I used to have an unfunny joke review here, but this game deserves much better than that. Unfortunately though, I don't really know how to describe how much I love this game.

Everything about ZeroRanger is just so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good. The gameplay is extremely tight with varied, fast-paced stage design and well-implemented scoring mechanics. The visuals are great with nicely detailed, fluid pixel art and some really badass ship designs (plus there's the whole green-orange thing you're probably already aware of), and the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, complementing the action perfectly on top of being a joy to listen to on its own.
There's also the story, which...okay, I never really bothered to look into it too much (the game doesn't explain everything to you and I'm a big dum-dum when it comes to piecing stories like this together), but I still found the game's more plot-heavy moments very effective. I'd get into a bit more detail here but this is one of those games that's best experienced knowing as little about it as possible.

I understand that from this description, it might be a little hard to see why I adore this game so much but a lot of it just comes down to how polished and well-executed ZeroRanger's core gameplay is. The devs took their time with this game (it was in development for a decade, after all) and it absolutely shows. There are tons of small tricks to learn and details to find that make replaying the game constantly exciting. My only real gripe with the game is the lack of practice options. Being able to start from any stage is nice, but it's simply not enough, especially with how long some of the stages get. The ability to choose a specific checkpoint to start from would be a very welcome addition.

I've never been able to choose just one game to call my favorite, but if I had to, ZeroRanger would be a very strong contender. I still don't think I've done this game justice with this review, but basically, my point is that you *need* to play ZeroRanger. May you attain enlightenment.

I used to have an unfunny joke review here, but this game deserves much better than that. Unfortunately though, I don't really know how to describe how much I love this game. Everything about ZeroRanger is just so goddamn good. The gameplay is extremely tight with varied, fast-paced stage design and well-implemented scoring mechanics. The visuals are great with nicely detailed, fluid pixel art and some really badass ship designs (plus there's the whole green-orange thing you're probably already aware of), and the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, complementing the action perfectly on top of being a joy to listen to on its own. There's also the story, which...okay, I never really bothered to look into it too much (the game doesn't explain everything to you and I'm a big dum-dum when it comes to piecing stories like this together), but I still found the game's more plot-heavy moments very effective. I'd get into a bit more detail here but this is one of those games that's best experienced knowing as little about it as possible. I understand that from this description, it might be a little hard to see why I adore this game so much but a lot of it just comes down to how polished and well-executed ZeroRanger's core gameplay is. The devs took their time with this game (it was in development for a decade, after all) and it absolutely shows. There are tons of small tricks to learn and details to find that make replaying the game constantly exciting. My only real gripe with the game is the lack of practice options. Being able to start from any stage is nice, but it's simply not enough, especially with how long some of the stages get. The ability to choose a specific checkpoint to start from would be a very welcome addition. I've never been able to choose just one game to call my favorite, but if I had to, ZeroRanger would be a very strong contender. I still don't think I've done this game justice with this review, but basically, my point is that you *need* to play ZeroRanger. May you attain enlightenment.