine.png Seeker Mine weapons are initially available.

Ranger-X, Stage 2.png

Ranger-X, Stage 2 Boss.png

Cavern
The File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Seeker Charge.png Seeker Charge weapon is hidden in this stage.

Ranger-X, Stage 3.png

Ranger-X, Stage 3 Boss.png

Jungle
The File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Seeker Falcon.png Seeker Falcon weapon is hidden in this stage.

Ranger-X, Stage 4.png

Ranger-X, Stage 4 Boss.png

Tower
The File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Proton Storm.png Proton Storm weapon is hidden in this stage.

Ranger-X, Stage 5.png

Ranger-X, Stage 5 Boss.png

City at Night
The File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Plasma Blast.png Plasma Blast weapon is hidden in this stage.

Ranger-X, Stage 6.png

Ranger-X, Stage 6 Miniboss.png

Factory
The File:Ranger-X, Weapon, Shield.png Energy Shield weapon is hidden in this stage.

Ranger-X, Stage 6 Cutscene.png

Ranger-X, Stage 6 Boss.png

Biotech Monster

Weapons

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 Flame Unit
A jet of flame that shoots out in front of Ranger-X. The length of the flame is dependent on the amount of power remaining.
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 Seeker Mine
A mine that drops on the ground and ripples out in a straight line to find enemies. Dissipates after a few seconds.
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 Seeker Charge
Two bolts of electricity that emanate out and trace around Ranger-X until they find and affix to a target. Some enemies cannot be found by the Seeker Charge.
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 Seeker Falcon
A mechanical falcon that automatically seeks out and destroys nearby enemies. Some enemies cannot be found by the Seeker Falcon.
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 Plasma Blast
A burst of fireballs. Effective at intercepting enemy fire because of its tall area of effect.
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 Proton Storm
A very wide blast that destroys everything in a large area. Covers most of the screen vertically and the entire horizontal width of the screen (or longer if moved while firing). Costs the entire power bar to fire each time.
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 Energy Shield
Surrounds Ranger-X in a protective energy shield that also damages any enemies it directly contacts.

Objects

Ranger-X, Items, Power Conversion Unit.png
 Power Conversion Unit
Quickly replenishes health by draining special weapon power. Can be used by Ranger-X or by the Ex-Up Indra.
Ranger-X, Items, Mini-Conversion Unit.png
 Mini-Conversion Unit
Instantly exchanges special weapon power for health. Smaller and one-time use. Can be used by Ranger-X or by the Ex-Up Indra.
Ranger-X, Items, Artificial Ground Platform.png
 Artificial Ground Platform
A platform on which to temporarily stand to cool Ranger-X's thrusters. The platform drops on the weight of Ranger-X, so the player must quickly move off it after recharging the thrusters. Absent in higher difficulties.

History

Development

During development, Ranger-X was known as Transa Banker.[7]

Versions

Unlike the NTSC-J version, the NTSC-U and PAL versions use a slightly different color palette when played on the highest difficulty setting.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Ranger-X Ranger-X
English (US) Ranger-X Ranger-X
Japanese エクスランザー Ex-Ranza

Production credits

Source:
In-game opening credits (JP)[8]


Source:
In-game ending credits (JP)[8]

Magazine articles

Main article: Ranger-X/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #17: "Septiembre 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
94
82 №7, p58/59
63 №12, p30-33
85
Sega Mega Drive
 81
Based on
4 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
50
[10]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
75
[11]
Consoles + (FR)
90
[12]
Cool Gamer (RU)
50
[13]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
93
[14]
Dengeki Mega Drive (JP) NTSC-J
71
[15]
Digitiser (UK)
90
[16]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
78
[17]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
92
[18]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
68
[19]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
90
[20]
Game Power (IT) NTSC
94
[21]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
80
[22]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
50
[23]
Hyper (AU)
88
[24]
Joypad (FR) PAL
75
[25]
MAN!AC (DE)
78
[6]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
63
[26]
Mega (UK) PAL
81
[4]
Mega Action (UK) NTSC-J
90
[27]
Mega Force (FR)
85
[28]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
94
[29]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
85
[30]
Magazina Igrushek (RU)
40
[31]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J
92
[5]
Player One (FR)
84
[32]
Power Unlimited (NL)
82
[33]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
82
[3]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
94
[34]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
90
[35]
Sega Force Mega (UK) PAL
85
[36]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
74
[37]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
81
[38]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
80
[39]
Todo Sega (ES)
87
[40]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
76
[41]
Video Games (DE) PAL
84
[42]
Sega Mega Drive
 79
Based on
37 reviews

Ranger-X

Mega Drive, JP
RangerX MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Exranza MD JP CartTop.jpg
Rangerx md jp cart.jpg
Cart
Exranza md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
RangerX MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Rangerx md us cart.jpg
Cart
Ranger X MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
RangerX MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
RangerX MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Ranger X (EURO) INS.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, AU
Ranger X MD AU Box Back.jpgRangerX MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
RangerX MD AU cartback.jpgRangerX MD AU Cart.jpg
Cart
Ranger X MD AU Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, BR
RangerX MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
RangerX MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, KR
RangerX MD KR cover.jpg
Cover
RangerX MD KR cartback.jpgRangerX MD KR cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 55915915
MD5 4e8a318ba7f70b42816fbdafd2624bef
SHA-1 2611c818ecb53edc7d561fce1a349acad6abff4a
1MB 1993-06 Cartridge (US)
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 b8c04804
MD5 5f78d072f7e67972227d992d966a4879
SHA-1 53908ee1c47f0d9d49e81fc295379552e2198948
1MB 1993-06 Cartridge (EU)
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 349bb68d
MD5 604453e2dda349306d573adfba6e6fb7
SHA-1 0006f55e826148cff9e717b582a39a04adf100df
1MB 1993-03 Cartridge (JP)
Sega Mega Drive
 ?
CRC32 c642fdf4
MD5 d47e977300ed8014428974d19e1e39db
SHA-1 f1c883f3bc6343c8a8181261ead3a534520a447f
1MB 1993-01 Page

References

  1. ↑ File:RangerX MD JP Box.jpg
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Sega Power, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-01), page 74
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mega, "July 1993" (UK; 1993-06-17), page 53
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mean Machines Sega, "July 1993" (UK; 1993-05-25), page 94
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 MAN!AC, "11/93" (DE; 1993-xx-xx), page 32
  7. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "February 1993" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 70
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhkDWCc__2w
  9. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Septiembre 1993" (ES; 1993-xx-xx), page 2
  10. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 184
  11. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-08), page 23
  12. ↑ Consoles +, "Novembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 140
  13. ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 79
  14. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-15), page 64
  15. ↑ Dengeki Mega Drive, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-xx), page 31
  16. ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1993-10-08)
  17. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 40
  18. ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 82
  19. ↑ Famitsu, "1993-06-04" (JP; 1993-05-21), page 39
  20. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 1, Issue 10: September 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 15
  21. ↑ Game Power, "Settembre 1993" (IT; 1993-0x-xx), page 75
  22. ↑ GamePro, "September 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 42
  23. ↑ Hippon Super, "July 1993" (JP; 1993-06-04), page 45
  24. ↑ Hyper, "December 1993" (AU; 1993-xx-xx), page 49
  25. ↑ Joypad, "Novembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 158
  26. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-06-24), page 30
  27. ↑ Mega Action, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-15), page 16
  28. ↑ Mega Force, "Novembre 1993" (FR; 1993-11-10), page 88
  29. ↑ MegaTech, "July 1993" (UK; 1993-06-19), page 56
  30. ↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Septiembre 1993" (ES; 1993-0x-xx), page 41
  31. ↑ Magazina Igrushek, "1/1996" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 62
  32. ↑ Player One, "Novembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 112
  33. ↑ Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 2, Nummer 1, Januari 1994" (NL; 1993-12-29), page 30
  34. ↑ Sega Pro, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-08), page 38
  35. ↑ Sega Zone, "August 1993" (UK; 1993-07-22), page 28
  36. ↑ Sega Force Mega, "October 1993" (UK; 1993-08-19), page 52
  37. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 107
  38. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  39. ↑ Sonic the Comic, "September 4th 1993" (UK; 1993-09-04), page 11
  40. ↑ Todo Sega, "Julio 1993" (ES; 1993-0x-xx), page 44
  41. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 22
  42. ↑ Video Games, "12/93" (DE; 1993-11-22), page 112


Ranger-X

RangerX TitleScreen.png

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Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: 1993-01
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