Naofumi Hataya, who was making the sound for Burning Rangers, asked his Sega colleague Takenobu Mitsuyoshi to sing a theme song. It was only meant to be a demo.
Mitsuyoshi started at Sega as a sound creator. He made music and sound effects for arcade games. He had already sung on Daytona USA and on a Virtua Fighter album, and people at Sega were starting to think of him as a singer. He says:
"I used to like anime songs since I was a child, also it was a request from a colleague. I wanted to work with him so I accepted. It was a demo at first. After that we pitched to Yuji Naka, the Sonic creator. He said that we should put it in the final product, so I got to sing in Burning Rangers."
After the game came out, other divisions at Sega began asking him to sing too. He says his role as a vocalist at Sega really began with Burning Rangers.
About this game
Yuji Naka produced Burning Rangers and Naoto Ohshima directed it at Sonic Team. It came out in Japan on February 26, 1998. You play a firefighter in the future. You do not win by beating enemies. You win by putting out fires and getting trapped people out alive.
Key Features
You put out fires by shooting at them. Each fire you put out leaves energy crystals behind. With five crystals you can teleport a trapped person to safety. With ten, you also get a shield. There is no map. A navigator speaks to you over the radio and tells you where to go. There is no music during normal play, so you can hear the voice clearly. The songs 'We Are Burning Rangers' and 'Burning Hearts ~Flaming ANGEL~' play in the menus and in the big scenes. The stages include a burning power plant, an underwater facility and a spaceship with no gravity.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Burning Rangers was one of Sonic Team's last games for the Sega Saturn. Nine months later, in November 1998, Sega released the Dreamcast in Japan, and the team moved on to it.
Sonic Team first planned Burning Rangers for four players online. Network problems ended that plan early, and it became a game for one player.
The main programmer said that if he could get this much out of the Saturn's hardware, he could "die happy."
The North American release came in May 1998. It was one of the last five Saturn games released there. By then the Saturn was leaving North American stores.
Tricks & Tales
Burning Rangers was Sonic Team's first try at motion capture. Most of it did not give the results they wanted, so they animated the characters by hand. In the end, only the walking animation came from motion capture.
A two-player battle mode was tested late in development. Because of bugs it could only run for a short time, so it was cut.
Naofumi Hataya recorded the music in New York with top session players. The Japanese release came with a second disc of music.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The theme songs are sung by different singers in the Japanese and North American versions. The North American version is much rarer than the Japanese one, because few copies were made near the end of the Saturn's life. The Saturn is region locked. To play an import, you need a mod chip or a region adapter.
Maintenance Tips
The game itself is on one disc. The Japanese release also includes a music CD, which you do not need to play the game. Check the game disc for scratches before you buy. On older Saturn consoles, the laser is the part that fails most often. Cleaning or replacing it fixes most read errors. Keep the discs in their original case. If the console forgets the date, check the CR2032 clock battery on the motherboard.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Burning Rangers copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Sega Saturn disc work on a North American or European Saturn?
No. The Sega Saturn uses BIOS-enforced regional lockout. Japanese discs will not run on Western Saturn consoles without modification — options include a mod chip, a region-free BIOS swap, or an Action Replay cartridge (which bypasses region protection on many titles). A Japanese Sega Saturn is the most straightforward solution. The discs themselves are standard CD-ROM — the incompatibility is software-only.
Does the Sega Saturn require a backup memory cartridge to save this game?
The Saturn has a small internal backup memory (approximately 32KB) maintained by an internal CR2032 battery. This shared memory fills quickly across multiple games. Many Saturn titles — especially RPGs — recommend or require a Saturn Backup Memory cartridge for adequate save space. If the internal CR2032 battery is dead, the console loses all internal saves on power-off. Replacing the battery is a straightforward maintenance task and is strongly recommended for any Saturn that has not had it changed.
How should I inspect and care for a Sega Saturn disc?
Check the data side under light for scratches. Wipe from the center outward in straight radial strokes with a soft lint-free cloth — never circular. The Sega Saturn laser is known to be sensitive as hardware ages; if a disc fails to load despite appearing clean, the console laser may need cleaning or recalibration. Laser failure is one of the most common maintenance issues in Saturn hardware.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Burning Rangers
A short checklist for buying a used Sega Saturn disc wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Check the disc for scratches
Deep scratches on the playing surface cause freezes and read errors. Light surface marks are usually fine.
Ask for a clear photo of the disc's underside. A seller who tested it will confirm it loads and plays through.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Saturn disc. The Saturn is region-locked, so a Japanese disc needs a Japanese console or a region workaround.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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Saturn saves rely on a console battery
The Saturn keeps internal saves on a CR2032 battery in the console (not the disc). A dead console battery loses internal saves and resets the clock.
This is about your console, not the disc — but worth knowing so saves aren't lost.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what we have in stock →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Burning Rangers sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
Share your memory ↑From the Museum's Screening Room
Burning Rangers — Max Explains