Rendering Ranger R2 (レンダリング・レンジャーR²) is an action game developed by Rainbow Arts and published by Virgin Interactive in 1995 for the Super Famicom in Japan only. The game was slated to be released in western territories under the name Targa[1] but this version ended cancelled due to Rainbow Arts being unable to secure a publisher at the time. The game was created by Manfred Trenz, utilizing pre-rendered graphics.
Story[]
In a distant future... Earth was attacked by an unidentified alien force. The armies of all nations fought the invaders, but many cities ended in ruins as the armies suffered repeated defeats against the overwhelming power of the aliens. "Without striking the enemy's right at their home we have no chance of winning.", concluded Earth's various leaders in face of the endless force of the enemy.
Few people knew of the existence of Rendering Ranger. A special unit created by a secret organization, a member of our world, professing to serve as a peace mediator for the purpose of complete suppression by force. Those belonging to this unit had no name or nationality, and only their codenames and incredible fighting abilities proved their existence.
Among the Rendering Ranger was a striking soldier. R2. Two orders were given to him in secret: obtain the high-performance fighters from the enemy and destroy the enemy's base of operations. The leaders of the world put their faith on his skill. R2 now aims to carry out the command and heads for the ruins occupied by the enemy...
Gameplay[]
The gameplay in this game alternates between run and gun platforming levels and side-scrolling shoot 'em up levels. Platforming levels plays similarly to other run and guns such as Contra, with the player being able to shoot in all directions, while the shoot 'em up levels plays like a typical shooter, with the player being able to move freely and shooting from the front of the ship, though the player is able to turn around to shoot enemies coming from the back.
The weapon system works similarly to the Turrican games, with weapons and power ups being dispensed by floating capsules and the player having access to multiple weapons. Unlike in Turrican the player can stock on the different weapons and cycle between them.