Aero the Acro-Bat 2 (Sega Genesis)

in #hive-1402172 years ago


Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is a side-scrolling platform game released in 1994 for both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. This is a pretty typical platformer of which there were endless quantities of in the 16-bit days. However, it is at least an above average one. As the name suggests, this is a sequel.


The story... Ok, well the story doesn't really matter all that much for this type of game. Suffice it to say that it involves an acrobatic bat, a protagonist named Edward Ektor, a Museum of Horrors, a magical box, an ancient castle and a kamikaze squirrel among other interesting things and characters. The game is split into eight worlds, most of which have three acts. The basic mechanics haven't changed too much from the original game. For instance, Aero still has his basic drill attack and can throw stars at enemies. However, a few new moves have been added and the controls are somewhat improved.


Sequels don't always improve upon the original but in this case, Aero the Acro-Bat 2 seems a step up from the original. It has improved graphics, is a much longer game, has improved play control and more moves, and has a distinctively darker feel that helps it stand out from the original. Having said that, there's nothing terribly original about the Aero games as platformers in general. They just do what they do better than most.


Reviews for Aero the Acro-Bat 2 were all quite positive. While not the most original game in the world the execution is very good and it is a fun game to play. As far as which version to try, I would say pick the one for your favorite console. Both versions are good and I don't think one really stands out from the other. Unfortunately, there isn't much to talk about in the way of re-releases. If you do want to give this one a try, you'll have to track down an original cartridge or be content with emulation.

Screen shots above are from the Sega Genesis version of the game.

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Many great memories playing Aero the Acrobat as a kid, and definitely an underappreciated series back in the 16bit days.

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With how I never had heard of this one before and likely might not have played it even back then if I did (let alone now), I do think it is cool to see someone taking a look at games like these with how they paint a portrait of the 90s and that craze for getting a "rad animal mascot platformer" to pop-off in the same way Sonic did. And it is to wonder whether Aero the Acro-Bat did achieve some success in its first entry or it was the developer's attempt at revenge the reason why this sequel exists.

It does give me slight Jazz Jackrabbit vibes, which is cool though. Those platformers and games that have some relationship or origin from the Amiga have that similar feel and artstyle (even though I have no idea if this one does or not; probably the fact that American Genesis platformers also look similar in that regard).

There were a lot of pretty good video game mascots in the 16-bit era but only Sonic had the advantage of being the official Sega mascot.

The Amiga and Genesis were pretty close in terms of hardware. The Genesis and Amiga 500 had basically the same CPU. Sega just had the advantage of having a lot more third party developers and they invested more into their platform than Commodore did.

Suffice it to say that it involves an acrobatic bat

This is already enough to spark my interest, although I see that I am some 29 years late, haha. For the simplicity of it and because I love retro with that old but beautiful pixelated style, I see it ideal to emulate it perhaps in a cell phone, I think it would be quite enjoyable.