I am, first and foremost, a believer that video games are a medium that should focus on being games. If the game itself is fast, fun, kinetic, and challenges the player in new ways, then the rest is just set dressing. Some games try to have a large overarching plot, with characters, locations, motive, all that jazz. And, invariably, somehow, a good majority of them fail miserably. The characters feel more or less like one note functions, written to fill a purpose rather than to be an interesting character. The locations are uninspired, unpopulated, and sometimes not even worth examining. And the motives. How many times have we rescued the princess now? How much ancient treasure is there? Which PMC is at it again? But, if the game itself is good, I'm willing to overlook this. Cutscenes will be skipped and dialogue muted if the game is fun. Zero Ranger has managed to write an incredible story in a few paragraphs, with simple like-able characters, an amazing locale, and a very personal motive.
To start with, the game has two playable characters, Decker and Rybb. Decker's the serious type. His main shot is two lines forward, secondary weapons pointing the same shots diagonally or backwards, tertiary focusing straight ahead, and with Ars Magna that both stay purely within melee range. Decker is here to stop the invasion, and defeat Green Orange. Rybb is more light-hearted. Her primary shot goes in waves, her secondaries tap elemental forces, tertiary focusing on self protection, and with Ars Magna that both keep a projectile on hand. Rybb fights for her sister, and for the people she needs to protect. Despite the fact that these characters get maybe 5 lines each in an optional section of the game that's there to actively prevent you from beating it, you can feel it in every design decision. Each weapon, the shapes of their ships, and their style as Zero Rangers, helps to perfectly define their characters. Space fighters, fighting to protect their home.
The locations that appear in Zero Ranger are rather simple, as there are exactly 4. The starting city, a sulfur mine, the ocean tower, and finally, Green Orange itself. Where these shine is through the game's presentation itself. The graphics within the game fit within 8 colors, 3 shades of orange, 3 shades of green, black, and white. (There are additional color palettes in the event that you suffer from colorblindness, or otherwise find the original color palette difficult to read). Resolution isn't terribly high either, for any of the assets. But it all fits together perfectly. The soundtrack is so absolutely high octane that I feel the blood coursing through my veins as I play, soaring through the skies and into space, blasting ships into oblivion, dodging shots with extreme precision. Everything feels amazing. And this is part of what keeps you motivated to play on.
EVERYTHING BEYOND HERE IS SPOILER TERRITORY. GO PLAY THE GAME IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE THIS FRESH, AS YOU SHOULD.
For a game the caliber of Zero Ranger, it's very easy to get heavily invested, and the plot is a major part of this. When you boot up the game, Erasure OS greets you, and briefs you on the situation. Green Orange is mounting a full scale invasion of your home planet, your defense systems are failing, and the one fighter properly equipped to handle the situation, Grapefruit, has disappeared. Your odds? Slim to none. You are given the choice to surrender, and if you're anything like me, you'll never surrender. The mere thought of it. I digress. You play along, and unless you're an absolute god, you'll eventually succumb. An unnamed character will begin to speak to you, whose text I will include here verbatim.
"YOU'VE ENTERED A VICIOUS
CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH.”
“YOU MUST FOLLOW THE NOBLE PATH
TO ESCAPE IT."
"BE WARNED THOUGH.
AS YOU CLING ON TO THIS CYCLE
YOUR DESIRES POISON YOUR MIND.”
"IGNORANCE."
"ATTACHMENT."
"AVERSION."
"FEEDING THESE UNWHOLESOME
THOUGHTS WILL ONLY LEAD TO
MORE SUFFERING."
"THINGS AREN'T GOING TO GET ANY EASIER.
BUT I KNOW YOU CAN MAKE IT."
Zero Ranger uses Hindu imagery and symbolism as a major theme throughout the entire game. They even use Devanagari numerals for the power ups, and during the continue prompt. Above all else this is the story of the fighter, who faced impossible odds, and grew to eventually attain enlightenment. But at no small cost.
The following represents the final spoiler available, in that it is the complete plot and ending. If you choose to read any further, you WILL be spoiled on this, it WILL lack satisfaction, and you WILL NOT ATTAIN ENLIGHTENMENT.
I'M COMPLETELY SERIOUS IF THAT HASN'T SUNK IN YET. GO PLAY THE GAME AND THEN COME BACK IF YOU REALLY NEED MY TAKE ON THE ENDING OF THE GAME.
You get to stage 4 of the first loop, and you realize just how bad things really are. The main unit of Erasure is working with Green Orange, and, after a wondrously fun boss rush, you are sent to the beginning of loop two. You play through, and reach stage 3 again, you survive the eve of destruction, but something is amiss. Something is missing. Should you return, and face the eve as a Zero Ranger, a new fight takes place, against the Abbadon Fighter Grapefruit. And the music is amazing. After this, you confront Erasure for the final time, and they offer you the last power up. Taking this destroys Green Orange in a cutscene and sends you into the dream that is Final Boss. After a pitifully easy fight against a giant toy robot, you are offered the same power up as before. Should you accept it, you're given another random simulation. Should you destroy it, you will be freed, with the help of an old friend of course. And then, the master waits. And she's a hell of a fight. Important note if you find yourself struggling: Sword can parry her melee swipes for massive damage. That's a ProTip right there. Anyway, you finally face her, and destroy her. As you leave, you'll most likely go down to your last life. It lasts a lot longer this time, because you are too ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mad to die. But it's all in vain. Your planet wiped clean, your defenses destroyed, all that remains is you, and Erasure. And this is where things get interesting. As you've been fighting, your score has built up your amount of continues as gemstones in a Mandala, a wheel representing the cycle of life and death. This is your save file. Using this, with a collection of sentient energy particles, Erasure can send you back to the beginning. Back to the construction of the primeval fighter, to stop the apocalypse from ever occurring. All your remaining continues are your last set of lives. And you can fail. And you likely will fail. And the you return to the beginning. And everything makes perfect sense. The cycle continues, until you finally destroy Orange. And you finally make it. A few extra continues, a perfect fight vs. the final boss, and Erasure comes with the truth. They were working with Green Orange the whole time, to arrive at this conclusion, just to be with her sister again.
And then it's over. And the opening cut scene plays again... but it's different. It's grey and orange. The boss names are different. And this time, you are told you can defeat them. Beating the game has the benefit of feeling incredible, but there is a price to pay for enlightenment. The game loses all Hindu flavor. The game loses its color.
I never expected such an amazing story when I first saw footage of this game. I knew the game itself was going to be absolutely fantastic from start to finish, and I knew I was going to have to become good at it to truly appreciate it, but I never thought I was going to miss the philosophy. I have finally attained a small fragment of understanding. And I'm not sure how exactly to feel about it.
May you attain enlightenment.