Color Dreams, a firm notorious for manufacturing unauthorized NES games, launched the game in 1990. Moon Ranger, like many of Color Dreams' games, lacked an official Nintendo mark of approval and was not widely distributed. The game itself is a side-scrolling action game with vibrant visuals and a novel idea. Players take control of a figure who journeys to the moon to save a group of scientists from hostile aliens. While the game garnered mixed reviews upon its first release, its scarcity and position as an illegal NES game aided in its appeal among collectors. Finding a decent copy of Moon Ranger can be difficult because the game was not widely marketed and was not created in big quantities. It is not, however, as rare or precious as some other NES games, and its collector's market price might vary depending on availability.