Even though I proudly played a ton of games back in the SNES days, the majority of which I rented, Aero the Acro-Bat never managed to demand my picking it up. Having recently played and reviewed it, I’ll admit I wasn’t upset that I’d dodged that bullet so many years ago, as its controls and very odd overall format for play were a bit of a mess. That said, being the glutton for punishment that I am, when I was given the opportunity to check out the follow-up, I decided to let hope be my guide, assuming if they made a sequel they had to do a better job. Thankfully, my faith was rewarded, at least to a degree that it was a decent experience.

The main characteristic that helps give Aero a different feel is his movement and style of jumping and attacks. Rather than using more traditional kicks or punches as mid-air strikes, Aero instead has a rising or falling screw attack. The good news is that it can be pretty effective for both taking out enemies and reaching things up high if you can time it right, the bad news is that it’s a bit awkward at times and simply isn’t as clean as offensive abilities you’d find in most games. You do also have a limited star throw, but you’ll probably want to conserve them for when you may be in a jam and need them, rather than wasting them and getting yourself into trouble.

The big improvement, thankfully, is that overall the level design and style of play are more reminiscent of classic mascot platformers overall. While it isn’t as tight and polished as the likes of Mario, or some of the other platforming legends, I’ll still take the implementation here over the mess that was in the original any day. With all of that in mind, it really comes down to what you’re looking for in your experience. If you have nostalgia for the SNES days and fondly remember Aero it may be an easy purchase, but if you’re more unsure I’d at least advocate getting this sequel rather than the original.