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1994 · SNES
| Region | Date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Europe and Australia | Aug 1994 | Sunsoft |
| North America | Nov 1994 | Sunsoft |
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Aero had just dropped Edgar Ektor off the tallest tower of his Museum of Horrors. Now he wanders round the museum, finds a magician's box, and ends up in an ancient castle, while Ektor's henchman Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel catches Ektor before he hits the ground and gets told to prepare a Plan B. The sequel picks up right where the first game left off.
It runs across eight worlds, three acts each, except the last. There's no timer and no objectives beyond finding the exit, beating whatever's in the way and grabbing what you can. Aero keeps his drill jump, which can be aimed diagonally, and now also straight down, so enemies below him are fair game. Four hidden letters in each act spell AERO. Find all of them and you earn a cup-switching minigame at the end of the act, with an extra life on offer.
Iguana Entertainment developed it and Sunsoft published it, on the Genesis and the Super Nintendo, released in November 1994. The game is dedicated to Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna, who died in a crash during a Grand Prix. It was shown at the 1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, and Sunsoft used SGI technology to render the backgrounds. In Spain, Sunsoft and a local company, Spaco, put it out for Christmas 1994 alongside Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel and Hebereke's Popoon.
David Siller planned a Game Boy Advance port and remake in 2002 but cancelled it for original titles. The SNES version came to the Wii Virtual Console in August 2010 in the PAL region and September in North America. Ratalaika Games re-released the game in September 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Longer levels with more secrets is the right call for a bat who likes to poke around. Nintendo Life gave the Virtual Console release an 8 out of 10 and called it a far more varied and playable platformer than the original, praising its controls, its graphics and the variety in its music and level design.
Not everyone was kind. Next Generation said both Aero games lacked originality, and that's fair: it's still a mascot platformer from 1994. If you like those, this is one of the better ones. If you don't, a drill jump won't change your mind.
A game that hides things behind the obvious path is quietly asking whether you'll look. Four letters per act, scattered, spelling the hero's own name: the reward is small and the game never says it matters. You find them because you wanted to know what else was there.
Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as the absorption you get when challenge fits skill, with clear goals and quick feedback. Big levels with a clear exit and plenty of optional side trips let you set your own difficulty, which is a handy way to get there.
Read: The zone: why good games make time disappear →
You have been training these without noticing. Here is how to do it on purpose, and where it pays off away from the couch. All the skills games teach →
In the game. Levels are long and full of hidden areas. The drill jump can be aimed diagonally or straight down, so you work out angles before you commit.
Do it on purpose. Pick one act and draw a rough map after you finish it. Compare it to a replay.
Off the couch. Reading a room, a car park or a footy field in your head is the same trick. You'll park better and see the gap sooner.
In the game. Four hidden letters in each act spell AERO. Find all four and a cup-switching minigame pays out an extra life.
Do it on purpose. Play one act hunting for all four letters before you go for the exit. Note where you found them.
Off the couch. Ask what's behind the obvious thing. The person who pokes round the edges finds the good stuff, and people notice.
In the game. Aiming a drill jump down onto an enemy below you means picking the exact moment to drop. Too early and you miss, too late and you take the hit.
Do it on purpose. Take out three enemies in a row with the down-drill, no misses. Then try a fourth.
Off the couch. Knowing when to speak, when to ask and when to go is half of getting on with people. Practise the pause.
Verdict · 7/10
A better, bigger follow-up that's full of secrets. It's a familiar mascot platformer, but a well-built one, and the new down-drill earns its place.
