“Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid” – Nintendo Switch Review

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, on the Nintendo Switch, features a confusing story for newcomers. The gameplay, while enjoyable, has certain flaws.

I was provided a free review code of Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid on the Nintendo Switch. The opinions shared in this article are my own.

When I got the opportunity to play Power Rangers: Battle of the Grid, I thought to myself, “Wow! I haven’t played a Power Rangers game since the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on the Sega Genesis.”

I’m showing my age right now, but anyway, it seems a lot has happened to the Rangers in that span of time and a whole lot of what happened is entirely foreign to me. Currently, in my late 20’s, with the NS version in my hands, I jumped decades from that time playing a Power Rangers game as a young lad to now. I was actually excited to see how much of a time capsule I’d be opening myself up to.

Things really have changed! And I ended up being so lost! The Green Ranger’s hellbent on power and calling himself Lord Drakkon and rallying other Rangers to switch sides and come to the dark (where it’s way more fun!). Lord Drakkon killed Empress Rita in the very first scene of the story, and I felt being thrown into a whirlwind of long-running lore.

We basically get dropped into a story of alternate timelines, a bad one, in which Lord Drakkon’s vanquishing Rangers on a quest for power and it is up to alternate good versions of the Power Rangers team to stop him.

The story is… well, it is incredibly short and for someone jumping into the franchise again after nearly 2 decades, it was easy to be lost because of all the characters and their alternate versions. Some of the characters were ones I had never heard of before!

Kat Manx is the S.P.D Cat Ranger who actually looks like a cat? That’s a thing? And Anubis Cruger’s a dog-like humanoid that is apart of Space Patrol Delta?

It was very difficult to get into the story, not only because of being an outsider to the series but also just from a narrative standpoint. Everything felt rushed. The gravity of the situation didn’t feel powerful or worth caring over. It was just Rangers being confused about who was on their side and who wasn’t. Fights happened seemingly out of nothing.

Who are you? Fight!

Let’s test our skills! Fight!

Let’s fight to see who will be the next Ranger to battle the other unknown Ranger who just appeared out of nowhere.

It was all incredibly jarring.

Coming to the gameplay elements, the selection of characters felt diverse in their fighting techniques and styles. That’s a good thing to have in a fighting title.

Gameplay was actually surprisingly simple. However, you could tell that this is a title that’s easy to pick up but still has a lot of inner workings that can make all of the fights a richer experience if you put enough hours in practice sessions to master a character’s mechanics.

It’s because of this reason that a Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid eSports League has been able to find its ground in a passionate community.

I would’ve liked to see more characters, even though the title has continued to introduce new Rangers through DLC content. If I remember correctly, you have a total of 18 characters to choose from. Maybe the fact I’m a fan of Mortal Kombat, Dead Or Alive, and Super Smash Bros played a role here? I’m accustomed to rosters with 30+ characters in them.

In regards to the music, it severely lacked, in my opinion. I felt like I was listening to the same three songs over and over, as I fought. There was nothing to really distinguish the songs from each other. All of them had an electric guitar riff with the same repetitive beat.

Voice acting was disappointing, too. Certain Rangers had some good delivery while others fell flat. I get that the lines from the Power Rangers franchise are meant to be a little cheesy, but instead of feeling like a cool gimmick, I found myself cringing at some of the lines in this game.

I hate to sound so negative about the Nintendo Switch version of the game. However, do take note that while it does have certain flaws, I think I could still find myself playing a few more matches with friends, or recommending this title to a huge fan of the series or even a kid learning about Power Rangers.

The game, since it’s initial launch, is currently enough (due to its accompanying DLC releases) to feel like a meatier game. But if you compare it to anything else in the industry today or even several years ago, there are just plenty of other better options with more content, story, music, and roster.

The Geekiary’s editor Farid enjoyed playing the PC/Steam version of the game. So, you can tell this title does have it’s fans. I simply shared my experience while checking out this title on the Nintendo Switch.

Some new features that were introduced in the game’s recent V2.0 update included online lobbies, spectator mode, and crossplay on the PlayStation 4.

For fans of Power Rangers, ‘Battle for the Grid’ offers an effective platform to experience the game together. Players across all gaming platforms can fight each other in Ranked, Casual, Direct or Lobby Matches.

Through cross-play, you can find matches against players with similar skills as yours. The cross-progression is another useful feature to carry your progress from one platform to another. The ‘Direct Match’ option lets you match up with a friend or someone else.

Furthermore, the ‘Online Lobbies’ allows up to 8 players to join together. You can battle in up to 4 different matches at a time or watch a match and be the next player up.

There’s a big social component in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. And you know what? That’s a good thing for fans of this title.

From what Farid shared with me, trying out cross-play and the matchmaking features wasn’t an issue. He talked about having a lot of fun with this title while using his PC and a PS4 (owned by a friend living in a different location).

According to nWay, more updates will continue to be released for this game.

So, you can look forward to Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid continue to be improved over time.

For more information, do visit the game’s official website.

Author: Micah Carrillo

Micah is studying English and Digital Design. His love of geek culture spans across diverse mediums and genres. Comics, anime, films, you name it! He enjoys video games on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox.

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