Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II Review

January 2, 2009 - The review of this product is based on a re-released version of the game. Because of this change of medium and the passage of time, it is possible that there are slight factual differences between the original retail product and the version reviewed. The following review should be used as a reference for how well the game stood up over time rather than an evaluation of how it would have scored based on its original release date.

2008 ended just as it began, at least where the Wii's Virtual Console was concerned -- the first new classic game released for the retro download service in January was the NES adventure StarTropics, and the last game to arrive at the end of December was its sequel, Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II. The two games together complete the entire StarTropics series, an 8-bit-only first-party Nintendo franchise that has, unfortunately, not been revisited with any further installments through the past 15 years. But Wii owners can now at least relive the full experience of both original adventures through the VC.

For Zoda's Revenge, though, it might be more of an opportunity to live it for the first time. When it was originally released in cartridge form for the NES, it was already 1994 -- most loyal Nintendo fans had already migrated to the 16-bit SNES, leaving the StarTropics sequel with a much smaller potential audience. And that's a shame, because it's an incredibly solid follow-up.

The game picks up right where StarTropics left off, with young teen hero Mike Jones reflecting back on his past adventures and going to visit his archaeologist uncle, Dr. J, whom he rescued from the clutches of the villainous alien Zoda in the previous game. It's not long before Mike finds himself unwittingly flung into a new adventure, though, as a magic book the good doctor is working to translate suddenly lights up and casts Mike into a swirling vortex.

Our hero wakes in the ancient past surrounding by cavemen, and quickly finds that his new quest will be to travel through a variety of historical time periods hunting down missing artifacts and fighting off the new clones of his old enemy Zoda. This is StarTropics II's take on the chapter structure of the first StarTropics -- whereas the first game was separated into sub-stories centered around different islands, the sequel's chapters all focus on different eras in Earth's history.

And they each star some of the famous historical figures who lived in them. Mike will run across such notable personalities as Cleopatra, Leonardo Da Vinci and King Arthur on his journey through the ages -- some of them will help him along, while others will demand him to complete challenging tasks. Cleopatra, for example, won't help you until you've fought through a dungeon to retrieve a pizza for her. (Yep, the quirky sense of humor is still in place.)

So StarTropics II's storyline and overworld exploration feels fresh. Check. But if you're someone who downloaded the first StarTropics and are now considering the sequel, you don't want to know about that so much -- your concern is the control. Fair enough.

The first StarTropics was notable for its stiff, restrictive controls in its action sequences, as Mike could only move up, down, left and right and was forced to jump one square at a time across nearly endless sequences of tiles laid on the ground in several dungeon rooms. It was a major influencer of players' opinions of the game -- if you could adjust to its feel, you probably liked StarTropics a lot. If you couldn't, you probably didn't.

StarTropics II, though, eliminates much of that debate by freeing up Mike's movements considerably and making him feel much more fluid. He can now move diagonally, which makes it a lot easier to handle him, and he can jump at any time. He can also changes directions in mid-air while jumping. It might sound like a minor upgrade, but it streamlines the action considerably.

The infamous tile puzzles are now simpler, too, thanks to the fact that Mike can freely walk across tiled floors instead of being forced to play hopscotch across them one square at a time. Again, it sounds minor. But it helps.

The tweaks to our hero's control scheme don't make the gameplay feel fully removed from the old stiffness, as you'll still run into a couple of issues like getting Mike's attacks to properly line up with enemies -- but it's no big deal. Players battle-hardened by the first StarTropics will find this one easily accessible, and Mike's new arsenal of weapons and psychic powers should be met with their approval as well (even though it's a shame that the good old Island Yo-Yo is a no-show).

Closing Comments
While the StarTropics series has certainly deserved more attention over the years and it appears that Mike Jones might never see another sequel, it is nice to finally have both of his NES adventures available for download in Virtual Console form. This sequel is just as engaging and fun as its predecessor, and its more accessible and less restrictive control style should be especially notable for those players who might have found Mike's strict movements frustrating the first time around.

For a total of ten bucks, it's a great idea to invest in the complete StarTropics experience on Virtual Console. Giving us the first game in the year's first update and the second in the last was a nice way to bookend 2008, Nintendo. Well done.