I am a longtime fan of both fighting games and the Power Rangers, so I was extremely excited when Battle for the Grid was announced. An interfranchise fighting game based on the style of the Marvel vs Capcom games, with input from pro players like Justin Wong sounded amazing. For the most part, the game is amazing but there are some issues.
I should probably go over the flaws first. The game only has nine characters at launch and that might be a turn off for some. There are three more characters coming as DLC for Season 1, but the value may not be there for some. The fact that the game is only 20 dollars does mitigate this somewhat, but then there are some glitch issues. To be more specific, some moves don’t seem to work in online modes but nWay has stated a fix is coming.
Now for the positives. I love the characters chosen ( besides Mastadon Sentry) and they all play in a unique way. Getting the right team combination is key to success. A team that works well for others may not suit your playstyle, so experiment a little to find one that works.
I like the specific elements added to each character in the game. Jason rhe red ranger has super speed elements that must be used strategically, while Tommy is more akin to this game’s version of Ryu. Magna Defender and Goldar were characters I wanted in the game, and they play exactly like I had hoped they would, using their weapons and unique skills in special moves. Adding Kat from SPD was a great choice as well, because of the playstyle she offers that other characters wouldn’t be able to bring.
Many were turned off by the notion of the game having simplified controls, but this is not a simple button masher. Learning how the game works will get you far and enable you to pull off some amazing combos. Going in blind will result in you getting beat easily. This game very much fits the mold of easy to learn but difficult to master. Characters like Ranger Slayer in particular, are characters worth learning the intricacies of, in order to do well.
In terms of online play, I was very impressed overall. There was the glitch I mentioned above, but the game has a fantastic netcode and I was able to find matches right away and play without issue. As I played on the Switch version, there was a large playerbase to go up against since there is crossplay with the Xbox One version ( and later on the PC version will have crossplay with them as well).
To sum it all up, this is an excellent budget fighting game aside from a few issues. It is well designed and the bugs will be worked out soon. I highly recommend getting this, as you will not be disappointed.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided