Power Ranger’s HyperForce, the Table-top Role-playing game show by HyperRPG, is celebrating its 3 year anniversary this year. The series had its first episode on the 24th October 2017 on HyperRPG’s Twitch channel and was designed as a live experience, with the audience influencing the show with special bonuses. The show was the first time a new official team of Power Rangers was made on a different platform, the first time a series was a sequel to a previous Ranger series, and the first to be a Power Rangers original that wasn’t adapted from a Super Sentai series. Here is a full overview of the show and all the memorable moments that it brought us.
The story was set in the year 3016 and followed 5 Time Force cadets, who become HyperForce Power Rangers, as they traveled through time to defeat an alliance of evil that try to change and corrupt history. As they travel in their Hyper Timeship, they encounter ancient foes, legendary rangers, and also gain Powerful new weapons and Zords. Although a sequel, the Rangers and Zords were based on Greek mythological creatures, even though the prequel series had a Time/Futuristic theme.
The table-top RPG may have primarily featured oral storytelling and actions in the game were successful based on the roles of 6-sided dice. There were also visual effects included in the series, including a status bar showing health and appearance, and also a special Morph Sequence Video of the main 5 Rangers.
Due to the format, the show is run by a game master, who vocally brings the story to life, plays all non-playable characters, and moderates the show. Malika Lim Eubank is the primary GM that runs each episode and has done a fantastic job of making the experience glorious. Zac Lim Eubank was also a brilliant GM of the series and added a different, and sometimes darker, vibe to the story, including the intense Shattered Grid special episodes that he helmed.
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The crew of HyperRPG was vital to keep the show working and did an amazing job to give the audience the best experience possible. This includes various crew members including Lucas Eubank, Melissa Flores, and other HyperRPG crew, who all often worked behind the scenes to make sure the show ran smoothly.
The biggest part of the show was the interactive bonus systems that allowed the audience to affect the show by the purchasing modifiers or play special twitch extension game that could send in-game energy for the Players/Rangers to use. These bonus modifiers affected the chance of success for an action taken by a player and would affect the route of a story. Due to this reason, the bonuses were often vital for the best outcome in the story.
What HyperForce Gave Us
One of the greatest parts of HyperForce is the amazing cast on the show. Each member is an actor from a past TV series or renowned for other platforms.
This includes Peter Sudarso (Ninja Steel Blue Ranger), Andre Meadows (Black Nerd Comedy), Cristina Valenzuela (better known as Cristina Vee, the talented voice actor), Meghan Cameron (Twitch and YouTube star, Strawburry17), the great Paul Schrier (Bulk, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), and later joined by Yoshi Sudarso (Dino Charge Blue Ranger). All these Rangers show their vibrant colors and have given viewers so many memorable moments on the show.
However, the main cast was not the only additions to the series as they had many guest actors that reprised their roles as Legendary rangers. From Jason David Frank to Cameron Jebo, there were many great actors that joined the HyperForce Rangers on their missions. One core guest to the show was Erin Cahill, who played the Pink Time Force Ranger, and her character, Jen Scotts, was the mentor of the team.
Although there were only two episodes in which Erin made an appearance, she was still a main part of the HyperForce story. There were also other amazing guests, that weren’t from the TV show, that added a lot as a fellow player with the Rangers. This included Allie Gonino, who played Lady Guinevere in a unique medieval episode, as well as Kyle Higgins, writer of the Shattered Grid comic.
As for content, there were awesome abilities for each ranger, Powerful new zords and weapons, and also nostalgic returns to past locations and eras. However, HyperForce also added to other seasons as well. Here are a few highlighted features of the series.
Special Weapons
There wasn’t a large range of weapons in the HyperForce arsenal especially since the show didn’t have its own toy line. Each Ranger was given a Hyper Blade Blaster and had access to Time Force weaponry but the best was their unique gear. Each ranger was given an exclusive weapon that could switch into another and all had a unique design. For example, Vesper, HyperForce Black, was given a Cerberus Axe that could switch into a Cerberus Disc.
The personal weapons were used often in the show and also could combine together, but this wasn’t possible until a later episode. The art for the weapons in-game was never shown officially but the weapons have made appearances in other formats like the Heroes of the Grid expansion figures and cards.
Dynamic Zords
The Zords each has their own attacks and abilities that made them each unique, but they also had a special way of forming the Megazord. Depending on who was set as a leader, any zord could become the main body and therefore, allowed the Megazord to have various formations. This design was mainly added so that any of the players/Rangers could helm Megazord, unlike most seasons that show only the Red ranger taking command.
Unfortunately, only the zords and one Megazord formation were made into official art, plus the art doesn’t fully illustrate how it would be possible to change into the other formations. This was mainly due to cost as the show had a set budget that limited what they could create and release.
The Zords the rangers had included the Lion, Serpent, Phoenix, Cerberus, and Ram Hyper Zord. There is also a Hydra Hyper Zord, which belongs to the Green HyperForce Ranger, but the series ended before fans got to see it become a Megazord or combine with the others.
Alpha 55
Alpha 55 is the high tech robot assistance of the HyperForce rangers in the series. Voiced by the Game Master, mainly Malika L. Eubank, Alpha does his best to assist the rangers like the Alphas before him. This robot was a great addition as an Alpha unit was only used by the early seasons of Power Rangers.
His appearance is a black and gold version, but this appearance was actually defined by fans by the Alpha with an ice cream figure released by Lootcrate. This exclusive figure was given away with special loot boxes on the show to live viewers and as a result of its appearance, the creators unintentionally gave the impression that this was also what Alpha 55 looked like, including his appearance on HypeForce Variant Comic book covers.
Special Rangers
One surprise addition was Time Force Silver, who was designed to be an undercover agent for the Time Force police. The special Ranger was introduced halfway through the series and had the ability to turn invisible. A new zord was never given to the new Ranger, but he was a special addition to the show.
This Armoured Pink Ranger is the only official Battlizer of the HyperForce team. This special upgrade is only usable by the Pink Ranger and marks the first time a Power-up is not given to Pink, and not Red. No official art was drawn for the armor but was described as being Gold with a Phoenix Design. Fans have drawn their own versions of what the Pink Battle Warrior Ranger looks like but it has yet to appear in any format.
Thankfully, We did also get to see the 6th ranger for HyperForce near the end of the season due to popular demand by fans. HyperForce Green was one of the last additions to the series along with his Hydra Hyper Zord. The Green Ranger had a Hydra design, with a multi-head design on the helmet, but also had a special Gold shield similar to the Green MMPR Ranger.
There weren’t many appearances due to his late arrival on the show, but he did stay on the series until the end. He can also be seen on the Shattered Grid comics and on the 2nd Variant HyperForce comic cover.
For more on how HyperForce expanded the Power Rangers universe, continue to page 2!
