The GHZ

-- Navigation --
  • Museum main page
  • -- General Info --
    Title (Japan)
       Burning Rangers
    Title (USA)
       Burning Rangers
    Title (Europe)
       Burning Rangers
    System
       Sega Saturn
    Developer
       Sonic Team
    Genre
       Action
    ESRB Rating
       E

    -- Release Info --
    Japan
       February 26, 1998
    USA
       May, 1998
    Europe
       June, 1998

    -- Game Credits --
    Executive Producer
       Hayao Nakayama
       Shoichiro Irimajiri
       Hideki Sato
    Product Manager
       Youji Ishii
    Producer
       Yuji Naka
    Director
       Naoto Ohshima
    Graphic Artist
       Naoto Ohshima
       Shinichi Higashi
       Tomonori Dobashi
       Yoshinari Amaike
    Programmer
       Takuya Matsumoto
       Akio Setsumasa
       Yasuhiro Watanabe
       Yoshitaka Kawabata
       Nobuaki Yamazaki
    Scene Artist
       Hideaki Moriya
       Tohru Watanuki
       Satoshi Okano
       Kensuke Kita
       Kosei Kitamura
       Mitsutoshi Matuzaki
    Sound Producer
       Yukifumi Makino
    Sound Director
       Naofumi Hataya
    Sound Effects
       Masaru Setsumaru
    Sound Programmer
       Yoshiaki Kashima
    Composer
       Naofumi Hataya
       Fumie Kumatani
       Masaru Setsumaru
    Lyrics
       Naofumi Hataya
       Tomoko Sasaki
    Vocals
       Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
       Marlon Saunders
       Tomoko Sasaki
    Game Designer
       Takao Miyoshi
       Yasuhiko Nagamichi
       Norihito Kato
       Shintaro Hata
    Burning-Ship Subgame Programmer
       Masahiro Wakayama
       Takeshi Sakakibara
    Burning-Ship Subgame Artist
       Michikazu Tamamura
       Makiko Banju
       Akira Mikame
    Visual Material Editor
       Yuji Sawairi
       Ikuo Ishizaka
    Voice Talent (Japanese)
       Hikaru Midorikawa
       Yuko Miyamura
       Tomokazu Seki
       Ryuuzaburou Ohtomo
       Hiroko Kasahara
       Aya Hisakawa

    -- Options --
    Sega Saturn
       Burning Rangers


    Burning Rangers

    Notice: This page is out-of-date and is no longer being maintained. Some of the information may be erroneous and the writing may be embarrassingly bad. Proceed at your own risk.

    -- Quick Jump --
       [Story | Gameplay Info | Zones | Comparison | Codes | Behind the Screens | Cultural Notes | Miscellanea]


    -- Story --
       A routine mission leads to the discovery of a transmitting device which is calling an unidentifiable spacecraft to Earth. Problem is, the craft is covered by a massive layer of space junk... should it hit Earth, the damage would be catastrophic. It's up to the Burning Rangers to get to the heart of this junk barge, and find a way to stop the monster before it breaks into Earth's atmosphere.


    -- Gameplay Info --
       Twitch games have always been Sonic Team's forte, but BR seems to have been designed to provide a localized workout for your reflexes. The object is simple enough: get to the end of each stage. With only four levels to play, it won't have you cancelling appointments, but (as with NiGHTS) the real beauty is in the replay value. The more you play, the more you enjoy.

       At the outset, you can choose between two characters: Shou Amabane or Tillis, two rookie Burning Rangers. Control is identical, but the two characters have different cutscenes and unique endings. Once you've begun a save, you can choose to play each stage as either one, so you're never stuck with your first choice. (There are passwords that allow you to play as the other four Burning Rangers, although nothing you achieve on these bonus games will be saved.)

       In addition to regular old dumb stupid walking, your character is equipped with a handy arsenal of moves and maneuvers designed to keep his ass extinguished. A and C are the jump buttons. While in midair, press A or C again simultaneously with any direction on the analog pad to perform a quick dash in that direction. On the ground, you can perform a speedy sideways tumble by pressing A or C along with left or right on the analog pad. Perform a backward somersault by simultaneously pressing A or C and down on the D-pad. When underwater, you can paddle forward by pressing the analog stick in the direction you want to swim. To rise, hold down A or C. To dive, hold down B. Finally, you can swing the camera around by pressing L or R and get a precise view from any angle by holding down Y and moving the analog stick around.

       You can extenguish fires and destroy enemy mechs by blasting 'em with a Shot. Press B to fire off a Shot. Hold down B to build up a more powerful Charge Shot: the longer you hold down the button, the more powerful the blast will be (the power of the blast is monitored by a meter on the bottom left of the screen). The Charge Shot is more powerful than a standard Shot and can put out big clusters of flame instantly... handy for emergencies and for lowering the Danger Limit, but it will also destroy the Crystals the flames would otherwise leave behind, so be careful with that gun you friggin' maniac.

       Plan on fighting an occasional mech, but your biggest enemy at any given time is the universal equalizer. Luckily, virtual flames aren't quite as unpredictable as the real thing, and conveniently behave in a common pattern based on color or shape:

  • Orange -- Standard fires, they just burn in place until you put them out. Worth one Crystal each.
  • Blue -- Blue fires are much stronger than orange ones, but still just burn in place. They take more hits, but reward you with eight Crystals each. They're usually found in groups, so this adds up to alot of Crystals.
  • Green -- These mean flames'll hurl fireballs at you. They're worth five Crystals each, but it's usually not worth the risk, so put 'em out fast and furious with a Charge Shot.
  • Pink -- The rarest of the fires, Pink flames only appear regularly in Winged Cradle. As far as I can tell, they're just a slightly stronger version of orange fires, but not as strong as blue ones. Worth two Crystals each.
  • Flaming spheres -- Great balls of fire! (Sorry...) They only appear at a few points in Fallen Memory and Winged Cradle, but they usually pop up in cramped places, and they don't let their existence known until you're up close and personal. These things chuck fireballs at you and are quite strong... pummel 'em with a barrage of standard Shots and they eventually explode into a shower of Crystals.
  • Busted gas pipes -- Spout a constant stream of flame that can't be extenguished, but are usually easily avoided.
  • Exploding walls -- Here's a bit of life advice: if you're ever walking down a long hallway, and suddenly the wall on the side of you begins glowing and emitting a sharp whistle, perform a backward somersault immediately, because that wall is about to explode into flames. The same applies to this game, incidentally.
  •    Now is a good time to mention the requisite action/platformer collectible contingency in the BR world: Crystals. (If you believe the letters you get, the full name is Maztabaluxor Crystals, but since this name sounds disconcertingly similar to a certain dirty habit, we'll just call 'em plain old Crystals.) Crystals function exactly like Rings: if you have some and you take damage, they scatter at which point you have a few seconds to grab back as many as you can. Pressing the Y button immediately after getting hit relays a quick transmission to Chris that you're alright, allowing you to grab Crystals back faster. Take damage without any Crystals on hand and you're barbecue. Another use these handy red gems have is for transporting survivors to safety: a minimum of five will do the job, but transporting a survivor with the ideal of 10 Crystals earns you a continue. (Additionally, Crystals used to transport survivors are immediately added to your total Crystal count for the stage, meaning that even if you have no Crystals on-hand when you beat the boss, all the Crystals you used to transport survivors will be added to your point tally.) Crystals can be found lying around stages in two colors: red (worth 1 Crystal) and green (worth 5 Crystals). Fires also leave behind Crystals when put out with a normal Shot (NOT a Charge Shot).

       Roaming around each stage you will find a handfull of not-nice mechs. Apparently, these are normally stock working bots that, for unknown reasons, have gone haywire. Arrogant little bastards. Show 'em who's boss with some Charge Shots. They can shoot back, of course, but unless you're an 80-year old lady with a heart condition and cement shoes you won't have much of a problem evading.

       While you aren't exactly timed per se, this is a Sonic Team game and luxuries such as standing still are but hopeless dreams. There is an ever-present Danger Limit hanging over your head every step of the way, and just like Elliot and Claris' Alarm Egg or Amy Rose's ZERO, it will piss you off and keep you on your toes. The Danger Limit starts at a pleasant 0% and rises constantly. The only way to keep the Danger Limit down is to put out fires, and keep putting out fires because the Limit meter doesn't stop when you do. Every time the meter hits 20% increments, invincible flames begin bursting all around your character -- keep moving or get roasted. The higher the percentage, the longer the chain lasts. Furthermore, the Limit won't go down past the last 20% increment, but that doesn't really have any kind of adverse affects other than lowering your grade for the Mission.

       There are three major stages, plus a short tutorial and a super-long final stage. You fight a boss at the end of each, and most of 'em are fairly tough. Your performance is then graded from S-D with S being the best. Grading criteria include: percentage of survivors rescued, number of Crystals on-hand at the end of the stage (or used to transport survivors), the time it took you to defeat the boss, and the Danger Limit percentage when you reach the boss.

    Mission 1: Fallen Memory -- There's been a breach of the core reactor at the 3rd Energy Plant, causing the central computer to go haywire and take control of the plant and its HST-2000 series robots -- Worker-B's, as they are called. As it turns out, the plant's administrator, Dr. Bradley, had been experimenting with genetically altering the last specimen in an otherwise extinct species of flower. The flower - given to him by his late wife - mutated, took on a mind of its own and began growing faster than expected.

    Boss: Anemoth The mutant flower with an attitude is confined to the center of the arena, but the blossom circles around spouting fireballs.

    Mission 2: Silent Blue -- Fire from an unknown source has set Ocean Park, an underwater aquarium and marine life research lab in New Zealand, ablaze. Apparently, the park is closed this day and the only victims in the building should be workers... about thirty of them. But as the Rangers begin finding children in the inferno, it becomes apparent that something is very wrong. As it turns out, although the park is closed, a special event is being held and over 200 children were invited. The only way to possibly save all of them is to destroy the central joint where the two halves of the lab meet -- which, in theory, would allow the upper half (the park) to float safely to the surface. Dodge the rampaging Guardian-D mechs and save those kiddies. The blaze started due to an "earthquake" caused by an old transmitting lab that was on the location where the aquarium was built. The origin and purpose of the lab are unknown...

    Boss: Undulatus Like a big mechanical Gulpo, Undulatus circles underwater in the lower half of the arena, chucking weird energy pulses that cause mini explosions on the water's surface. After taking damage, he goes into a fit and zips around the arena knocking over the floating platforms... the weaker he is, the longer this attack lasts.

    Mission 3: Gravity Zero -- An abandoned space colony is being dismantled by a cleaning crew when the crumbling ship is hit by a meteorite. The Rangers must get the workers safely out the ship. This might be a bit easier if their leader wasn't so stubborn about getting his ass saved, coupled with the fact that there are two stowaway children on board: Neal Belmondo and his brother Mel. Neal went off to watch the meteorite, and as such landed himself in the most dangerous area of the colony: right at the point of impact. Radioactive energy prevents Chris from receiving any transmissions at this location, and the only way off the crumbling ship is via the last emergency escape pod. The Rangers use it to send Neal to safety, leaving one Ranger left behind. The only exit comes in the unexpected form of a HUGE conglomeration of space junk as it collides with the crumbling colony... There are two types of ememy mechs that patrol this stage: Hat-Bee, agile flying robots, and G-Hand, large powerful machines used for drilling.

    Boss: Argoyle G Argolye G dashes backward in a crumbling, circular tunnel, frequently stabbing at you with his retractable arm. It's protected by armor composed of junk, and enough must be knocked off to expose the blue crystal thingie underneath before it will take damage.

    Mission 4: Winged Cradle -- Chris' transmissions are unable to make it through to the massive cluster of space junk, but the separated Ranger is guided by an unidentifiable female voice. After the junk ship's defense system (which is in the form of a blue crystal and was also responsible for the mechanical monsters at the end of Silent Blue and Gravity Zero) is destroyed, the mysterious voice reveals herself and unravels the mystery. She is Iria Klein, and at the heart of the massive shell of space junk lies the actual small craft, which contains the unit where she has been held in suspended animation for an unknown number of years. When Iria was sixteen, she contracted a fatal disease for which there was no known cure; thus her father secured her body in suspended animation and sent her off into space for safety until a cure would be discovered. In order to achieve this, he set a transmission lab (the one found on the site where Ocean Park was constructed) that would relay the news to Iria's ship; and in order to protect the ship, he programmed his own consciousness into its defense system. As a result, the 'live' system began pulling in space junk to create a protective shield around Iria's vessel, but there's been an unforseen side effect: now that a cure has been discovered and the ship has received the message, it's heading back home, and is on a collision course with Earth. The only way to stop it is to destroy the ship's central computer, one seriously mad dad...

    Boss: Willvern The blue crystal has multiple forms. In the first, fought at the end of the platform area, your only task is to keep from falling off of your tiny platform and avoid his energy blasts. The second form is taken on with a friend: Lead if you're playing as Shou, and Big if you're Tillis. It's stuck to the door guarding Iria's chamber, and basically just tries to burn your booty off with fireballs and stuff. In the third phase, Willvern's in the middle of an arena and circles around with two giant laser beams. In the fourth (and final) phase, the thing takes on a rather demonic form and has you pinned on a square platform. He'll move from one side of the platform to the other, and attacks you with flame walls, meteors, and tornadoes. He's got two shields on either side, and they must be destroyed before damage can be inflicted on Willvern himself. The shields regenerate every time he shifts position, so keep on your toes.

       The story is carried along nicely during actual gameplay via the intercom system. In all but the final stage, your fellow Rangers are carousing the level at the same time you are. Occasionally your paths cross, but even when you can't see your comrades, they'll keep the team up-to-date on their status via the intercom system. Chris is the central hub, navigating the whole team from the safety of the Burning-Ship. She'll give you directions over the intercom, most of which should be ignored because they lead you straight toward the exit and usually bypass a number of survivors and similar goodies. If you get lost, you can get a quick, disinterested, and mostly useless hint out of Chris by hitting the Y button. As mentioned earlier, hitting the Y button immediately after taking damage relays a message to Chris letting her know that you're alright, which allows you to grab back lost Crystals faster.

       And then there's the mail system. After rescuing a survivor, he/she will send you an "email" letter which can be accessed from the main options menu. The actual content of the letters vary... Some will fill you in on interesting story tidbits that you won't hear in the actual game, many will send you game art, but most will just bug you with useless chit-chat. Mixed in among the 108 survivors are 14 egocentric Sonic Team members, who usually send you art or secret passwords. (The exception is programmer Takuya Matsumoto, who thinks you'll be more interested in obscure, uh, poetry.) In addition to the Sonic Team gang, there's a cameo by manga artist Ami Shibata, who it seems is a personal friend of Yuji Naka's. Claris Sinclair and Elliot Edwards are thrown in for good measure -- Claris sends you a short sound clip from NiGHTS. A number of survivors will send you more than one message (to a max of three) based on how many times you've rescued them. (I figure if they get stuck in the same damn fire more than three times, they deserve to die anyway.)

    Fallen Memory: Page 1
    Peter Smith
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Joe Bradley
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Curt Eisler
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Linda Wirgman
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Gena Austin
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Richard Wells
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Lucille Crawford
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Oliver Landon
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Rose Bergman
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Lily Johnson
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Yasushi Nirenburg
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Mary Foster
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Page 2
    Prince Lemmon
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Sophie Rosay
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Paul Freeman
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Marie Moore
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Mira Redford
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Erika Pinter
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Danny Hackman
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Christine Fowles
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Simone Darrieu
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Frank Williams
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Kathy Margret
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Takao Miyushi
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Page 3
    Nancy Keaton
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Jennifer Fox
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Anne Connery
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Ahmad Khan
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Emma Kensit
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Janet Day
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Satoshi Okano
    2 Letters
    2 Attach
    James Green
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Arnold Leyden
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Hideaki Moriya
    2 Letters
    2 Attach
    Hiroko Losey
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Florenz Ranke
    1 Letter
    0 Attach

    Silent Blue: Page 1
    Marco Martini
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Leonard Kennedy
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Ellen Kelly
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Janet Campbell
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Nico Pernas
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Marc Tyler
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Scarlet Fonda
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Shinichi Hagishi
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Will Jones
    1 Letter
    1 Attach
    Owen Eastwood
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Michael Eastwood
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Bella Eastwood
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Page 2
    Marcia Weber
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    David Weber
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Bob Fisher
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Fumie Kumatani
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Meg Tracy
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Diane Tracy
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Bill Klein
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Elizabeth Klein
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Yasuhiro Watanabe
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Yumy Bouwer
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Tohru Watanuki
    3 Letters
    2 Attach
    Betty Forrest
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Page 3
    Naomi Parton
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Kanako Parton
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Manabu Parton
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Yasuhiko Nagamichi
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Sonia Morton
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Martin Morton
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Julie Sanda
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Mark Brando
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Mira Ringwald
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Hanne Ringwald
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Elliot Edwards
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Claris Sinclair
    2 Letters
    0 Attach

    Gravity Zero: Page 1
    Neal Belmondo
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Gerardo Vanini
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Ridley Thompson
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    George Beck
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Casper Wyld
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    David Jackson
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Henry Pierce
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Loretta Compton
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Susan Gray
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Tyron Fage
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Tomonori Dobashi
    1 Letter
    1 Attach
    John Sweet
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Page 2
    Brown Epstein
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Akio Setsumasa
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Grace Turner
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Eric Howell
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Elvis Douglas
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Alicia Howard
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Joe Negrin
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Elena Eldon
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Sam Murray
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Matilda Kasdan
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Masaru Setsumaru
    3 Letters
    0 Attachments
    Naofumi Hataya
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Page 3
    Bette Temin
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Tim Leary
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Kayo Shimizu
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Charles Smyth
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Jill Woods
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Takuya Matsumoto
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Jason Mark
    2 Letters
    0 Attach
    Luke Scala
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Mimi Follows
    3 Letters
    0 Attach
    Naoto Ohshima
    2 Letters
    1 Attach
    Yuji Naka
    1 Letter
    0 Attach
    Ami Shibata
    1 Letter
    3 Attach

       Now, about those passwords... BR is bestowed its immense replay value through the level randomization feature. To activate the randomization, simply clear the game once as either Shou or Tillis. The actual layout of the stages won't change, but various doors and passageways will randomly be opened or blocked off, while the locations of fires, survivors, and other items will be rearranged. You'll find entire chunks of level that aren't accessible in the default layouts, not to mention the bigger portion of survivors. At the end of each level, you're given a 10-digit password which can be used to access that particular layout any time so you can revisit old favorites whenever you feel like it.

       After rescuing Neal Belmondo a second time (read: beat Gravity Zero twice), the Burning-Ship sub-game can be accessed. It's the same game you play at the end of Winged Cradle: you're controlling the Burning-Ship through a 360° tunnel, dodging various obstacles and blasting others to kingdom come. The only controls are left and right to move in those directions, L or R to roll in one of those directions, and the action buttons to shoot.

    screenshot screenshot screenshot

    -- Codes --
    Secret Passwords: Input the following passwords for the indicated effects:
    • Voice Test: "NAVIXXTEST"

    • Movie Test: "MOVIETEST?" Replace the "?" at the end with a letter from A-I to play one of the following movies:
      • A: Introduction
      • B: Mission 1 (Fallen Memory) Complete
      • C: Mission 2 (Silent Blue) Complete
      • D: Mission 3 (Gravity Zero) Complete as Shou
      • E: Mission 3 (Gravity Zero) Complete as Tillis
      • F: Shou's Ending
      • G: Tillis' Ending
      • H: Mission 4 (Winged Cradle) Complete as Shou
      • I: Mission 4 (Winged Cradle) Complete as Tillis

    • Play Fallen Memory as Lead Phoenix: GS4LEAD2ZU
    • Play Silent Blue as Lead Phoenix: J5LEAD4XGA
    • Play Gravity Zero as Lead Phoenix: 2LEAD6DHUY

    • Play Fallen Memory as Big Landman: 3BIG2BPLCK
    • Play Silent Blue as Big Landman: VZ5BIG5PGW
    • Play Gravity Zero as Big Landman: J6BIG3OJYS

    • Play Fallen Memory as Chris Partn: DH5CHRIS5H
    • Play Silent Blue as Chris Partn: K3CHRIS4AS
    • Play Gravity Zero as Chris Partn: ADG2CHRIS5

    • Play Fallen Memory as Iria Klein: KB3IRIA5KF
    • Play Silent Blue as Iria Klein: HTL2IRIA50
    • Play Gravity Zero as Iria Klein: GHJK3IRIA2

    • Play Fallen Memory as Shou Amabane with BGM: G2SHOU2JKY
    • Play Silent Blue as Shou Amabane with BGM: 3SHOU5GHJK
    • Play Gravity Zero as Shou Amabane with BGM: GFGF5SHOU5

    • Play Fallen Memory as Tillis with BGM: NM3TILLIS5
    • Play Silent Blue as Tillis with BGM: B5TILLIS2D
    • Play Gravity Zero as Tillis with BGM: 5TILLIS4KL

    -- Behind the Screens --
       There's no question as to exactly what audience Sonic Team was trying to catch with Burning Rangers. The game absolutely oozes with anime schtick, moreso than any of their other titles. From the cheesy sci-fi storyline and over-the-top characters to outrageous mecha designs and melodramatic acting, BR covers all the geekbait bases. Sega even threw enough budget their way for Sonic Team to acquire some top talent from the anime industry. Character design and supervision for the cover and promotional art was handled by Hiroyuki Ochi, whose credits include Armitage III and Sol Bianca. (To the left is one of the scrapped cover sketches.) The voice cast is comprised entirely of big name seiyuu - pop stars who are usually adept at both singing and acting. Below is a list of who's who in the BR world. If you don't recognize the names, you will surely recognize some of their character roles. (I'm currently searching for a list of the English voice actors. If you can help me out,
    smack me one.)

    -- Japanese ver. --
    Character
    Actor/Actress
    Other Roles
    Shou Amabane Hikaru Midorikawa Fushigi Yuugi -- Tamahome
    Slayers -- Zelgadis Greywords
    Saber Marionette J -- Faust
    Dead or Alive -- Ein/Hayate
    Great Teacher Onizuka -- Kikuchi Yoshito
    Tillis Yuko Miyamura Neon Genesis Evangelion -- Asuka Langley
    Street Fighter Zero -- Chun-li & Rose
    Queen Emeraldas -- Ruuda
    Soul Calibur -- Seung Mina
    Outlaw Star -- Aisha Clan-Clan
    Lead Phoenix Tomokazu Seki Vision of Escaflowne -- Van Fanel
    Fushigi Yuugi -- Chichiri
    Cardcaptor Sakura -- Kinomoto Touya
    X -- Shirou Kamui
    Chobits -- Shinbo Hiroshi
    Big Landman Ryuzaburo Ohtomo Bastard!! -- Abigail
    Battle Angel -- Grushka
    Macross II -- Dennis
    El Hazard -- Gares
    Excel Saga -- Kabapu
    Chris Partn Hiroko Kasahara Macross II -- Ishtar
    Irresponsible Captain Tylor -- Azarin
    Rayearth -- Fuu Hououji
    Armitage III -- Naomi Armitage
    Vampire Princess Miyu -- Arisawa Miho
    Iria Klein Aya Hisakawa Iria Zeiram The Animation -- Iria
    Sailor Moon -- Sailor Mercury
    Ah My Goddess! -- Skuld
    Trigun -- Rem Saverem
    Love Hina -- Amalla Suu

       At one point in development, there was a 2-player mode planned. Judging from the pics below, it looks like a grudge match in the practice arena. (Thanks to Martin Braid for the scan.) Incidentally, take a run through the voice test and you'll hear a whole buttload of interesting conversations that are nowhere to be found in the game. What wonders might another few months of development time have brought us? Perhaps we will never know...


    -- Miscellanea --
    • Ami Shibata, the dynamically weird survivor occasionally found in Gravity Zero, is evidently a personal friend of Yuji Naka, who was the star of one of her short stories. Shibata is a mangaka, or manga artist, best known for her "Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun" (tropical boy Papuwa) series which ran from 1992 through 1995. Her most recent work is "Mirai Bouken Channel 5" (future adventure channel 5).
    • In the prototype build of BR, Chris' voice was provided by Kayo Shimizu, financial administrator for the Sonic Team.
    • The vocalist in the Japanese version of "I Just Smile" is Tomoko Sasaki, who composed the music for NiGHTS into Dreams...

    Written content and original graphics copyright © 1997-2005 Jared Matte. Screenshots thanks to Lucas Echeverria and Bo Bayles. Hosting and administration thanks to Nathan Tsui. Burning Rangers characters, logos, and images are trademarks of
    SEGA Corporation. The GHZ is an independent fansite and is not affiliated with SEGA Corporation.