Ranma ½: Battle Renaissance

Ranma ½: Battle Renaissance (らんま½ バトルルネッサンス) is a 3-D released for the  in 1996. It was the first Ranma ½ game released for the console, and also the last game solely based on Ranma ½. The game is well remembered amongst fans for being the only fighting game in which Ryu Kumon and Rouge appear as characters.

The game features the voices of every character from the anime series. The exceptions are Ryu and Rouge, who only appeared in the manga and are voiced by Mitsuru Miyamoto and Kumiko Nishihara, respectively.

Overview
"It's a normal day at the Tendo Dojo when Kuno invites the Ranma gang to Kikaiga Island. The Kuno family has bought the island and is building an amusement park on it. When the group arrives, they find that Kikaiga Island is a demon's lair, and that a legendary treasure called Shingouki is hidden within eight stones throughout the island. And so the characters each go out to search for the stones and claim the Shingouki before anyone else."

Gameplay
There are three game types in Battle Renaissance: in Story mode the player choses from one of the eight playable characters and travels around Kikaiga Island to gather the stones. Most must be gathered by defeating the seven other characters, but others can be obtained by reading the signs around the island. Some of the signs also reveal information regarding many of the characters' attacks.

In VS mode two players can fight against each other (score records of fights in this mode can also be accessed in the Options menu). This is the only mode in which Rouge can be selected as a playable character, but only after both players enter a two-part code based on several controller buttons. Lastly, in Battle mode a single player is pitted against all eight characters and then Rouge. Unlike the story mode, this mode has no individual endings, instead showing a "Congratulations" screen based on the difficulty of the AI.

The moves are rather difficult to pull off on the Playstation controller and players may have a bit of trouble. The appearance of Geysers and squalls throughout the fights can also turn the tide, with the cursed forms of characters generally being much weaker than their normal forms.

Playable Characters

 * Ranma Saotome: Ranma is with Akane, searching for the Shingouki, when Rouge appears and kidnaps her. Ranma then sets off to get the Shingouki and rescue Akane (although not necessarily in that order). After defeating Rouge, Ranma finds Akane and after having a short argument, Akane thanks Ranma for saving her, to which Ranma tells Akane that it's no problem. Ranma is the only character not to lose any of his attacks while in his cursed form, but they deal less damage and Ranma will take more damage from enemy attacks while in his cursed form.


 * Akane Tendo: Akane is searching for the Shingouki with Ranma, when a masked Rouge appears and warns them of the Shingouki's secret before taking Ranma away, causing Akane to set off after them. Once Rouge is defeated, Akane makes a makeshift resting place for the demon Rouge called upon as she felt slightly sorry for it, although Ranma isn't very impressed. Akane is arguably the weakest character in the game with all of her special attacks either not actually causing damage, having limited range, or increasing the range for a loss in the damage that can be caused.


 * Happosai: After getting trampled on by Rouge, Happosai agrees to get rid of everyone else in exchange for a date with her. When the Shingouki goes to heaven, Ranma appears causing Happosai to say that Ranma's bosom is now the only treasure he has. Ranma angrily then punches Happosai into the air and tells him to become a star. Due to his small size, Happosai cannot be thrown.


 * Tatewaki Kuno: Kuno thinks of himself as perfect and so sets out to attain the Shingouki, believing he will do so before anyone else. When Kuno defeats Rouge he notices the island is shaking since he destroyed its guardian, so he decides to become the islands protector, but is unable to maintain this position.


 * Ryu Kumon: Ryu seeks the Shingouki so he can unlock the power it contains, but gets caught up in a race with Rouge to obtain the power. Ryu then meets Ranma who tells him that the area he's standing on collapses really easily. When Ryu gets stuck he demands that Ranma come back and help him.


 * Genma Saotome: Genma recalls a tale that the Shingouki is able to grant supreme power and so sets off to get it before anyone else can. When Rouge is defeated, Genma gets buried alive by Ranma for wasting his time while Genma thinks about what it really means to become stronger. While in his cursed form Genma loses all his attacks, these are replaced with a multitude of paw jab attacks and a belly flop move. He also cannot be thrown while in his panda form, making him a still capable fighter while cursed.


 * Shampoo: After attempting to get Ranma to look for the Shingouki with her, Rouge appears and takes Ranma away. Shampoo pursues her fiancé, paying little attention to the mentions of the Shingouki. At the sight of Rouge crying in defeat, Shampoo tells her she can be a demon by working hard and making money for her and Ranma, causing Ranma to call Shampoo the demon. While in her cursed form Shampoo loses all her moves, with the exception of a hopping scratch attack.


 * Ryoga Hibiki: While searching for the Shingouki with Akane, Rouge appears and kidnaps Akane. Ryoga sets off after her, not caring about the treasure. Once he defeats Rouge, Ryoga finds Akane and tells her he knows the way to the treasure, but the pair get hopelessly lost. Like most cursed characters, Ryoga loses all his attacks while in his cursed form and only has a headbutt attack. However, while in this form Ryoga is able to deal damage to the enemy, even if they defend, creating the possibility of defeating them with a repeated succession of attacks. Interestingly, when Ryoga fights Akane neither geysers of squalls will appear, no matter what the weather settings.


 * Rouge: Rouge acts as the antagonist for every character's personal storyline with the possible exception of Kuno due to his self-centred personality. As the boss, Rouge is arguably the strongest character in the game. Specialising in long-distance attacks, she can be difficult to get close to. However once in range Rouge can quickly have a good portion of health depleted. Rouge's cursed from does not appear in the game, so she is unaffected by the squalls and geysers.

Trivia

 * This game is often compared to as they were both fighting games that were released in 1996.
 * There was a planned release for this game with an English dub where Ryu and Rouge would have been voiced by Matt Smith and Lynda Boyd, respectively, but it was cancelled for unknown reasons.