Power Rangers Samurai

Review

Common Sense Media says

Glitchy hack-and-slash with lousy storytelling.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Power Rangers Samurai is a TV show tie-in game that features a lot of sword-fighting violence. In dialogue portions that occur between fights, the heroes come of as decent, positive role models, but the rest of the game is mostly a lot of hack-and-slash battling. And it can be strangely difficult, even on very early levels.

  • Positive messages1
    In their dialogue, the Power Rangers are very supportive of one another and emphasize the benefit of teamwork.
  • Positive role models2
    In their dialogue, the Rangers come off as very energetic, positive teens. They have always have words of encouragement for one another and talk a lot about practicing and trying harder in everything they do.
  • Ease of play2
    Movement is stiff in the game and its often hard to line your character up with the enemies in order to land a blow. Other glitches in gameplay cause difficulties along the way. Also, while enemies are generally pretty easy to dispatch as you move along, boss battles can be frustratingly difficult even in the first few levels.
  • Violence3
    The vast majority of the gameplay involves Power Rangers running along paths and corridors, slashing down masked bad guys with their swords. Special attacks allow them to blast colorful energy beams from their swords and cause bright explosions. Enemies groan when hit and fall down and disappear when defeated. In giant robot form, the Rangers battle giant monsters, also with a sword.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
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What's it about?

POWER RANGERS SAMURAI chronicles the efforts of five martial-artist teens with magical power swords to stop a race of ancient monsters from invading earth. Each time the evil Nighlocks send a squadron of bad guys into our dimension, the Rangers slice them down with their glowing blades and then turn into a giant robot to do the same to the Nighlocks' oversized leaders.

Is it any good?

 

The frustrating controls and overly-difficult boss battles aren't the worst part of Power Rangers Samurai. What's likely to annoy kids the most is the cheap-looking way it tells its story. All the action, including battle scenes, is depicted through dialogue. After working through an entire level of the game, finally beating a tough boss, and hearing the Power Rangers talk about how that boss just revived itself and turned into a giant monster, you expect to maybe see the heroes battle that big beast. But instead you just get more dialogue, like you're listening to an old radio play. It's hard not to feel cheated.

What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the violence in the game. Does the fantasy nature of the game make the fighting less problematic? Is it better that there's no blood? Or does that not make a difference?

  • Parents can also talk about marketing to kids and licensed video games. Does playing a game like this make you more likely to buy Power Rangers toys? Does it make you want to watch the TV show?

This review was written by Christopher Healy

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This review was written by Christopher Healy
Platforms:Nintendo Wii
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:Namco Bandai
Release date:November 22, 2011
Price:$39.99
ESRB rating:E10+ for Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence
This review was written by Christopher Healy
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
Our child development rating guidelines

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