It’s been a little less than a year since my last review of Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid (BftG). Since then, there have been a lot of updates! It’s time to return to the grid and find out how much the game has changed since its release.
First off, I want to talk about the cons I had from last year, starting with Arcade Mode. While it hasn’t changed much in that respect, it has become more fun due to the other cosmetic upgrades. When we first started traversing the Grid, we only had nine characters. Ten if you want to count the difference between Ranger Slayer and MMPR Pink. Now we have 18! Okay, 20 if you want to count the difference between Ranger Slayer and MMPR Pink, as well as Tommy Oliver Green and White Ranger. But we have double what we had less than a year ago!
We aren’t even talking about throw away characters either. We have the inclusion of the three free characters from the update that I reported on last April, which included the Cenezoic Blue Ranger (from the latest Power Ranger reboot movie), Udonna (from Mystic Force), and an insanely detailed and powerful Dragon Armor Trini! I think Shattered Grid to be one of the best comics’ events of the past few years, so I was a little more than hyped to see she was being added.
Not only did we get those three free characters, we also received three more Season One characters and a free skin update. This release included Trey of Triforia (Gold Zeo Ranger), Jenn Scotts (Time Force Pink), and a much-needed villainous addition in the form of Lord Zedd!!
Their release was a literal game-changer. The styles were completely different and made learning them so much fun. In addition to these three characters, we got a cosmetic update for Jason Scott Lee’s Red Ranger with the Dragon Shield. Fingers-crossed we start getting civilian attire for these characters!
Continuing the conversation with my previous con for Arcade Mode, we received even more characters and another skin update! In September of last year, we also received Anubis Cruger (Power Ranger S.P.D.), Eric Myers (Time Force), and Dai Shi (Jungle Fury). I am absolutely LOVING the changes that additional characters are bringing to this game. The different styles these characters brought to the game, mere months after the Season One releases, brought new life to the fourth quarter of this game.
In addition to the characters that were added, we also received a new Megazord! The S.P.D. Megazord was added for free to all users in an update and was timed with the release of Anubis Cruger. Along with these updates, the newest cosmetic update was the long-awaited debut of the MMPR White Ranger! The release of this skin was imminent after the debut of the White Ranger in the BOOM! comics’ series and has been a long-time fan favorite following his debut in the original Power Rangers series’.
Next on my cons list was the sound quality. I am blown away by the amount of time and effort put into these updates. The development team behind this game are constantly working on any, and every, issue anyone has ever brought to their attention. The sound quality has surpassed my expectations. We are constantly getting updates on the sound fx, music, and even character voices. Last year I stated “Goldar’s voice, Jason, Kimberly AND Tommy’s “HEEYA!” would have made this game even better”.
I feel as though someone read my article and made my “wants” a reality. These little additions here and there have made a HUGE difference to how much engaged I am when playing. Also, whomever added the updated MMPR music, THANK YOU!! I didn’t realize the update even happened because I was so quick to choose my options every time I logged on. I only realized it due to having to leave the room and come back to a familiar riff. Since then, I have sat on the menu screen and listened to each note. I LOVE IT! I’m paying more attention to the sound every time I play now. The fact that I am hearing the punches, kicks, misses, and energy blasts has me more engaged with each fight. Once again, I LOVE IT!
Obviously, my pros have only grown with this game. The third act of Story Mode is BEAUTIFUL. Kyle Higgins, whom masterminded Shattered Grid, did an amazing job bringing it to life in the game. The character listing has grown so much. I think the BftG community as a whole knew that it could grow but, and I think I am not alone when I say this, I don’t think that we understood HOW big it could actually get, or that the team behind the game would listen to our wants so attentively that we’d get fan-favorite characters from all over the Grid.
The thing that most impresses me is the development team want the game to live up to the fans’ expectations and that they also love the property. All in all, my overall experience with this game and the team behind it has been nothing short of satisfying and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the future.
