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AERO THE ACROBAT 2 Company: SunSoft Released: November 1994 Genre: Platformer Graphics: 8.5 Control: 8.0 Sound/Music: 8.0 Storyline: 7.0 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM

With the explosion of "mascot" games on the Super NES, Sunsoft snatched up the rights to Iguana's newest platform mascot Aero the Acrobat. Aero the Acrobat supplied not only a unique and likeable main character, but also a storyline about as bizarre as seen in a game at the time.Despite the sagging popularity of these mascot games, Sunsoft released the sequel, Aero the Acrobat 2. Not only is this a much bigger game, but the graphics and music in it are all much better this time around. Even the storyline got a slight bump in quality. Overall this little-known title serves up enough playability and originality to make it a worthy sequel. Graphically Aero the Acrobat 2 is a slick looking game. It's got great detail in all of the levels and even the backgrounds offer up some visual eye candy from time to time, especially with the psychadelic motion of the Disco Inferno level. Great use of vibrant and bright colors and a variety of styles in each of the different areas serve to make Aero 2 even better looking than the first game. You'll see everything from icy landcapes, strobing disco levels complete with compact discs and jukeboxes, to even industrial type levels with machinery galore. Aero returns with most of his trademark moves and he looks better than ever. Aero animated well in the first game but he seems to have a more fluid motion this time around. Graphically the Locomotive level was one that caught my eye, especially given the level of detail found on the train coupled with the quickly streaking-past background that looks almost as good. All in all Aero the Acrobat 2 is one of the better looking side scrollers on the Super NES and it's obvious that Iguana has a firm grasp of the SNES' graphical ins and outs. I personally found the music in the first Aero the Acrobat game a little lacking. It was catchy with all of the circus-style music playing throughout the levels but after awhile it became a little on the stale side. Thankfully the music in this sequel is quite a bit more inspiring and it doesn't tend to get old like the first game's tracks. There's also a lot more variety in the music this time around, with each musical track fitting in better with the level's overall design. The sound fx are minimal and most sound like they were plucked straight out of the first game and put into this one. Not much new in this department. Overall the sound in Aero 2 is at least a step or two above that found in Aero 1 and shows a nice progression between the two games musically. Not quite as good as the music in Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, but definately a step in the right direction. Although there are at least a few new gameplay moves in this game, Aero the Acrobat remains very similar to the first game in both style and playability. Aero still has his jump and spin moves which allow him to reach certain platforms as well as dispense of enemies. You'll also get to swing from ringing bells, jump on beds and assorted trampolines, and collect all of the circus-style candy and goodies that you did in the first game. Also making a return are the cannons from which Aero can shoot out of. These come into play throughout the game and will require careful use of them in order to reach some of the difficult to reach platforms in certain levels. Aero is also going to get to ride a couple of slick vehicles including a locomotive train and a snowboard. I guess the bottom line is Aero the Acrobat 2 just feels a lot more playable and responsive than the first game did. It also sports a lot more variety in the gameplay category and feels a little more polished this time around. I very much enjoyed the first Aero the Acrobat game, although many critics disliked it because of it's sometimes awkward play control. Iguana made quite a few adjustments for the sequel and the result is a higher quality feel that lands it in the company of some of the finer SNES side scrollers. It's easy to see why the spin-off of this game, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, was such a playable game, as you can tell Aero 2 was a stepping stone for the direction Zero took as far as gameplay and visuals go. Overall this is a solid, enjoyable platformer that has a long enough and challenging enough quest to keep platform fans busy for a long time to come. Pick this one up if you can find it.