I am always enthusiastic about formerly Japan-only games getting re-released in North America, and Rendering Ranger: R2 has the unique distinction of being a game developed by a western developer that was only released in Japan. It’s also, sometimes, referred to as the rarest game on the console. There isn’t anything that needed translating, as there isn’t a lot of text and it’s all English, so a late localization isn’t much of a stretch, but it’s great to see, anyway.

It’s called Rendering Ranger: R2 because it uses that graphical technique that Donkey Kong Country helped popularize where 3D models are rendered on fancy Silicon Graphics computers and then converted to 2D sprites. It’s like Vector Man, they named it after its graphics.

Thankfully, graphics are not the only thing Rendering Ranger: R2 has going for it. It also combines two different genres like chocolate and anchovies. But it’s still mostly the graphics.

CHOCOLATE AND ANCHOVIES

The two genres in question are a run-and-gun similar to, well, the developer’s own Turrican and a scrolling shoot-’em-up not far off from Gradius or R-Type. Or Eliminate Down to use a more obscure point of reference. It’s similar to how The Guardian Legend crossed Ai Senshi Nicol and Star Soldier, just to throw in more shit for you to research.

Appropriately, Rendering Ranger: R2 is simultaneously the swan song and magnum opus of Manfred Trenz, creator of the aforementioned Turrican. Trenz already had a reputation for both shoot-’em-ups and run-and-guns, so marrying the two was pretty suitable.

Unfortunately, in Double-R’s case and like The Guardian Legend, the genre combination is lopsided. The on-foot sections of Rendering Ranger: R2 are just fine, leaning in the direction of good. They give me the impression of a licensed game. Like Demolition Man on the SNES and Genesis. The shoot-’em-up sections are pretty great, actually. Like, forget the hoof-sections, the shooter parts are butter.

IS THAT DOOMGUY?

The first level – a boot-burner – despite its rather striking post-apocalyptic scenery, sets a pretty bad first impression. The controls are somewhat stiff, especially using the shoulder buttons to aim diagonally while standing still. For a lot of the level, it just feels like enemies are getting dumped onto the screen, and there are bottomless instant-death pits that are barely noticeable at first glance. It’s Double-R’s weakest portion, so it’s kind of unfortunate it’s what you first experience.

It’s hard to tell what the story is from the game itself, but according to the manual, it’s your typical “last, best hope” story. Humans are screwed, and their only hope is for Doomguy to steal a spaceship and blow up the enemies at their source.

The second level caps off with you finding said uber-ship. Then it becomes a shoot-’em-up for a couple levels, and gosh, it’s quality. There are nine stages in total, and the shooter stages account for five of them. It makes sense, since according to the manual included in the game, it started off as a shooter, and the run-and-gun parts were requested by the publisher they had lined up. The same publisher that dropped them when the game was finished to their specifications.

Your ship (and your foot-dude), has four different weapons and each has their own special attack. They upgrade individually, becoming more powerful with each power-up you grab, and if you die, the weapon you’re holding at the time gets sucked down to pea-shooter status. The most distinct addition to the shoot-’em-up section is the ability to turn your ship around with the press of a button, but this also means you might get blindsided.

WHERE IT COUNTS

That may sound pretty genre-standard, but it succeeds where it counts: it is full of variety. Each shoot-’em-up level (and each floorbound section, for that matter), have their own distinct hook. Sometimes it’s huge battleships bristling with turrets, and in another you dodge asteroids. In these places, Rendering Ranger is not just competent, it’s exceptional.

It’s also clear that Manfred Trenz was up for a challenge, because he absolutely pushed the SNES. The SNES had a legendarily slow processor for its time, but Rendering Ranger: R2 has as much action as you’d expect from a Genesis/Mega Drive or PC-Engine/Turbografx shooter. Level seven has a background that scrolls so fast that it’s easy to lose track of the action in the foreground. Since Sega like to brag about their “blast processing,” it seems like the very best SNES programmers took that as a challenge and tried to make their own fast action, such as Uniracers or that one level in Sparkster. This feels very much like that. This was 1995, so the SNES was at the end of its lifespan. It’s unfortunate that Rendering Ranger: R2 didn’t show up over here to join with games like Super Mario RPG to show that the console could still push its horses.

But, as I said, it’s a bit ill-advised in this case, because it makes some of the graphics hard to read. It’s absolutely in love with itself, which is easily apparent when you hop in the ship for the first time and it keeps rotating smoothly. Completely ostentatious but, at least there, it’s also innocuous.

GRAVY AND SHOE LEATHER

Just to pour gravy on everything, the music is terrific. It’s credited to Stefan Kramer who, admittedly, I hadn’t previously heard of. Their list of credits is also… Double-R and nothing else, but that’s a shame, because this is some great stuff.

It’s also tough as a microwaved shoe. That’s mainly because there are no continues. You can push yourself up from the default five lives to seven, but you’re still starting over when you die. Wait a minute… there’s a password system. Crap. I don’t remember it ever giving me a password, but it’s an option right there on the main menu. That would be way better.

I stumbled a bit learning the first few levels, but when I hit the first scrolling shoot-’em-up level, I hit my stride. I pushed through to level 7, but then had to lean on Rendering Ranger: R2 Rewind’s rewind system to get through the end. It gets brutal. Level 8, in particular, is a long gauntlet with multiple phases. It sprinkles in lives and health pickups through the whole ordeal, but there are just so many phases to it, that it’s hard not to start dropping lives before you learn all the boss and obstacle patterns.

It would still be a pain if I remembered the password system, but a good pain. It’s unfortunate that it’s not the true finale, as it’s followed by a boot-burner for level 9. However, while level 9 isn’t the close-out it should have been, it works from a storytelling perspective. It does its job as a climax, at the very least.

TARGA FILE

Lastly, as a note about Limited Run’s Rewind version of the game; it’s decent. The “Carbon Engine” ports that they’ve been doing are pretty basic emulated versions with rewinding and saving, and Rendering Ranger: R2 Rewind isn’t much different. They don’t have much in terms of extra material here, but they did translate the manual and added a hefty write-up of the game’s background, explaining Manfred Trenz’ work up to that point and the circumstances behind it not making it to North America.

It also includes a prototype of the game under its original name, Targa. I haven’t played it in depth, but beyond the protagonist’s hairstyle, I don’t see a huge difference. Even the passwords work the same. It seems like a really late prototype, since the graphics are pre-rendered and everything. Still, I mean, that’s kind of cool.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying Rendering Ranger: R2 is a must-play, and that’s largely because the on-foot section are just kind of lackluster, but it’s certainly worth playing nonetheless. I have a soft spot for ostentatious technical presentation, but it’s much more than that. The scrolling shoot-’em-up sections are hot stuff, and the variety is impressive. It’s neat. It’s something to see. At least now you don’t have to pay two legs to do it.

7/10

This review was conducted using a digital Steam version of the game. It was provided by the publisher. The author was sent a press kit containing free items.