Burning Rangers Director Cracks Open Door for Revival as Soundtrack Launches

Burning Rangers’ 30th anniversary soundtrack CD set is out now in Japan, and in commemorating the release, the game’s original director and character designer hinted that the series could return.

Naoto Ohshima said Monday on X, formerly Twitter, “The Burning Rangers 30th Anniversary Album is now complete. It will be released on November 22nd. Please support us by purchasing the album with the goal of bringing back the Burning Rangers.”

Ohshima no longer works at Sega — he helped form Arzest in 2010 where he’s still executive vice president — so his message may be little more than optimism. But he still works closely with his former employer, having been a development producer and character designer for last year’s Arzest-developed Sonic Superstars, so perhaps he’s aware of whether Sega’s watching the soundtrack’s sales as an indicator of the intellectual property’s demand.

One person who does still work for Sega is the album’s supervisor and Burning Rangers’ original sound director, Naofumi Hataya. He reposted Ohshima’s message onto his own X account.

Earlier today, Hataya posted in Japanese, “I feel good that I was able to settle up these three volumes this year and last year. I wrote lots of liner notes and I have no regrets! Congratulations on the 30th anniversary!”

He posted photos of three Saturn-related soundtracks Sega has released: Burning Rangers, Sega Rally Championship and Nights into Dreams.

Sega’s music label, Wave Master, announced the Burning Rangers album last month. Its release coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Saturn’s launch in Japan on Nov. 22, 1994.

The album can be bought from four Japanese retailers: Amazon Japan, Beep Shop, Disk Union and Ebten.

While it’s not being sold at traditional Western retailers, it can be imported through websites like PlayAsia for about US$32.

About the author

Danthrax

Danthrax is a contributor to the Shiro Media Group, writing stories for the website when Saturn news breaks. While he was a Sega Genesis kid in the '90s, he didn't get a Saturn until 2018. It didn't take him long to fall in love with the console's library as well as the fan translation and homebrew scene. He contributed heavily to the Bulk Slash and Stellar Assault SS fan localizations, and has helped as an editor on several other Saturn and Dreamcast fan projects such as Cotton 2, Rainbow Cotton and Sakura Wars Columns 2.

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