John Bilbo
Member
ZeroRanger NeoGAF OT
Release Date: 28th of September, 2018
Developed & Published by: System Erasure
Platforms: Steam, Itch
Demo available on Steam
About
ZeroRanger is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up developed by System Erasure.
In ZeroRanger, the player must fight waves of enemies in in order to repel the alien threat known as Green Orange. The player may do so in one of two fighters, Type-B and Type-C, or make use of both fighters together in co-op mode.
Along the way, the player will obtain additional weapons from defeating bosses, gaining secondary and tertiary weapons as well as a melee form called the ZeroRanger form.
Distinctive Mechanics
While ZeroRanger builds upon the legacy of the shoot them up genre it also gives familiar mechanics their own unique spin:- The player can bump into enemies up to two times without taking damage. After a cooldown period player can resume the bumping.
- Overkill: Select enemies can be "juiced" for extra points by continuing to shoot them after their death.
- Secret movement mechanics. Shh! They're a secret! (If you find one, be sure to post about it so we can all learn about the mechanics together!)
- Hidden scoring mechanics in the levels.
- The melee attack, bullet delay and bullet canceling in ZeroRanger form.
Player Ships
The player has a choice of two ships with their unique powers and weaponry. You unlock weapons one per stage. The weapons unlock always in the same order. You will not be able to gain all the weapons per run. You have to choose. At the start of the campaign you will always have only the main shot.- | Type-B (Rybb) | Type-C (Decker) |
Player Ships The red squares show the hitboxes. | 
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Main Shot The starting weapon | A wide shot. Easier to hit and control, but less effective. Firing from very close range ensures maximum damage. | A narrow shot. Requires precision. Moving forward while firing stacks the bullets together for maximum damage. |
Back Shot Choose after 1st stage | A rotating flamethrower firing behind your ship. Pierces enemies and temporarily sticks to walls and the bottom of the screen. | Fires a continuous stream of bullets straight behind you. Includes small diagonal low damage boosters behind you. |
Side Shot Choose after 1st Stage | Shoots continuous streams of electricity on each side of your ship and another streams forward in 45 degree angles on each sides. | Fires bullets from each sides of your ship and another set of bullets forward in 45 degree angles on each sides. |
Lock-On Missiles Choose after 2nd Stage | The player can lock onto up to eight targets, and release the button to fire homing lasers. Some objects in the background can be targeted as well. Tapping the lock-on button fires a single laser to the nearest enemy regardless of distance. It is recommended to map a "Fire 3 Auto" button in the game's additional controller settings to allow for quick homing shots. | The lock-on reticle is a small circle ahead of the fighter. The player can lock onto up to eight targets, and release the button to fire homing lasers. Some objects in the background can be targeted as well. Tapping the lock-on button fires a single laser to the nearest enemy regardless of distance. It is recommended to map a "Fire 3 Auto" button in the game's additional controller settings to allow for quick homing shots. |
Charge Shot Choose after 2nd Stage | Charging creates a small field around the fighter that damages enemies and can absorb bullets. Releasing the button will fire a ball of plasma on release, piercing enemies when not fully charged. If the field absorbs too many bullets, the charge will release and the fighter will not be able to charge again for a brief period of time. At full charge, the plasma shot remains on screen for a while as a stationary fireball. Advanced situational tactic: Charging the shot for one full minute will result in a super powerful laser attack! | Charging creates a charge shield in front of the ship, increasing in power over time. The field can absorb an unlimited number of enemy bullets, but it cannot absorb all types. Any bullets that the shot cannot absorb will be held in the shield instead, maintaining the player's multiplier. Releasing the button will fire a large piercing shot. Advanced situational tactic: Charging the shot for one full minute will result in a super powerful laser attack! |
Sword Choose after 3rd Stage | Releases a flurry of slashes immediately upon transformation. These slashes, as well as charged slashes, can reflect bullets back at enemies. A fully charged slash will also fire projectiles forwards. Uncharged slashes will hold bullets in place, maintaining the player's multiplier. | Releases a large slash immediately upon transformation, which can reflect bullets. Holding an attack button will rapidly swing the sword, slowing down any bullets it touches. Tapping the button rhythmically will cause every third slash to be a large, deflecting slash. |
Drill Choose after 3rd Stage | The drill gathers debris from attacking enemies. Debris will orbit around the player while transformed, acting as a side shield to enemy bullets and contact damage. The drill itself slows bullets that contact it, and eventually destroys weak bullets. Debris can erase bullets, but erasing too many bullets will exhaust all of the debris. | The drill grows larger after attacking several enemies within a short time, glowing more as it is about to grow. The drill slows bullets that contact it, and destroys weak bullets. When large, the drill erases most bullet types in front of the fighter. |
Campaigns
The game currently contains two campaigns: Green Orange and White Vanilla, both of which have distinct structures, scoring and gameplay mechanics. The third campaign, Black Onion, is in development.Green Orange
The main campaign of ZeroRanger included when the game launched. The campaign play time is significantly longer than the White Vanilla campaign. The pace is slower and the score multiplier drops down if there is a long enough time gap between killing enemies. To score high and keep the score multiplier combo going the player needs to be patient and learn to route the optimal order of killing enemies.White Vanilla
White Vanilla, also known as Light Mode is ZeroRanger's second campaign and was released on June 26, 2020 as a free update.White Vanilla is a remix of the Green Orange campaign with distinct enemy placement and scoring mechanics. One of the most notable differences between the campaigns is the White Vanilla campaign's ability to scroll faster depending on how efficiently and quick the player destroys the enemies. This significantly influences how the campaign should be played.
In White Vanilla the score multiplier does not drop down if you do not kill enemies. The score multiplier drops down when you take hits. This is a significant difference between the campaigns.
Black Onion
Upcoming hard campaign. There is an early unfinished build hidden somewhere in the code of the game. There is a way to access it. I haven't though.
Soundtrack(s)
The Official Orange Sounds Soundtrack available on Steam without DRM:
An arrangement album available on Bandcamp:
The arrangement album is also available to listen on Youtube:
Part 1 | Part 2
An arrangement album available on Bandcamp:
The arrangement album is also available to listen on Youtube:
Part 1 | Part 2
Peeling off the layers
Article: When life gives you oranges, you make a video game. We're two finnish guys who like to make video games. Currently we're working on a shoot'em up ZeroRanger and a puzzle game Void Stranger.
Oh no you peeled too much oh god
What the...???
Highscores
Shoot em up games are usually played for either survival or highscores. Survival is the starting point, highscores are the final destination or the end game.Best shoot em ups encourage the player to learn how to score points while learning the survival phase, combining all the mechanics within the game in to a singular goal: to attain
If this sounds endearing to you I recommend checking out the Shmups Wiki ZeroRanger Video Index. There you will find the current world record highscores for the game. My personal highscores can be found under the name JohnnyCookieDoe.
The index will help you to learn new strategies and mechanics. You can also submit your own videos and become part of the collective experience of ZeroRanger across time and space.
Final Words
This OT borrows heavily from the ZeroRanger Wiki. The art in this OT is in many parts a remix I made of the official art of ZeroRanger found on System Erasure's social media and homepage.
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