Let’s Play Rescue Rangers! What did I just say about Capcom making magic out of Disney franchises? This is yet another brilliant combination of gameplay mixed with a fantastic soundtrack meets colorful fun graphics.
The fact that it’s two player makes it one of the beste couch co-op experiences on the NES for my money. It has a bit of a Contra feel to it in th
at you can easily ruin a friendship if you move too quickly or slowly for the other person, but assuming you’re both firing on all 8-bit cylinders it’s a great team building and bonding exercise.
A nice feature I always appreciated was the ability to pick up your teammate for some of the trickier parts. Zone F had some crazy timed jumps you had to make as the ground/pipes expanded and contracted out of the wall, making for a challenging stretch there at the end. Picking up your teammate (as I used to do with my brother as I shined at this part) was a nice way to ensure only one of you had to get past this part. Of course you lived and died by it, but when it worked you got a nice pat on the back or pack of fruitsnacks in appreciative return.
Cacom games also have a generally split reputation for either being too difficult or too easy, depending on whom you’re talking to. Rescue Rangers for me falls somewhere in the middle as, save for a few exceptions like the aforementioned Zone F, it wasn’t that difficult assuming you had played it dozens of times before.
And now let’s reminisce thanks to a late 80’s commercial for the game: