Windjammers was an arcade game from 1994, also released on the NEO GEO.  It was developed by the now defunct game company Data East, who made such classics as Burgertime, Karnov, Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninjas, and many more.  Five years ago Windjammers was finally released on the PS4, and I reviewed it here.  Windjammers is a sports game where you and an opponent toss flying throwing discs at each other, trying to score goals at the opposite end of the playfield.  It’s a mix of air hockey, Pong, and a bit of Super Dodge Ball.  And now there’s finally a sequel on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

Gameplay is pretty much the same from the original.  First you pick from a selection of characters from around the world.  Each one has varying speed and power levels.  When you throw the Fris…er, I mean flying disc, you can hold up or down or even move the joystick in a quarter circle to make the disc go in different directions or even put some spin on it.  If you can catch the disc and throw it again immediately, you’ll be able to throw it super fast.  You can also lob it in the air, but I don’t find that move as useful.  If you can catch the disc as it’s flipping in the air, you can charge up a power move that’ll make the disc fly erratically at blazing speeds.  Behind you is the goal that you need to defend, as well as goals on the other end of the playfield for you to score in.  Depending on the court, you can earn three or five points per goal, depending on where you landed the shot.  And if you miss catching a disc in the air and it lands on the ground, the other player gets points as well.  Whoever makes it to a certain score first, wins.

You can play online with others, or against a CPU or local player. There’s also an arcade mode where a single player can challenge opponents in a row, as well as a few bonus stages.  You can select from three difficulties here.  You can also view a slideshow on the controls and toggle options.

To me, the game feels more like a remake than a sequel.  You get a few more characters to pick from and a few more different fields to play in, and the graphics have a more hand drawn look to them.  But that’s about it.  The only other problem I had is that it feels way too hard in Arcade Mode, even on the easiest setting.  Plus you only get two credits to finish, and I think you should get unlimited tries.  It’s still a fun game, just way too hard in single player mode.

Kid Factor:

Nothing too terribly violent here.  You can smack players with the disc, sometimes encased with flames, but they’ll just get knocked back and that’s it.  Reading skill is helpful for the menu texts and younger games may get frustrated at the high challenge level. Windjammers 2 is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews