Review scores for
The Masked Rider were mixed. Critics disagreed on the overall quality of the game due to its reliance on
full-motion video and its limited playability as an interactive movie. Many writers compared it to the
Sega CD version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, another interactive movie based on a
tokusatsu franchise (
Super Sentai). Chris Bieniek of the magazine
VideoGames was complimentary of the monster footage and of Sega of America's willingness to release a localized version of the
Kamen Rider adaptation for the franchise's North America fanbase. However, he stated that like
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,
The Masked Rider was not as much fun to play as it was to watch. The Brazilian magazines
VideoGame and
Gamers were both highly complimentary of its visuals and sound though the latter publication subtracted praise for the game's lack of challenge. Likewise,
GamePro,
Sega Pro, and
AllGame all commended its presentation as an FMV game but felt it lacked
replay value due to its cinematic structure. Laurie Yates of
Electronic Games conversely criticized its FMV sequences as "visually tired and fuzzy" but similarly concluded that this aspect was "sloppy and haphazard for a piece of software that is more movie than game."
Next Generation proclaimed, "It's guy-in-rubber suit action at the "
Ultraman" level which has a certain appeal to some folks I know. But as a game, it's almost worthless." The French magazine
Joypad found the costumes cheesy, the special effects tasteless, and its stupidity proportional to its fun factor. The reviewer assumed the game would be a hit in Japan and that it would never be released in Europe. == Notes ==