My children have recently discovered the immense collection of Power Rangers television episodes on Netflix. I remember seeing bits and pieces of this show over the years. In case you need a refresher, every intro is in the following clip.
My son is really interested when he sees my role playing books and the few miniatures I have. He is not ready for full blown Pathfinder or anything like that but I did have an idea - maybe there is some game similar to Power Rangers that I could get for him to play. He has several Power Rangers action figures, some of the Kreo figures, and some Zords also.
I looked for a simple game that would allow him to play in the Power Rangers universe or at the least something similar. I have had absolutely no luck at all. I entertained the thought of whipping something together myself but I am not knowledgeable enough when it comes to Power Rangers to do so. Sure, the basics would be:
1. Focused on teamwork instead of solo missions.
2. The team would have a and (Zordon) that would supply a base, etc.
3. The team would use weapons, combo weapons, zords, and combined zords to fight evil.
4. The good guys would be opposed by the Big Bad (Rita Repulsa) and it could expand. (Lord Zed)
5. The Big Bad would have minions. (Whatever those mobs are called)
6. There would also be a Monster of the Week with special powers and that could grow in size.
Yeah, it is pretty formulaic and it would be easy to emulate. Quite honestly, I do not want to spend a large amount of time reading about the shows or watching them to whip up something myself. I am not quite sure I would get the feel right, either. I would probably make the mistake of trying for a "serious version" because I do think the co re idea is pretty good. Anyway, it is time to get down to business.
Does anybody reading this have any information, links, etc. about a free and simple Power Rangers role-playing game or something similar? I have looked all over the internet and I can not find anything like I have for G.I. Joe (Strike Force Seven iirc), Thundarr the Barbarian, or several others. It does not have to specifically emulate the Power Rangers specifically as long as it is similar in tone and execution; names can always be changed, etc. I appreciate any input that anyone has to offer.
A couple of suggestions:
ReplyDeleteCartoon Action Hour: it's a "generic" Saturday Morning Cartoon RPG. I've got the first edition, which is fairly traditional, but later editions (season 2 and now Season 3, I think) are a bit more indie. I haven't gotten a major look at them, so I couldn't tell you more than that.
Big Eyes Small Mouth: The company that made it imploded a number of years ago, but pretty much the quintessential "generic anime" RPG if you can get it. (Power Rangers is actually taken from a Japanese show. All the stuff of the Rangers in costume and guys in monster suits fighting is filmed in Japan and then the American producers film their American actors and then edit the footage together so it makes some kind of sense.)
You could probably hack something together from Heroes Unlimited with mecha stuff from Rifts or Robotech.
Although it's been a while since I've watched the show, I do recall the very formulaic episode structure.
1. Character scene (Bulk & Skull)
2. Threat revealed
3. Minion battle (I don't recall if the Rangers would fight them in human form or Ranger up for these battles, but there was at least one period that included a minor transformation/costume change for the Rangers to fight the minions)
4. Monster battle (normal sized monster vs. Rangers)
5. Giant monster battle (as soon as the monster was on the ropes. it would grow, forcing the Rangers to summon their zords. Sometimes the individual zords would do something to the monster, but more often than not, they went straight into megazord. Depending on how much time left is in the show, they might tussle with the monster a bit, or go straight to Form Blazing Sword.)
6. Character moment (Conclusion of Bulk & Skull plot, everybody being glad that the Power Rangers saved us all.)
I've been curious about CAH at times but that motivates me to take a serious look.
DeleteThe more I hear about BESM, the more I think I might need to hunt that down.
Heroes Unlimited with mecha stuff from Rifts or Robotech is an option I had not thought of.
I believe you nailed the episode formula!
Good points! I forgot about the variety of character options throughout the entire series. Definitely a major factor in making my decision.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing of Fate Accelerated but I need to find out now...