Review Date: May 13, 2021
Release Date: November 5, 1991
Platform: Game Boy
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Linear Platformer
Description: Pit is back for another adventure, which is very similar to the first. Pit will climb three underground stages, go left to right across three horizontal stages, climb three overworld stages, followed by a stage where he can fly. After each set of three mentioned, Pit will enter a fortress, which are maze oriented levels featuring different enemies and bosses at the end.
Positives:
- The Eggplant Wizards are much better placed than in the previous game. No longer will Pit get cursed and have to search around 10 screens to find a hospital. Pit will still have to find a hospital, but they’re no longer far away. There are even shortcuts that can used be used by cursed Pit to get to a hospital faster. One shortcut in 3-4, in a clever bit of design, requires Pit to get cursed to reach the boss.
- Ratchet scrolling has been removed. In vertical levels, Pit can now fall with the only penalty being forced to climb back up. Pit can still land on spikes and lava pits, though, so falling isn’t a good idea. Pit can now drop down to a lower platform to reach a door, if needed.
- The game is remarkably faithful to the original. The format is exactly the same (13 levels divided up the same way). The “secret” rooms have all of the same types (treasure, training, etc.). Many fortress rooms will look familiar.
- Using hammers now does more than rescue useless Centurions. They still work on the statues, but they now may have hearts or health inside. They can remove statues that block doors. They can even uncover hidden doors, one of which I found via an in-game hint.
Negatives:
- Clearly, the rooms were not designed to fit the size of the screen. Fortresses have a small amount of scrolling in each room. Vertical stages wrap around, but they’re certainly wider than a single screen. Special rooms scroll a bit, too, even the ones that only have one thing in them.
- The system for arrow and life upgrades is back from the first game, but once again, the goals for life upgrades are not listed anywhere in the game. To make it worse, though, this game also hides the points racked up within a level so that players can decide if they want to go find more enemies or not. Instead, it offers the option of passing on a save point if desired, so that the stage can be replayed. I’d rather know if I’m close than replay a whole stage over.
Screenshots:
Final Opinion: This is a fun play with minimal need to repeat things. The save system helps. It’s worth playing, especially for fans of the first game, who will instantly notice tons of things taken from that game.
Grade: B