Rendering Ranger: R2

Rendering Ranger: R2 arrived on the Super Nintendo in 1995, developed by the German studio Rainbow Arts and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment. It is a single-player side-view action game that alternates run-and-gun sections with flying shooter stages.

Rainbow Arts had built a reputation in Germany for technically demanding action games on eight- and sixteen-bit computers. This particular title came from Manfred Trenz, the programmer associated with the Turrican series, and the signature shows in the emphasis on fluid character movement and the sheer density of enemies on screen.

By 1995 the SNES was at the end of its life cycle. Developers knew how to extract the maximum from a cartridge, leaned on digitised and pre-rendered artwork, and tried to approach the look promised by incoming 3D hardware. That visual style is the defining mark of late sixteen-bit production.

Commercially, this is a game that landed out of step with its moment. It appeared when the market's attention had already moved on, which is why physical copies are now unusually sought after by collectors. It is therefore better understood as a specialist's object than as something an ordinary 1990s player would have found on a shop shelf.

Late sixteen-bit console games are judged differently now than they were on release. Reviewers at the time measured them against what the incoming hardware promised, and they looked dated. With distance it is clear that these were the titles that pushed two-dimensional action furthest, made with complete command of the platform and nothing left to discover.

Release year, credits and period screenshots for this title are viewable on OldGame.cz.