A few years ago, gamers came together to crowdfund the Mega Man spiritual successor, Mighty No. 9. It was spearheaded by former Capcom veteran, Keiji Inafune, and obtained a whopping $4 million in pledges. Subsequently, the game released to horrendous reviews, and was aptly considered a critical failure. Six years on, Super Alloy Ranger, a solo developed title with next to no budget, has managed to fulfil everything Mighty No. 9 wanted to be, and more.
The singular developer in question goes under the pseudonym, alloy mushroom. Their passion and love for 2D platformers is incredibly apparent, and it showed throughout the course of my playthrough. While it certainly isn’t flawless, Super Alloy Ranger serves as a reminder as to why indie games can sometimes trump AAA titles.
Marooned bounty hunters.
Super Alloy Ranger tells the story of 2 bounty hunters, Kelly and Rambos. Their recent purchase of the high-tech spacecraft, Alloy Ranger, has placed them into considerable debt. Hoping to pay this off, they formulate a scheme to capture the notorious criminal Lamos, and cash in the reward.
On their way to Lamos’s last known location, they are intercepted and trapped by an unknown force. Consequently, this turns out to be the planet Tanwada’s protective fields, a long-abandoned world situated in the middle of the galaxy. Shortly thereafter, the Alloy Ranger is boarded by 2 sentient AI units called Combat Robot No.2 and No.3. Seemingly in a similar position, they request to team up. With no other options, Kelly and Rambos agree, and begin exploring the desolate Tanwada for answers.
To be completely transparent, the story doesn’t do much for me. It’s serviceable in getting us from point A to point B, and somewhat emulates the Mega Man aura, albeit inferiorly. However, to be frank about this, the narrative is downright boring.
I found myself desperately wanting to skip through the dialogue, primarily due to its pacing. Although I ultimately resisted the urge, the fact remains that the contents of plot is dull, uninteresting, and worst of all, forgettable. Fortunately, Super Alloy Ranger’s strengths lie within its gameplay, art and music. All of which are absolutely stellar.
Old school platforming action.
As you’ve probably come to expect, Super Alloy Ranger plays akin to Mega Man X. Much like in the later iterations of that series, you have the choice of playing between 2 different characters. The first, Marksman Kelly, plays a lot like X, in that he has ranged weapons at his disposal. On the other hand, Combat Robot No. 2 replicates Zero’s playstyle, with an up-front, melee themed skillset. Both setups are fun in their own right, and offer an independent perspective on the gameplay.
On top of this, both characters can unlock various special abilities to use. Effectively, these are their ultimate attacks which massively impact the current landscape of the battlefield. No. 2 also has the added benefit of receiving a new melee weapon depending on which ability she has primed.
You gain the special abilities by defeating the games formidable bosses. These are located at the end of each stage, and are a true test of your proficiency as a player. You have to navigate around an oncoming barrage of attacks and obstacles, all while finding narrow opportune moments to retaliate. On the highest difficulty, this can be tough to accomplish, but immensely fulfilling when pulled off correctly.
There is one caveat relating to Kelly you should be aware of. Omnidirectional shooting isn’t included in the game, meaning you’ll have to solely riley on cardinal directions. This makes killing some enemies more annoying than it honestly needs to be. Additionally, the analogue stick deadzone for changing where you want to shoot is poorly implemented. As such, I was forced into using the d-pad to make this easier to deal with.
Plenty of movement options and things to discover.
Outside of combat, the movement options remain the same between the two characters. You have the ability to jump, wall bounce, dash, air dodge, and run, all of which control exceedingly well. I did encounter a handful of minor bugs when wall jumping, but this has ostensibly been patched out.
The stages themselves are well balanced and intricately designed, rendering a nice mix between platforming-based sections and combat centric scenarios. You’ll also be able to discover a wide range of secrets if you look hard enough. These can reward you with character improvements such as increased life or mana, as well as key cards to unlock hidden challenge levels.
Awe inspiring art that gives Inafune a run for his money.
It’s hard to quantify just how beautiful Super Alloy Ranger actually is. The sprite work is utterly jaw dropping, with careful consideration having gone into every finite detail. This is most notable in the backgrounds and foregrounds, which are as immaculate as they are varied.
When it comes to the character designs, it’s very obvious where their influences originate from. Still, they manage to retain their own unique identity, and are undeniably memorable for what they are. Animation wise, the execution varies in quality. They never verge on being bad or mediocre, but they aren’t as smooth as their triple A counterparts. Thankfully, the UI is equal to something you might have seen in Mega Man X, meaning tracking resources is simple and easy.
It would also be remiss to not mention the VFX. Once again, these are heavily inspired by the likes of Metal Slug, and are the picture-perfect blend of realism and arcadey goodness. Altogether, alloy mushroom has given Capcom and SNK a run for their money in the visual department.
A surprisingly excellent soundtrack!
If I had to choose one element I love about the old school Mega Man games, it’d be the music. Because of this, I was a little apprehensive going into Super Alloy Ranger. I wasn’t quite sure whether it’d be able to live up to my, admittedly, unreasonable expectations. As luck would have it, my concerns would quickly be squashed.
Appropriately, Super Alloy Ranger utilises the chiptune genre, encompassing the games overall ambiance and aesthetic. What’s more, it imitates the SNES sound chip to further authenticate the retro vibe. All of the tracks are extremely energetic and catchy, which works in tandem to expertly match the pulse of the game.
To cap it all off, the SFX are the quintessential embodiment of the 90s style approach. Everything from the basic attacks to the special abilities are high-octane and impactful. Regardless if you prefer playing as Kelly or No. 2, you’re going to feel like total badass.
Conclusion
In summary, Super Alloy Ranger is a short, yet passionate love letter to the Mega Man series. The gameplay, remaining simplistic in its approach, is unbelievably engaging and accessible. Although the narrative direction is mostly forgettable and lacklustre, the visual and audio departments more than make up for it through their superb presentation. I can easily recommend Super Alloy Ranger to retro 2D platforming fans, especially those who enjoyed Mega Man X, or the Metal Slug series.
