Review Date: May 1, 2021
Release Date: February 1, 1991
Platform: NES
Publisher: Hudson
Genre: Linear Platformer
Anecdotes: Naturally, there would be an Adventure Island II because Hudson wasn’t through ripping off the Super Mario series. There was a lot left to steal.
Luckily, my journalistic instincts kicked in. As per source, who won’t be named because that would require truthfulness and integrity, I have answers from the Hudson meeting that I got from a “real” news source and just paraphrased.
CEO #1: “I see we didn’t complete the job of ripping off Super Mario. We’re going to add vertical levels and swimming stages.”
CEO #2: “Yeah, and we covered it up in the first game by making it so hard that no one would ever see anything past world 1. We got tons of complaints, so maybe we should make it easier.”
CEO #1: “Ok, we’ll make it easier and we’ll even add dinosaurs! Super Mario will steal that from us! However, we need something annoying added in. I know! Let’s make the level order random and not allow players to choose!”
CEO #2: “Great idea! And just to make sure players don’t get anywhere fast, let’s add in a Choose a Huevo game at the end of each stage!”
And Adventure Island 2 was born.
Description: Master Higgins, who still can’t afford any clothes and spends all of his time hanging out on islands in the middle of nowhere, has to traverse eight islands in order to rescue his girlfriend/favorite lady/Tina/Leilani/whoever the heck she is. Each island has eight potential levels to visit, but what order Higgins gets then in depends on which huevo is chosen. Higgins chooses a huevo, and it will always be the one that leads to something ridiculous, like having an underwater level in a place called Cloud Island. Don’t try to make sense of this game; just play until either bored or stuck.
Positives:
-I have to give Hudson credit. The addition of the dinosaurs is clever, if it’s their own original idea. Super Mario World came out first in Japan, but this came out first here. I’m willing to believe that the idea of dinosaurs was done by both companies, as the development of the two games likely were at the same time. Here, there are four different dinosaurs to find, each one with its own style. They also allow Higgins to take a hit.
-One thing that Hudson absolutely got right was that they tamed down the excessive difficulty of the first game. Unlike the first game, which involved a lot of hair yanking and controller throwing, this one adds some things to tame it down. Higgins still dies in one hit, though. Some of the features include the ability to choose a dinosaur or an axe before starting a stage, making the stages shorter, and less fiendish enemy placement.
-One final nice thing is that the ratchet scrolling has been removed. While it isn’t a major thing, this can help Higgins reach a huevo in he kicks it off the left side of the screen, which could hold a dinosaur or skateboard in it.
Negatives:
-I can’t stand random level order. Yes, I know it isn’t random, but when it’s based on a selection of identical rotating huevos, it might as well be. I like things to be fixed. Randomizing should only be for players that have already played the game many times and to freshen up the experience. The Huevo Game isn’t randomizing, but it’s very, very close.
-Hudson still dug deep into the Super Mario series for “inspiration,” adding things like vertical levels and a world map, but the swimming stages take it to a whole new level. It’s a left to right swim that functions just like Super Mario’s swimming levels. There’s even an enemy that look like a Blooper and moves around in an identical way. They ripped it off hard.
Screenshots:
Final Opinion: Adventure Island II is a serious improvement over that garbage pile that was I. However, two issues I have still exist. Higgins is still half naked and Hudson was just downright blatant in what they took from Super Mario.
Grade: B