Adventure Island II

"Higgins knew it was cool to ride dinos long before Mario!"

This is the sequel to one of the hardest games ever made : Adventure Island..When I started playing I was pleasantly surprised by the huge jump in maturity the game showed. Well, I guess maturity isn't the right term for it, but you can tell Hudson put a ton of effort and experience into this title.

Most noticeable is the change in graphics. Things have kinda gotten smaller from the first, more manageable for a platformer. The Sneils(sic) which used to be as big as Higgins are now about knee height. Things like platforms aren't as bulky and clumsy anymore. On the other hand, the graphics have taken a nice cartoony twist. All in all, very clean and colorful graphics, almost on par with the likes of Super Mario Bros. 3!

Another change to the game is the level structure. Now there are eight islands, each with a bunch of stages. This is presented in a very cool world map view, something that hadn't been done much before. The stages aren't as long as the ones in the first game, about 1/4 the length. The amount of stages, and the order you play them in depends on how fast you beat the earlier stages. Also, if you're good you can find some secrets, like the pterodactyl that will let you skip the remainder of the island you're on and go right to the next one. What this means, basically, is that where the first game got stale and longwinded, this game makes for fast, varied play.

The sound is standard Adventure Island fare, complementing the gameplay with goofy tropic themes. The sound effects are clear and don't get in the way - much like the control scheme. If you've played the first game you can jump right in. If you haven't, the controls can be learnt in the space of about ten seconds.

What I really want to focus on now is the gameplay. It's just like the first game, which isn't a bad thing. The difference here is that it's not insanely difficult. The first few stages are actually easy. New to this game are underwater stages, which are a nice change from the standard hop-hop action. And then there's the one thing that really makes this game shine:ridable dinosaurs! These guys aren't just there for looks either; they each have a different use (like the Plesiosaur is great for underwater stages, the pterodactyl is good for certain stage you can fly over). Speaking of powerups, AI2 has another huge advantage over it's predecessor, it gives you the ability to stock up on powerups. If you already have the throwing ax, and you pick up another throwing ax powerup, Higgins stashes them in his backpack. Same goes for dinosaur rides too. Before each stage you can pick and choose which item you want to utilize. And just so you don't pick the wrong dino for the wrong stage, the game gives you a little preview of what the stage is going to be like in the upper right hand corner (Ie., underwater, forest, cloud hopping, etc).

With all that said, death can still be a nasty experience. If your stockpile runs out, you're back to square one with no weapons to speak of. Still, dying isn't nearly as bad as the first game! If you lose all your lives, there'll be a new option on the title screen, ''Continue''. Very nice, especially if you don't want to play through the first five islands all over again. Other little perks this game has are the boss characters. They're kinda simplistic, but compared to the one repeated boss of the first game, they're a godsend. You can't fight them while riding a dinosaur for some odd reason....but they will fight along side of you. I guess Hudson wanted it so that you could still die from one attack or something.

If you're playing this right after the first Adventure Island, it'll be a cakewalk, with the lone exception of getting used to the water stages. For everyone else the game starts off at a nice, beginners difficulty level and gradually gets closer to the unbelievable difficulty of the first game.

Final verdict? Looking for a good, solid platformer that doesn't require hours of practice, this is a surefire winner.

Fun: 9.0
Graphics: 9.0
Sound: 8.0
Replay: 7.5
Annoyance: Losing a dinosaur ride. That ALWAYS ticks me off. Always.
Great Moment: First picking up each of the dino powerups and figuring out what they're uses are.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/01, Updated 10/19/01