Sunsoft Significantly Improves Acro-Bat

Aero the Acro-bat 2 Sega Genesis Sunsoft

When Sunsoft first released the original Aero the Acro-bat, it was a no-name video game company. But with the success of its first major release, Aero became Sunsoft’s trademark and base of operations.

Sunsoft has made a second Aero game, in what promises to be a trilogy, with the release of Aero the Acro-bat 2. The play control has vastly improved, and without the limits of a clock, added bonuses are easier to get at the end of each level.

Aero 2’s graphics and sound are much better than its predecessor. Aero has cooler weapons, like ninja stars, and he jumps on his enemies. Also new is a cup game that can be played with Ektor at the end of every level. When you pick up the four letters that spell out Aero’s name in

each level, Ektor switches the cups around, slow in the early levels, then getting blindingly fast near the end.

The story continues as such: When Aero beat Edgar Ektor, the arch villain in the first game, he threw him off a cliff.

But when Ektor was falling, he was saved by Zero, the Kamikaze Squirrel, and Ektor told Zero to set “Plan B into effect.”

When Aero walked away after throwing Ektor off the cliff, he heard Ektor’s flying machine hit the ground. From the sound, Aero assumed Ektor had died.

Aero then went back into Ektor’s House of Horrors and came upon a floating magician’s box.

When he entered, it started to shake and suddenly closed up and disappeared with Aero inside!

When Aero gets out of the magician’s box, he finds himself in the Bell Castle, the first zone of the new game. In Bell Castle, like in every other zone (except the final one), there are three acts. The whole game consists of seven levels.

Aero finds his way out of Bell Castle and, at the exit, he meets a young girl bat named Batasha from East Europe.

She tells Aero that she has escaped from Boris the Beast, who controls Fort Red-star. She wants Aero to go kill Boris and save her from slavery.

So now Aero is off on another adventure. Aero snowboards during the Boardin’ Zone to Fort Red-star, where he faces Boris.

After defeating Boris, Aero goes to Disco Fever, far and away the smoothest zone in the game.

Disco Fever has a totally psychedelic background and groovin’ music, with enemies such as bouncing quarter notes and spinning dancers.

Upon finding the end of Disco Fever, Aero learns from his band that a doctor took Batasha away. This leads Aero to the next zone, Dr. Dis Industries. After running through here, Aero faces Dr. Dis’ creation, Alter Aero, made possible when Dr. Dis got a piece of Aero’s wing from Batasha.

With the defeat of Alter Aero, Aero finds himself in the Performer’s Dungeon, full of circus stars who were taken by Ektor.

After finding his way out of the Performer’s Dungeon, he meets the Pepperonis, three of the greatest acrobats in the world. They tell Aero that Ektor is at the head of “Plan B.”

Then we see Ektor, and he tells Aero about Zero’s new invention, and the final level, Ektor’s Engine. Ektor plans to take the train to all of the circuses in the world and take them over!

Aero has to beat Ektor in this final level, and that will end “Plan B.”

This is an excellent game with plenty of secrets and great bonuses. Aero the Acro-bat 2 is worth the price.

Grade: B+