It is a rare occurrence that one can be so
passionate about a game that is the sixth entry in an established franchise without
having played the others, but that’s precisely what makes this game enticing. Super Adventure
Island II is charming, intriguing, and downright fun. The other games in the Adventure Island
series don’t look unappealing, they just don’t seem to be my style of gameplay.The
previous games were all side scrolling platformers that had the protagonist riding a skateboard
collec
ting fruit, or else he would starve. (I don’t get it either). Joking aside, these
games were well received and loved by many. The game I’m focusing on is absolutely considered
to be the “fish out of water”. It was the last release of the series until
the Wiiware title “Adventure Island: The Beginning” was announced. This game was
created by Hudson and released on the Super Nintendo in the year I was born, 1995. It’s
the sequel to the first game in the series to embrace the “super” at the beginni
ng
of its name (like many other titles of its time).
The game starts out with Master Higgins, and his wife Tina, setting off on a raft for a
pleasant honeymoon. Things go wrong when a cyclone hits them, and they both wash up on
the shores of different beaches. Tina is shown to fall victim from a newly formed amnesia
in the next scene. Master Higgins unfortunately suffers the same fate, and has no recollection
of who he is or what has happened. He soon gets up, and sets out to set things straight
.
The King of Waku-waku (like the noise Pac-Man makes) soon discovered Tina, fell in love
with her, and the two were to be wed. However, a gargantuan bird swoops down and kidnaps
Tina at the ceremony. Master Higgins watch the scene unfold, and agrees to help the King
save Tina without realizing who she is. It’s an interesting premise, though not particularly
clever, still has more depth than if she was just simply taken from Master Higgins. It’s
nice to see an action adventure game like this try
and add the complexity to its story,
and I appreciate it for being a nice set up. The rest of the game is pretty straightforward;
it's fun, challenging, and thought provoking when trying to navigate and conquer the varying
areas of the game. A boss fight is held at the end of each of the six islands, all hosting
unique sprites, although they don’t feature much assortment when attacking.When defeating
a major boss, Tina will call out to Higgins and the two slowly reconnect to realize who
the oth
er person is. The goal is to traverse these islands to try and find the six stones
that open a gate when together, leading to the lair of the bird that stole Higgin’s
bride. The ending takes a turn where it’s revealed a dark wizard is in control of the
bird (and all other enemies and animals fought on the way), which is actually a giant scorpion
from space for some reason. Bizarre? Yes, and actually the entire ending of the game
is very surreal and strange. I quite liked the dialogue before the
ending scenes, but
after defeating the final boss things get weird. This is what the writers came up with?
This isn’t clever at all! Hide it, hide it so the audience won’t dismiss the game
for poor writing! Super Adventure Island II lends its gameplay
mechanics from RPGs, more notably Zelda II, the Adventure of Link. It is similar to that
game because the same sequence occurs in the overworld when coming in contact to an enemy
(in this case a random encounter instead of showing you where they ar
e), moving from a
three-dimensional environment to a 2D plain, forcing the player to make it through the
hoards of enemies to either end of the screen; which leads the player back to the world map
screen. It is also similar to the second game in the Zelda series by its use of magic. Your
magic ability is always displayed on the top right corner of the screen, and is depleted
when casting a spell. Enemies will periodically drop jars filled with potions that will replenish
what it lost. One way it
isn’t similar,
is that in Super Adventure Island II, spells
are learned by picking up the object that grants you an extended magic meter; instead
of being granted them from a wizard like Zelda
II’s wisemen. However, learning new tricks
with your sword are taught to you by other people, in both games.
One of the aspects of this game I like most, is its inclusion of elemental armor. It’s
your standard Ice, Fire, and Water based equipment set; the difference is, they work exactly
how they should,
instead of simply having Ice enemies weak to an Ice sword, found in
a snowy level. The fire equipment is found in the cold area, and is strong against ice
enemies. The thunder / aqua equipment is cleverly designed to work best against water based
foes. I feel this design choice was brilliant, and adds another level of complexity into
the already terrific RPG inspired system. I feel certain games could benefit from this,
and would like to see it used in a Zelda adventure. Imagine a game where ins
tead of Ocarina of
Time’s simple fireproof and heat resistant “Goron Tunic”, it also came with a fire
sword that’s weak against enemies of the same element, but great against ice? It could
even be used in puzzles, much like the already established Fire and Ice Arrows. This would
be a simple addition that would add so much more depth to something many people would
overlook. Also contemplate in a fire dungeon, if there were some added benefit (such as
an increase of strength) to wearing a complete
set (meaning you’re wielding the fire sword
with the Goron Tunic) players would have to balance out whether or not it’d be a good
decision to take matched equipment perk and wear a tunic that grants them an ability to
resist fire, but be forced to use a weapon that is weak against the surrounding mobs
of the temple. WIth this said, it makes me feel like the combined elements of its genre
and an RPG, really give the game a new range of potential. It can add a layer of strategy
to a game that wou
ldn’t normally require it, and that could certainly be a benefit
for many titles. Super Paper Mario is another game that comes to mind, as another game that
incorporates RPG elements to its platforming nature - and I feel it was a very fresh and
unique experience that set the game apart from others, granting itself a deserved place
in history. Other games should follow these examples, I would love to see a 3D adventure
game, like Zelda, take on this task. I do have to mention Skyward Sword and i
ts customization,
although I didn’t initially think of it because it didn’t prove to be too useful
for me, at least in my personal playthrough. There aren’t too many aspects of the game
that are necessarily “dark”, although it does push the suspicion that Nintendo is
trying to ensure a gambling addiction into kids. There are three very fun minigames located
in Casino Island, but the rewards you are able to purchase are ridiculously expensive;
amounts of money you wouldn’t be able to get in the g
ame by any other means. The first
game, Flash for Cash, is nothing special although it is quite entertaining. It is in a roulette
style, featuring various color amounts for the player to bet on, a multiplier of 20 being
the highest. If the player lands on the skull, it’s game over and all the money bet is
lost. The second game is incredibly straightforward, a slot machine with various amounts to win.
The amounts to win are so high, but nearly impossible to land on with ridiculous odds,
much like
a real life slot game. The final game is the one I use to grind for coins,
and is called Run for Doe. The game is just like betting in a horse race, featuring enemies
from within the title. Bets are placed on which enemy the player thinks will win, with
a lower multiplier set for the ones with a greater chance of winning. This is the game
that will net you the most coins, because it’s actually quite easy to win, and you
get a hell of a lot more in a shorter amount of time with the other game op
tions. The strategy
is to bet the maximum amount (99 coins) on the one with the lowest multiplier. Sometimes,
the odds will be a little too close together, in that case it’s the player’s call. This
game is awesome because while it is luck based, it is always usually a one third or 50/50
chance of winning. Even the lowest multiplier has at least a 6x payoff, so it’s very worth
it rather than waiting to get incredibly lucky with the slot machine or roulette. This one
doesn’t require too much luck,
just a little bit of time. Now that the rules for the games
and a strategy for one is established, it’s time to grind those coins because the prizes
Master Higgins can exchange coins for are extremely high. The life bottle offered for
1500 coins is just about the only thing the average player will get, because that’s
a reasonable amount of coins to have at that point in the game. The other options, which
includes the light equipment set (light shield, armor, and sword) as well as a new item (th
e
boomerang) are more coins than I believe anyone would ever come across playing the game normally
outside of the Casino. That’s the point of this Casino though, it’s the monotony
of grinding for something that will take a lot of time to achieve, and it’s always
relieving to do so. With that said, I have never purchased anything other than the life
bottle, shield, and boomerang. That has been my cap in my recent playthroughs, and I don’t
expect to get the other items any time soon, but could cer
tainly do it if I had enough
time. The light shield is 9000 coins, the boomerang 14000. The rest, are absurdly higher
than even that. One final thing to note about this game is
its music. It is absolutely wonderful and incredibly charming. My personal favorite
is a the track that plays in the island of Hiya-Hiya (the ice world). The song is so
magical feeling, and certainly brings me (as a player) on an adventure in a chilly place.
Listen to this segment and tell me it’s not one of the greatest
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