Adventure Island II was developed by Now Productions and published by Hudson Soft. It was released in North America and Japan in 1991 and in Europe in 1992. The game was released on the NES first, and then ported to the Game Boy.
This is one of the many games that I’ve never played before. I bought it a while ago, and don’t remember if I played it any more than testing the game to make sure it worked. There were a few improvements and a few things that I would’ve wanted them to keep.
I’m looking forward to playing this game. It isn’t all that different from the first game in terms of gameplay and story. For a game like this, I’m sure no one actually cared much about that. It will be interesting to see what the reviews for this game were like when the game was released.
TLDR: A Wonderful game that is an Improvement on the First Game.
Narrative
There isn’t much narrative progression from the first game to the second. Master Higgins is back, and his girlfriend Tina has been kidnapped by the Evil Witch Doctor’s followers. At some point, I’ll have to dig into how many games had this plot. What I really want to see here is if his girlfriend’s name is the same in the manual as it is in this description (Link).
Good news! Her name is Tina, but she isn’t Master Higgins girlfriend. She is the sister of Princess Leilani from the first game. I’m really confused about where the information on Wikipedia came from at this point. So, the Evil Witch Doctor kidnapped Tina, and you have to save her.
For what it is, the story is fine. Adventure Island II isn’t a complicated game, and it doesn’t need a complex story. It does make me wonder what the Evil Witch Doctor’s deal is and what he thinks this will accomplish. I mean, the royal family clearly doesn’t want either Leilani or Tina back since they send Master Higgins instead of people who would be way more effective.
Gameplay
I like the gameplay a little more in Adventure Island II. Some of the changes were a little worrying, but they turned out to be for the best. For what it is, Adventure Island II is better than the first game.
The core concept isn’t too different from the first game. Your character can run, jump, and throw weapons at enemies. The developers added some dinosaur friends for you to ride in addition to the skateboard.
Adventure Island II feels like an easier version of Mario Bros. You have the same power-ups as the first game, but there seems to be less of a focus on speed. The timer doesn’t seem to be ticking down faster, and there is more fruit in the game to refill it.
While you only have three lives, you can continue from the start of whatever stage you’ve reached. It is a nice feature for a game like this. Like a lot of these NES games, you can still see the arcade influences, but having infinite continues seems to temper that down a bit.
There are still one-hit deaths, which I don’t like. Some power-ups let you take more hits or grant temporary invincibility. It is the kind of thing you should expect from a game like this.
I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t a two-player mode. That would’ve added quite a bit to the game. As it is now, the game is great, but having a second player would’ve made it more fun.
There isn’t really anything wrong with the gameplay. Adventure Island II is another solid game from a company that usually makes good to great games. This is a challenging game, but not overly difficult.
Visuals
I liked the graphics in the previous game, and they are a little better in Adventure Island II. There are a few cutscenes that are nice, and the levels look better. There are a few more character sprites, and they look more detailed than in the last game. Adventure Island II is still cartoonish, and everything looks much sharper.
The level design is very simple. It is a little more complex than in the first game, but not by much. The graphics on the levels is very good, and I like the bright and cartoonish look of the game.
Everything that I liked about the graphics in the first game is here, but it looks better. The graphics are crisper, and the enemies look better. I also like the additional enemies and how your dinosaur biddies look.
Reviews at the Time
I was a little surprised by the review scores. They went up a little over the years. Normally, there is a dip during the 2000s, but that didn’t really happen. They didn’t go up by much, but they did go up.
EGM gave the game four 7/10s. This is where the changes to review scores over the years make things a little odd. A 7 was seen as a great game. All four reviewers said the game was better than the first, and “a big step up” from the first game.
GamePro gave the game an above-average review. When you dig into the scores, it is a 16/25. They have an odd scoring system. The reviewer says that “anyone who enjoyed the first chapter should get a kick out of this.” The reviewer said a password system is needed, and I don’t think it is.
Total! A UK-based magazine gave the game a 57/100. They praised the game for its graphics, but called it “very simple, to the point of boredom.” The reviewer went on to say, “Nappy-wearing gamesters might like it, but it’s too basic for anyone else.”
The review scores were about right. They did bring up some things that I don’t agree with, but overall, this game is better than the last one. There were some surprising things in the reviews. The scores went up a little over the years, which is very surprising.
8.5/10. Adventure Island II is a wonderful follow-up to the first game. The developers didn’t change the formula too much, and the additions made to the gameplay made the game better. This is a challenging action platformer.
Pros
- Fun gameplay
- Great graphics
- Challenging but not impossible
Cons
- One-hit deaths
- Annoying time limit
- No two-player mode
Conclusion
There wasn’t anything that surprised me when it came to the game. Adventure Island II is a better version of the first game in the series. Everything looks better than the last game, and the gameplay is a little better. It does take some time, but it isn’t all that difficult.
What I was surprised by was the reviews for this game. I wasn’t expecting them to stay as consistently good as they were over the years. There were a few bad reviews for the game, but they were few and far between. Most reviews for this game were quite good.
I have high hopes for the third game in the series. Even if it is a marginal improvement over this game, it will be great! That is something that I’ve enjoyed about this series so far. Hudson and the developers that they work with have done a great job with these games.
If you liked this post, please check out my other reviews of NES games, such as Ikari Warriors and Adventure Island.