Highlights
- Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid reinvigorated interest in console games, offering deep gameplay and excellent netcode.
- Despite updates ceasing, the success of Battle for the Grid paves the way for future Power Rangers console games.
- A potential LEGO Power Rangers game could be the ultimate fan service, with diverse rosters and exciting gameplay options.
Power Rangers video games have, unfortunately, become a rarity these days. While their legacy dates back to the Sega Genesis and Super NES, console Power Rangers releases slowed to a crawl in the 2010s, and the last release that wasn't mobile-exclusive was 2019’s Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. Released on all last-gen platforms, this 3v3 fighter blindsided both Rangers and fighting game fans with how good it was. Thanks to excellent netcode, deep-but-accessible gameplay, and years of support, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid grew into the most acclaimed game Power Rangers has seen in a long time.
Of course, nothing lasts forever. Publisher and developer nWay has since returned to its normal mobile output, and Battle for the Grid’s updates have since ceased. Even so, the success story of Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid inspires hope for more console Power Rangers games in the future, especially if new franchise owner Hasbro uses multimedia to market its new Power Rangers universe. Battle for the Grid is a solid send-off to the best series' in Power Rangers’ old continuity, but with the last of its seasons having aired in the ensuing five years, partnering with another famous licensed game series could celebrate the franchise in a more comprehensive way.
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LEGO Power Rangers Has A Window of Opportunity Right Now
Traveller's Tales is fresh off of supporting its 2022 hit LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and its next project is unknown. Getting its hands on the Power Rangers property for a LEGO adaptation is not anyone's first guess, but it is an exciting prospect. With decades of rotating rosters and settings to pull from, LEGO Power Rangers could become the definitive Power Rangers fanservice title, and a strong addition to LEGO’s licensed game roster to boot. Fans of both aspects would be drawn in, just like how Battle for the Grid appealed to fighting game and Power Rangers fans alike.
Power Rangers and LEGO Seem Made For Each Other
Many of the logistics for LEGO Power Rangers are already nicely lined up. Plenty of towns, cities, and space colonies across the Power Rangers franchise could host a traditional LEGO game hub, like a fully realized Angel Grove with Zordon’s Command Center attached. Assorted Power Rangers’ transformed and civilian selves could fill the roster, and the inevitable overlap in their play styles would be more than made up for with the distinct cast of villains. Thanks to the advancements in LEGO combat, shooting, and progression that The Skywalker Saga made, the LEGO formula has already been primed for a stellar Power Rangers project.
How A LEGO Game Could Present A Power Rangers Celebration
Further details bring the LEGO games and Power Rangers IP even closer together and allow for their merger to take a number of different directions. The material being adapted is so broad and vast that the campaign could either make levels out of highlights from different Power Rangers eras, or attempt a new time-traveling storyline to bring all the Rangers together. Pros and cons for each exist, but either way, the gameplay could confidently fall back on LEGO’s signature puzzles and platforming, and Power Rangers’ inevitable fight scenes.
Megazords Could Give This LEGO Game Its Own Identity
Speaking of which, a lot of Power Rangers’ battles are fought in the titanic Megazords, which deserve representation too. Fortunately, they could form a smaller cast of giant characters, with many of the size-shifting Power Rangers villains being able to join this roster too. A lot could be done with Megazords, including giving them a distinct hub map and the ability for players to assemble their own custom Megazords. With how much visual and mechanical overlap many Rangers have, thinning their numbers for more Zord gameplay would make for a great selling point, and should help this hypothetical LEGO Power Rangers game entertain fans for many years to come.
