Upon reading that title in my head for the first time, the brain begins to explode with endless possibilities! “A gigantic collaboration of all of my favorite Rangers in a video game!!? This can’t be forrealz, yo!! And why am I talking like an uncle attempting to connect with his estranged nephews!?”

Like the crossover concept that was introduced in the Power Rangers Lost Galaxy TV series, Super Legends unites iconic Rangers from multiple eras to team up and fight evil. Super Legends is a great idea in theory, but I think it comes up a bit short of being as great as the concept presents itself.

Published by Disney Interactive Studios with the development of the PS2 version handled by A2M (this is essentially Disney era Rangers) and released in 2007, Super Legends is based on actual canon, but also kind of retcons the continuity of Power Rangers In Space. Lord Zedd, who was turned human along with Rita Repulsa after the shattering of Zordon's crystal purified the world, reappears in his old form. Zedd has found a crystal that can manipulate time and space, and he intends to travel throughout different dimensions and alter timelines, potentially erasing the existence of the Power Rangers. Characters from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers up to Operation Overdrive are represented, though Mystic Force and Dino Thunder aren't represented. Okay, I won't turn this into another geeky rant about the lore of children's programming, but while that made my head tilt a little, it doesn't mean the possibilities weren't promising.

The visuals around this time were starting to look pretty underwhelming, but Super Legends is okay, if not a little on the blocky side. While the colors are bright and well detailed, the frame rate does shift from smooth as silk to inconsistently choppy and slowdown can be a bit of a problem when the action gets heavy. It’s a bit annoying that the cutscenes aren’t full motion, but rather it’s filmed in this photo-animation, like some of those visual comics, likely to save on RAM. The Ranger models, while a bit chunky, all look very much like their live-action counterparts, none lacking any specific trait or detail, and they are all used in real time, which I always applaud games for. Cel-shading became more utilized near the end of the PS2’s run, and it seemed to be easier to pull off more visual tricks with it on the aging hardware.

The controls are easily accessible and responsive. You have a standard melee attack and you can use your power blaster for a more ranged offensive approach, but you blaster can overheat and shoot really slow if used too much at once. It can be charged for a power shot that will instantly kill weaker foes and stun bigger ones. You also have a Super Meter that, when charged appropriately, can unleash a devastating attack that damages all foes on screen, as well as providing a nice over-the-top fireworks display, something that’s synonymous with the show during the Bruce Kalish days (Okay, I’m being a total mark right now. I apologize). You unlock extra moves to juggle up some variety and it can get really fun to see how long you can keep a mid-air chain going. I maxed out at roughly 137 hits before I let my enemy hit the ground, I don't think this game was tested well, or A2M simply wanted to develop one of the easiest brawlers in existence. Nothing resembling skill is required to play, I just wish there was more substance or uniqueness to the mechanics. Once you've seen the same wave of enemies, it starts to become rather dull. 

So, the brawler portion of the game is entertaining enough, especially with a buddy, but Super Legends drops the ball with the Zord battles. The First MMPR for SNES seems to be the only game that got this right! Super Legends will win the award for worst Zord battles in a Power Rangers game I've played. It’s been reduced to nothing more than a mindless Quick Time Event mini game that violently rips you out of the element! You either have to rapidly press a button to gain the upper hand in a clash, like the one pictured above, whirl the analog stick in a clockwise motion (it doesn’t specify which one, so I have no idea if wheeling them both makes it go faster), or press a number of buttons in an undefinable sequence for your attack or defense. Doing it with two players is nearly impossible unless you’re training to pilot an Evangelion plug suit, because that’s how in synch you and your partner would have to be in order to succeed at this!

While it may be a little disappointing that none of the talent from any of the series involved returned to voice any of their respective roles, the voice actors in their stead do a pretty decent job (Steve Blum does a good Lord Zedd), even if the performances aren’t particularly memorable. Some are just down right insufferable and annoying, like Trakeena from Lost Galaxy’s constant cackling!! She never shuts up and it’s painful on the soul!! Goldar sounds like a pirate, and Omega Ranger himself talks like Will Friedle on sleeping pills.

Probably even more annoying is just how utterly bland the music is in this game, and this is my biggest problem with Super Legends. If there is ONE THING about Power Rangers, regardless of what era or time period that you watched it, is the memorable tunes!!! Well, guess what; NONE OF THAT IS PRESENT!! Nothing!! Not even any unlockable audio files! How did this happen!!?

Overall, Super Legends is pretty decent, but a lot about this game needed some polish in certain areas. With infinite lives, there's zero incentive on actually trying. There's a decent amount of unlockables, though I don't find the gameplay engaging enough to stimulate my completionism. As a celebration of Power Rangers, I appreciate the effort. I'm going to assume maybe a union issue or finances prevented the known talent from the series to reprise their roles, but the music remains disappointing. Super Legends ends up feeling stunningly average.