Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Saban’s Power Rangers: Time Force delivers a fast-paced side-scrolling experience that captures the essence of the beloved TV series. Players control the color-costumed teen heroes as they leap through time across more than 15 unique levels, each filled with thugs, foot soldiers and time-bending bosses. The core combat loop revolves around punch–kick combos, special moves unique to each Ranger and occasional platforming challenges that keep the action moving at a brisk pace.

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One of the standout features is the roster of Rangers, each boasting distinct abilities—from the Red Ranger’s balanced attacks to the Pink Ranger’s agility and the Blue Ranger’s ranged strikes. This variety encourages you to swap characters on the fly and tackle stages in multiple ways, boosting replay value for completionists who want to explore every move set. Additionally, the game includes a password save system, letting you pick up where you left off without needing multiple saves, a welcome design choice for on-the-go handheld gaming.

Megazord battles break up the standard run-and-gun action, shifting the gameplay to a more strategic rhythm. Here, you command the giant robot in one-on-one showdowns against towering adversaries, using timed blocks, targeted strikes and power-up attacks. While these sequences are simpler than the main gameplay, they provide memorable set pieces that capture the cinematic flair of the TV show’s climactic moments.

Graphics

On the Game Boy Advance hardware, Time Force impressively recreates the vibrant color palette and sleek costume designs of its source material. Sprites are well-defined, with each Ranger’s armor and helmet rendered clearly despite the handheld’s resolution limits. Backgrounds shift from futuristic cityscapes to ancient ruins convincingly, reflecting the time-travel theme without feeling repetitively tiled.

Enemy sprites and boss designs stand out in particular, with creative layouts that hint at the villainous Triborg forces and other temporal foes. Animation is smooth—even during multi-hit combos and special moves—giving combat a tactile, responsive feel. The occasional slowdown is minimal, occurring only when the screen is densely populated with effects, and rarely detracts from the overall visual flow.

Comic book-style cut scenes add artistic flair to the narrative, with bold outlines and speech-bubble text that replicate the feel of graphic novels. Though static by nature, these panels are colorful and well-composed, successfully bridging gameplay segments and enriching the time-travel storyline. The consistent visual language between action and story sequences makes the presentation feel cohesive.

Story

The narrative in Saban’s Power Rangers: Time Force stays true to the heroic journey of the teen Rangers, tasked with stopping time-distorting villains to keep tomorrow safe. You’ll follow a straightforward plot that unfolds across each level, with the Rangers jumping to bygone eras and battling foes who threaten the timeline. The simplicity of the story ensures that even newcomers can dive in without prior knowledge of the TV series.

Comic-styled cut scenes are the primary vehicle for storytelling, offering snapshots of dialogue, exposition and dramatic reveals. While these panels aren’t fully animated, their stylized presentation injects personality into the cast and serves as a faithful homage to the franchise’s roots. The pacing is brisk—each segment ends on a cliffhanger that drives you toward the next stage.

Though the plot doesn’t break new ground in time-travel narratives, it effectively supports the mission-based structure of the game. Character moments are brief but enjoyable, and boss fights often tie into the story—defeating a ruler of prehistoric beasts or foiling a futuristic scheme feels integrated rather than tacked on. For fans of the series, these nods to specific episodes and villains add an extra layer of nostalgia.

Overall Experience

Saban’s Power Rangers: Time Force is a satisfying portable action adventure that delivers varied gameplay, colorful graphics and a faithful adaptation of the TV show’s time-hopping premise. The combination of standard beat ’em up levels, character-switching strategy and Megazord showdowns ensures that the experience rarely feels stale, while the password save system caters to the handheld format’s pick-up-and-play demands.

Casual players will appreciate the accessible controls and straightforward progression, while series enthusiasts will find enough fan service in character abilities, cut-scene art and villain encounters to keep them invested. The challenge curve is balanced—early levels serve as tutorials, while later stages test your mastery of combos and character strengths without resorting to unfair difficulty spikes.

Although it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Time Force stands out as one of the stronger Power Rangers titles on the Game Boy Advance. Its blend of tight gameplay, charming visuals and cohesive storytelling make it a worthwhile purchase for fans of action-platformers and anyone seeking a nostalgic trip through time with their favorite costumed heroes. If you’ve ever dreamed of morphing into a Ranger and saving the future, this portable adventure delivers on that promise.

Retro Replay Score

6.2/10