Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 is an interesting release. By 1992 Nintendo releases were starting to dry up. Once 1993 came along they were a trickle. Nintendo released one of the system’s finest games in Kirby’s Adventure that year along with Capcom’s own Mega Man 6. The SNES and Genesis were in a full-scale war with Disney titles releasing left and right. Yet for some reason Capcom chose to release Rescue Rangers 2 for the NES in 1994. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent title but will forever be remembered as a what if it were a Super Nintendo game.
The original Rescue Rangers is fondly remembered as a solid platformer that was better as a coop experience. It captured the essence of the show well, that of small chipmunks in a big world. That made for plenty of creative platforming scenarios along the lines of Konami’s Monster in my Pocket. It leaned a bit too far on the easy side but was fun while it lasted. Rescue Rangers didn’t quite have the popularity of Duck Tales but then again what did?
I’m giving that brief history lesson because Rescue Rangers 2 is the same as the first. The mechanics are identical, the story is similar and outside of its new levels this could easily be mistaken for its predecessor. Rescue Rangers 2 is the type of iterative sequel usually released a year after the original. Except in this case Capcom waited four years. By 1994 we were already looking forward to the new 32-bit consoles. This is a solid game and all but I don’t think anyone was asking for one last NES adventure.
Although this is a sequel it retreads a lot of familiar ground. The levels are not only extremely similar to the first game but other Capcom titles. The sewers wouldn’t look as though they were ripped straight from Darkwing Duck. The Haunted Mansion would not look out of place in Adventures in the Magic Kingdom either. That being said the level design is stronger this time around despite its familiarity. The few side diversions such as the mine cart sequence in the Western world are nice and if there were more of them this could have been a stronger title. Alas.
Sadly, Rescue Rangers 2 loses one of the first game’s better aspects. You can no longer choose your route through the game. This is one long, linear adventure. I guess you can make the argument that it makes the story stronger. But no one is playing this for the story. You can tackle the game’s final three levels in any order but that is little consolation. The linear progression is a huge blow to the game’s replay value as a result. It was fun to choose a different path on a new play through; most platformers were one and done affairs back then. Now once you’ve beaten Fat Cat there is no reason to ever go back again.
You’ll beat Fat Cat in short order as once again the game is incredibly easy. Every level is packed to the ceiling with throwable crates. On the one hand it makes sense as they are your only weapons. But at the same time it is excessive and unnecessary. The levels aren’t highly populated with enemies either which also makes their abundance questionable. Collecting Rescue Ranger emblems will extend your life bar, not that it is necessary. Combined with the frequent extra lives you’ll never die and if you do I question why you even play video games.
One area the previous game was seriously lacking was its boss battles. They were so simple it was insulting. I get that the game was targeted at the younger set but come on. Capcom have really stepped it up with Rescue Rangers 2, the boss fights present a decent challenge now. Their weak point isn’t always available and you’ll sometimes have to take risks to create an opening. The boss of Future World pilots a construction crane with a wrecking ball protecting him. You’ll have to run past the wrecking ball in the seconds before it comes crashing down to hit him, all while the crane is still moving. Some fall flat; if you avoid the first boss long enough he’ll self-destruct. But there are more hits then misses, especially the final encounter against Fat Cat.
In Closing
Its kind of hard to give a final assessment of Rescue Rangers 2. This is not a bad game, far from it. But at the same time I wonder who is it for. By 1994 the show had long since finished its run and everyone had moved on to 16-bit. Rescue Rangers 2 is a solid game but you are not missing out on anything special by skipping it either.
