Blazing Rangers
Image: karu_gamo/First Press Games

Today (December 15th), the developer Karu_gamo and retro publisher First Press Games have announced they have completed localizing the NES cartridges of Blazing Rangers (known as Honō no Rangerman in Japan) and that they are also selling it as a downloadable ROM on itch.io.

Previously, the game was only available as a Famicom cartridge in Japanese packaging or as a free online demo, but now there are clearly a few more options for players to consider. You can now buy European or North American NES cartridges, with regional-specific packaging, from First Press Games website for €54,99 (Collector's and Super Collector's Editions are also available for pre-order), or pay just $12.99 to get all three ROMs (FC/NES NTSC/NES PAL) from itch.

In case you're unfamiliar, Blazing Rangers is an arcade-style title for the original NES/Famicom that has you fighting fires and a wide variety of enemies with a water hose. You can play alone or with a friend, with the goal being to clear each stage and rescue a bunch of trapped children from harm.

Kerry Brunskill reviewed the game for Nintendo Life back in 2021 and gave it an impressive 8/10. They wrote of the game at the time:

"Blazing Rangers is more than just another '80s-style novelty intended to sell out on pre-order and then sit on shelves never to be played — it really does feel like a new game that just happens to be on the NES and not another round of “Remembering Retro Things: NES Edition”. It aims to be more than a timid rehash of a popular modern trend or another safe retro-friendly bet."

You can watch the English language trailer for the game below (which features a surprisingly catchy theme song from Karu_gamo and bud x dies!):

Will you be giving it a go? Comment and let us know your thoughts!