Ratalaika Games and Shinyuden recently re-released Aero the Acrobat and Aero the Acrobat 2 on modern platformers. Rounding out this obscure trilogy is the re-release of Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel who was an antagonist in the Aero titles. However, playing as the bad guy results in the most polished and playable of the three titles.
Zero’s adventure plays more like Aero’s second adventure only with shorter, more concise stages. While Zero still has a swooping/glide jump and a limited ranged attack, sort of similar to Aero’s unwieldy moveset, it is more controllable here in this threequel. The player can still collect a bunch of items that don’t really do anything and he often moves too fast to be truly accurate, but the smaller stages are much easier to navigate. For the most part, running to the right usually gets you to the goal as opposed to the wide open, difficult to navigate maps of the original. The simple stereotypical soundtrack also screams the 90s.
The level design is also paired into twos. Meaning, the second stage of each pair is essentially part two of the first stage without much variation. There is, however, a few jetbike stages that offer a nice change of pace from the typical side scrolling platforming. There are also a couple wind tunnel segments that are also creative, something not really seen in a platformer. The boss battles are nothing great though. The final boss specifically is total bs. Not only did I need to look at a long play YT video to figure out how to land the final blow, I realized the final boss is unbeatable with the invincibility cheat activated. Not sure if this is a bug or was done intentionally.
Speaking of cheats, everything that you could want in a retro re-lease is here in terms of emulation. Invincibility, infinite jumps, unlimited lives, rewind, viewable sprite sheets, save states, and box art and instruction scans are included. In fact, without these much-welcomed cheats, I would not have been able to complete this game due to the high difficulty, just like the Aero titles. And streamers can take note because they included an option to decrease the volume, a feature that was lacking in previous re-releases.
Even though Zero is more playable and enjoyable than the Aero games, it is still a mid-grade platformer at best. However, it is great to see some attention and care brought to these forgotten 90s mascots and provides curious excitement regarding future Sunsoft releases.
SCORE: 6/10
Also Play: Bubsy or Plok
Don’t Forget About: Aero the Acro-bat: Rascal Rival Revenge (the GBA port of Aero 1) to be released in Nov 2024
Wait For It: the inevitable compilation that bundles all the games together for one low price
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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