<s>
is	O
a	O
1998	O
action	B-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Sega	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
is	O
set	O
in	O
a	O
futuristic	O
society	O
in	O
which	O
fire	O
is	O
the	O
remaining	O
danger	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
control	O
one	O
of	O
an	O
elite	O
group	O
of	O
firefighters	O
,	O
the	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
,	O
who	O
extinguish	O
fires	O
and	O
rescue	O
civilians	O
in	O
burning	O
buildings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
lieu	O
of	O
an	O
in-game	O
map	O
,	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
features	O
a	O
voice	O
navigation	O
system	O
which	O
directs	O
players	O
through	O
corridors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
began	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Christmas	B-Application
Nights	I-Application
in	O
November	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
chose	O
to	O
connect	O
the	O
game	O
with	O
firefighting	O
as	O
they	O
thought	O
it	O
was	O
an	O
effective	O
way	O
of	O
having	O
players	O
identify	O
with	O
heroism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
received	O
mostly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
graphics	O
was	O
mixed	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
critics	O
feeling	O
they	O
were	O
among	O
the	O
best	O
on	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
,	O
although	O
it	O
was	O
noted	O
for	O
its	O
poor	O
collision	O
detection	O
and	O
occasional	O
glitching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
among	O
the	O
final	O
seven	O
Saturn	B-Device
games	O
released	O
in	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
is	O
a	O
third-person	O
shooter	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
players	O
complete	O
missions	O
involving	O
extinguishing	O
fires	O
and	O
rescuing	O
civilians	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
a	O
futuristic	O
society	O
in	O
which	O
fire	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
danger	O
,	O
and	O
stars	O
an	O
elite	O
group	O
of	O
firefighters	O
,	O
the	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
crystals	O
function	O
similarly	O
to	O
rings	O
in	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
games	O
:	O
possessing	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
crystal	O
allows	O
a	O
player	O
to	O
survive	O
damage	O
from	O
an	O
enemy	O
or	O
fire	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
in	O
many	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
games	O
,	O
upon	O
completion	O
of	O
a	O
stage	O
players	O
are	O
graded	O
on	O
their	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
started	O
around	O
November	O
1996	O
,	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
's	O
previous	O
game	O
Christmas	B-Application
Nights	I-Application
(	O
a	O
Christmas-themed	O
demo	O
for	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
team	O
of	O
31	O
(	O
out	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
's	O
staff	O
of	O
about	O
50	O
)	O
was	O
directed	O
by	O
Naoto	O
Ohshima	O
and	O
lead	O
designer	O
Takao	O
Miyoshi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
team	O
consisted	O
of	O
three	O
game	O
planners	O
,	O
six	O
programmers	O
,	O
eighteen	O
designers	O
,	O
and	O
two	O
sound	O
producers	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
whom	O
had	O
worked	O
on	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
staff	O
,	O
Sega	O
allotted	O
a	O
full	O
consumer	O
software	O
team	O
to	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
retrospective	O
interview	O
,	O
Ohshima	O
said	O
that	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
things	O
done	O
by	O
firefighters	O
—	O
along	O
with	O
rescuing	O
people	O
—	O
were	O
"	O
the	O
very	O
essence	O
of	O
a	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
game	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
they	O
recognised	O
that	O
a	O
firefighter	O
was	O
a	O
hero	O
with	O
whom	O
people	O
could	O
identify	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Miyoshi	O
,	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
was	O
conceived	O
as	O
an	O
online	O
game	O
for	O
four	O
players	O
,	O
but	O
became	O
a	O
single-player	O
game	O
when	O
the	O
team	O
faced	O
network	O
problems	O
;	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
revisited	O
the	O
concept	O
with	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
game	O
Phantasy	B-Application
Star	I-Application
Online	I-Application
(	O
2000	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
target	O
audience	O
of	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
was	O
people	O
who	O
enjoyed	O
action	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
the	O
developers	O
also	O
wanted	O
to	O
attract	O
fans	O
of	O
other	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ohshima	O
stressed	O
that	O
he	O
was	O
aiming	O
at	O
a	O
wider	O
audience	O
and	O
not	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
person	O
who	O
only	O
played	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
,	O
adding	O
that	O
"	O
players	O
should	O
recognise	O
the	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
touch	O
immediately	O
"	O
with	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
image	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
ranger	O
"	O
also	O
brought	O
to	O
mind	O
the	O
Power	O
Rangers	O
franchise	O
,	O
and	O
after	O
consulting	O
speakers	O
of	O
other	O
languages	O
,	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
was	O
chosen	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
early	O
stages	O
of	O
development	O
,	O
some	O
members	O
of	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
visited	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
shortly	O
before	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
British	O
sovereignty	O
,	O
in	O
hopes	O
of	O
finding	O
inspiration	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
stages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
uses	O
the	O
same	O
engine	O
as	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
developed	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
,	O
they	O
were	O
new	O
to	O
programming	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
,	O
and	O
when	O
the	O
engine	O
was	O
re-used	O
for	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
they	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
faster	O
and	O
more	O
capable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
developers	O
initially	O
used	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
technology	O
to	O
capture	O
data	O
for	O
poses	O
and	O
animation	O
,	O
but	O
Naka	O
soon	O
discovered	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
impossible	O
to	O
get	O
the	O
results	O
the	O
team	O
wanted	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
unfeasible	O
for	O
people	O
to	O
perform	O
the	O
special	O
motions	O
they	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
developers	O
resorted	O
to	O
creating	O
the	O
animation	O
by	O
hand	O
,	O
and	O
only	O
used	O
the	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
data	O
for	O
the	O
player	O
characters	O
 '	O
walking	O
animations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
many	O
difficulties	O
in	O
developing	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
voice	O
navigation	O
system	O
,	O
as	O
no	O
verbal	O
dialogue	O
had	O
featured	O
in	O
a	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
game	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
previous	O
Saturn	B-Device
games	O
which	O
used	O
voice	O
navigation	O
systems	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Solar	B-Application
Eclipse	I-Application
)	O
did	O
so	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
background	O
music	O
,	O
they	O
felt	O
that	O
background	O
music	O
would	O
detract	O
from	O
the	O
sensation	O
of	O
being	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
hired	O
several	O
voice	O
actors	O
who	O
had	O
appeared	O
in	O
American	O
television	O
programmes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designing	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
fire	O
effects	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
difficult	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
rendering	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
first	O
test	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
they	O
produced	O
,	O
Miyoshi	O
discovered	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
achieve	O
"	O
some	O
quite	O
beautiful	O
"	O
fire	O
effects	O
by	O
disguising	O
blocky	O
sprites	O
with	O
various	O
degrees	O
of	O
transparency	O
and	O
lighting	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
animated	O
cutscenes	O
were	O
produced	O
by	O
TMS	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
its	O
subsidiary	O
,	O
Seoul	O
Movie	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
also	O
produced	O
the	O
Virtua	O
Fighter	O
anime	O
and	O
the	O
Man	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
short	O
on	O
Sonic	B-Application
Jam	I-Application
for	O
Sega	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
cinematic	O
feature	O
films	O
such	O
as	O
Akira	O
and	O
Little	O
Nemo	O
:	O
Adventures	O
in	O
Slumberland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
anime	O
cutscenes	O
were	O
made	O
with	O
a	O
digital	O
process	O
rather	O
than	O
traditional	O
ink	O
and	O
paint	O
,	O
as	O
this	O
made	O
them	O
easier	O
to	O
compress	O
onto	O
a	O
CD-ROM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	O
of	O
Japan	O
planned	O
for	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
to	O
be	O
the	O
headliner	O
of	O
their	O
1997	O
Christmas	O
season	O
releases	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
not	O
ready	O
for	O
release	O
in	O
Japan	O
until	O
early	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
among	O
the	O
final	O
seven	O
Saturn	B-Device
games	O
released	O
in	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
developers	O
reflected	O
on	O
what	O
they	O
were	O
proudest	O
of	O
:	O
Naka	O
expressed	O
relief	O
that	O
Sonic	B-Application
Team	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
"	O
get	O
a	O
good	O
overall	O
balance	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
whereas	O
Miyoshi	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
voice	O
navigation	O
system	O
was	O
the	O
strongest	O
aspect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Main	O
programmer	O
Takuya	O
Matsumoto	O
was	O
delighted	O
to	O
see	O
it	O
released	O
before	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
discontinuation	O
,	O
saying	O
"	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
we	O
've	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
push	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
this	O
far	O
is	O
enough	O
for	O
me	O
to	O
die	O
happy	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
was	O
released	O
exactly	O
nine	O
months	O
before	O
the	O
Japanese	O
release	O
of	O
Sega	O
's	O
next	O
console	O
,	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
's	O
Levi	O
Buchanan	O
characterized	O
the	O
release	O
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
"	O
ignominious	O
send-off	O
"	O
,	O
writing	O
that	O
"	O
sunset	O
Saturn	B-Device
games	O
like	O
Panzer	B-Application
Dragoon	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
and	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
demanded	O
far	O
better	O
launches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
praised	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
 '	O
colourful	O
lighting	O
effects	O
,	O
but	O
criticised	O
its	O
collision	O
detection	O
and	O
occasional	O
graphical	O
glitching	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lee	O
Nutter	O
of	O
the	O
British	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
enjoyed	O
the	O
detailed	O
characters	O
and	O
described	O
the	O
lighting	O
effects	O
as	O
excellent	O
,	O
although	O
he	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
IGN	O
's	O
Levi	O
Buchanan	O
,	O
noticed	O
that	O
the	O
visuals	O
had	O
minor	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
critics	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
visuals	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ryan	O
MacDonald	O
commented	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
a	O
similar	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
to	O
that	O
game	O
's	O
3D	O
environment	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Burning	B-Application
Rangers	I-Application
polygonal	O
graphics	O
were	O
"	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
[	O
he	O
had ]	O
ever	O
seen	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mike	O
Weigand	O
from	O
GamePro	O
considered	O
that	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
featured	O
"	O
drab	O
"	O
stage	O
designs	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
a	O
retrospective	O
review	O
GMRs	O
Dave	O
Smith	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
looks	O
like	O
hell	O
"	O
and	O
had	O
not	O
aged	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
,	O
and	O
that	O
its	O
engine	O
could	O
not	O
handle	O
a	O
free-roaming	O
environment	O
without	O
harming	O
its	O
visuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weigand	O
felt	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
3D	O
environment	O
was	O
a	O
mix	O
of	O
both	O
Tomb	B-Application
Raider	I-Application
and	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
had	O
mixed	O
opinions	O
on	O
the	O
control	O
scheme	O
and	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
3D	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nutter	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
controls	O
were	O
a	O
mix	O
of	O
those	O
featured	O
in	O
Tomb	B-Application
Raider	I-Application
and	O
Nights	B-Application
into	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
,	O
praising	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
analogue	B-Device
stick	I-Device
to	O
perform	O
complex	O
manoeuvres	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
reviewer	O
from	O
the	O
Japanese	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
felt	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
more	O
comfortable	O
with	O
an	O
analogue	B-Device
pad	I-Device
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
the	O
default	O
Saturn	B-Device
controller	O
,	O
and	O
Williamson	O
similarly	O
thought	O
the	O
control	O
scheme	O
was	O
"	O
great	O
"	O
when	O
used	O
with	O
an	O
analogue	B-Device
pad	I-Device
.	O
</s>
