Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid was supposed to be announced today; instead, the trailer was leaked early last Thursday. Unfortunately, this meant its announcement came on the same day tons of new details were released for another juggernaut of a fighting game releasing this April: Mortal Kombat 11.
Following Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid’s premature announcement, I interviewed Jesse Cherry. He is the Senior Product Manager at nWay, who are developing Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid with help from Hasbro and Lionsgate. Due to the nature of the game’s announcement and the fact that it will be releasing the same month as Mortal Kombat 11, I asked Jesse what will make Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid stand out in comparison to Mortal Kombat 11 for those looking to get a fighting game in April.
Of course, there’s the most obvious difference in that Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid will be much more family-friendly than Mortal Kombat 11. While there is a whole trailer flaunting Mortal Kombat 11’s fatalities, Jesse Cherry does think the “all ages aspect” of Battle for the Grid does work to its advantage. Jesse also says Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is poised to be much more accessible fighter with “easy to execute” combos.
“You can sit someone down and try to explain all the systems, but some people just want to button mash and see cool stuff,” said Jesse. That being said, he was also quick to assure me that Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid will “still those complex combos that people who can put the time in can execute on.” That could possibly help fuel an esports scene for the game if the community is interested.
He also highlighted the fact that Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is a 3v3 fighter more akin to games like Marvel vs. Capcom and Dragon Ball FighterZ, rather than the intense 1v1 fights of Mortal Kombat. “[Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid] is a team-based fighting game. You’re going to get something that I think is a little different and new,” Jesse told me. “It’s a team-based fighter that’s meant to be a lot of fun.”
nWay, Hasbro, and Lionsgate also think that Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid’s $19.99 is more budget friendly and that in the end, it will just appeal to Power Rangers fans more. Jesse embodied this sentiment by saying: “If you want to see Tommy Oliver duking it out with the Red Ranger, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is the only place you can do that.” The game will also feature a full story mode as well, though not much has been said about it.
That being said, Jesse still had a lot of nice things to say to the competition over at NeatherRealm and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, saying: “Hats off to Ed Boon and that team over there, they’ve been doing it for so long and they keep coming out, they even rebooted the franchise with Mortal Kombat 9.” While its clear Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid and Mortal Kombat 11 are quite different in many ways, it will still be interesting to see how each title fares after launching this April.
While we still don’t know when exactly Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid will be releasing for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in April, the game can be pre-ordered on the game’s official website. Meanwhile, NeatherRealm and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have confirmed that Mortal Kombat 11 is launching for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on April 23 and the game is available for pre-order on Amazon.
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