Ranger X

Ranger X was released late in the lifetime of the Sega Genesis, coming from an unknown developer. It was released with little fanfare and advertising but has become one of the best demonstrations of what the console is capable of.

The game is a side-scrolling shooter. You control a large mech that can be joined by a smaller vehicle-like sidekick mech, providing an alternate shooting mode. When controlling just the main mech, you can shoot both forward and back using different buttons. The mech can also use its rocket pack to boost off the ground and hover for a short while. Levels are not necessarily moving from left to right, but for most part they are, and the game is an interesting blend of platform game and shoot 'em up.

The game features innovative graphics given the hardware limitations - there is a 3D introduction to most levels and some levels use a line-based scrolling effect to give the impression of 3D backgrounds.