Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is a platform game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft as the sequel of Aero the Acro-Bat. It was released for the Sega Genesis in April 1994 then for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in November. The game is dedicated to Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna, who died in a crash during a Grand Prix.^[4]

David Siller planned to port and remake the game for Game Boy Advance in 2002,^[5] but then cancelled it in favor of original titles.^[6] The Super NES version was re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in the PAL region on August 6, 2010, and in North America on September 20.

Gameplay

The game is split into eight worlds, all of them except for the final world with three ‘acts’ each. The levels are significantly longer than the first game and they are designed in a similar way with many secret areas. There are no objectives, as well as a timer. The goal of each level is to find the exit at the end of every act, defeating enemies and collecting power-ups along the way.

Aero keeps his drill jump from the first game, an ability that can be aimed either diagonally up or down to reach enemies and platforms. New to this game is the ability to aim the drill jump straight down, allowing Aero to attack enemies directly below him. Food can be collected for extra points, and stars can be thrown at enemies to defeat them, much like in the original game. There are also four hidden letters in each act that spell the word ‘AERO’. Finding all four letters will unlock a cup-switching game (it can also be played in the Options Menu) at the end of the act where an extra life can be earned.

Plot

The story starts directly after the events of the original game, where Aero had knocked Edgar Ektor off of the highest tower of his Museum of Horrors. After knocking him off, Aero leaves to explore Ektor’s museum, finding a magician’s box which brings him to an ancient castle. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Aero, Ektor’s henchman Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel manages to save him before he hits the ground, and Ektor tells Zero to prepare a ‘Plan B’.