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SUPER ADVENTURE ISLAND II Company: Hudson Released: October 1994 Genre: Platformer/RPG Graphics: 8.5 Control: 7.5 Sound/Music: 7.0 Storyline: 7.5 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM

Hudson's Adventure Island series has been a long and well traveled series of games. With each new release we've seen quite a number of new innovations to not only the visuals of the game, but also the gameplay as well. Super Adventure Island II takes the game in a more exploration-type direction that gives the game a sort of "rpg" feel to it. Not only will you traverse many levels in typical Adventure Island side-scrolling fashion, but you'll now be required to upgrade Master Higgins' arsenal of not only weapons, but also armor and magical items as well. These item become a key part of advancing further into the game and add a whole new world of innovative play control into an already enjoyable platformer. But how will all of this go over with the loyal Adventure Island faithful who've come to appreciate the game's simplistic control schemes and layouts? The visuals in the Adventure Island series has always had a very vibrant and colorful look to them and this game is no different. I'd even go so far as to say that the graphics have taken quite a step up from the first Super Adventure Island game released on the Super NES. Each island has its' own distinct look to it and you'll even see a lot of variation in the landscapes when you go into sub-areas on each island. As in most Adventure Island games, you're gonna face a boss on each island, and most have that trademark comical, yet intimidating look that we've come to expect from the bosses in these games. If you've ever played any Adventure Island games you're gonna be familiar with this game's look and feel, but Hudson did a nice job this time around adding a lot more detail using the Super Nintendo's 16-bit horsepower. You'll run into a few areas that look a little plain and lack some of the detail shown in most areas, but they're few and far between and for the most part this is a nice looking game visually. Early on I wasn't sure if I was gonna like the soundtrack in this game. It has a weird way of growing on you. As you would expect from a game that takes place on a group of remote islands, the music is, well, tropical. In some places the music has an uncanny resemblance to the music found in Soul Blazer, but once you get out on the islands it's tropical fusion all the way. As I said, I honestly expected the music to begin to get old quickly but it never seemed to. Sound effects are pretty typical for the Adventure Island series and nothing really stands out that much, at least not to me it didn't. The music is perfectly fitting the atmosphere of the game's locations and you can't ask for much more than that. Not quite of "rpg" caliber, but still very nicely done. As I mentioned above, the gameplay in this game is quite a bit different from previous Adventure Island games. This time around Master Higgins can equip different weapons, armor, and magic, all of which play an integral role in advancing in this game's sometimes intricate levels. You'll also need to upgrade your weapons as you go, as enemies grow in strength from island to island and if you have any hopes of suriving this game through to the end, you had better keep a focus on acquiring better weapons, armor, and magic throughout this game. You'll also find many different items by defeating enemies including gold to buy items with, potions to help heal Master Higgins' wounds, and potions that will refill his magic points. The game is also not limited to the standard side-scrolling levels anymore. Now even traveling by raft to the different islands proves to be a challenge as you will randomly encounter enemy battles that force you into a mini side-scrolling level where you must defeat or avoid enemies as they come at you. Think Zelda II on the NES and you'll have a pretty good idea of how this game plays. In fact this game reminds me a lot of Zelda II in it's layout and gameplay scheme. This game is probably best described as a cross between Super Adventure Island, Zelda II, and maybe even Wonderboy in Monster Land on the Sega Genesis. All in all it's a nice change of pace from the standard side scrolling action found in all of the previous Adventure Island games and adds a huge amount of depth and length to the game. Although this game might turn some of its' loyal fans off a bit with its' radical change in direction, it's truly a much more playable game in this form and I think the rpg overtones add a lot to what was already a fun platformer. Side scroller fans will still get their hefty dose of platforming only this time around they'll get it with a lot of exploration and problem solving thrown in as well. I was a little dissapointed with the first rendition of Super Adventure Island on the SNES but Hudson has more than made up for it with this release. There's a lot of game here to enjoy and I can promise you that you wont blow through this one in one sitting. A truly original take on the original Adventure Island theme.