Adventure Island II for NES - Review | hungrygoriya

[@At_the_Bottom]

Thanks for a great review of a wonderful game, I love your channel! Special memories with this game, as it was one of the NES experiences shared with my great-grandma. We'd play for hours, taking turns and cheering each other on

[@hungrygoriya]

She sounds like an awesome person! I'm glad you got to make some great memories with her. It's also very sweet that you've hung onto her games all this time.

[@Roofgeese]

This is one of my favorite games of all time. I played it SO MUCH as a kid. Not enough people talk about the Adventure Island games. Thanks for another good review.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for checking this one out. I really need to sit down and finish up Adventure Island II one of these days.

[@stevefields2027]

I am so glad I found your page. I absolutely love your review style.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much for checking out the channel. I really appreciate it!

[@nichoalsnastari1433]

This is Mario’s Dad and he must fight the unfair islands with no 1 ups

[@NefariousWes]

The wolves leave behind a Hudson controller after you defeat them. Great review! Very well written and informative. Makes me want to pop this one back in.

[@hungrygoriya]

I had no idea what it was growing up and was used to the weird breads that Faxanadu enemies leave behind. I always thought it was a bread loaf for the longest time! I hope you'll play it again. I'd love to see someone else take a crack at this one.

[@HomerMarrs]

@@hungrygoriya Yeah, it's a controller. If you play "New Advenutre Island" on the TurboGrafx-16, it's a really cute spot-on drawing of a TG controller. In the original "Wonder Boy," the game from which this whole series stems, killing the coyote yields a little envelope with a heart-a love letter from Tom-Tom's girlfriend, Tanya. :-) BTW, this review is really good! Your writing is great.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@HomerMarrs Nice! In this version it looks like the furthest thing from a controller, but I was playing the original Adventure Island the other day and it definitely looked like one there. Unfortunately I don't have a Turbografx. It's one of the consoles I'm missing. And thanks so much for your kind words. Writing takes me a long time so I'm glad it came together well!

[@HomerMarrs]

@@hungrygoriya Keep writing! I see a fair number of game reviews on here (primarily retro) and your script definitely sticks out to me as one of the strongest. I look forward to checking out the rest of your vids.

[@HomerMarrs]

@@hungrygoriya Oh, and if you get a TurboGrafx-16 (you can get the basic one pretty affordably), just know it's great for platformers and excellent for shooters, but doesn't really have the multidimensionality of gameplay that Genesis and SNES had. But it's a sweet system.

[@RetroPlus]

Underrated gem of a channel right here, fantastic video!

[@hungrygoriya]

That's awfully nice of you to say. Thanks very much :)

[@TheReNesance]

How had I not watched this yet? SO well done.. nicely paced with great balance of info and humour. I'm with you loving this game.. such a fantastic upgrade from the first one.

[@hungrygoriya]

:D Thank you! I'm sure you recognized a lot of the choice gameplay having just recently played through it yourself too! I'm so glad you share my love for this game because I rarely hear anyone talk about it. It's a pretty underrated adventure and I wish more people would stumble upon it.

[@TheReNesance]

@@hungrygoriya Oh I certainly did.. I found myself saying "ugh" at certain parts remembering what a pain they were (snow rabbits, penguins). This game is a good example of why I love Hudson :)

[@maximpact24]

I have very fond memories of Adventure Island II (the whole series really) and still enjoy them today. A nice review of one of my favorite nes games. Well done Goriya. :)

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. This series is really close to my heart as well. I remember having the second game for all of my childhood and then buying the first Adventure Island when I first got a credit card thinking that it would be the same. I really didn't enjoy it in comparison. And then within the last few years I saw some gameplay of Adventure Island 3 and was smitten since it looked so similar to the second game. I haven't played much of it yet, but I definitely want to!

[@skins4thewin]

I remember absolutely loving the Gameboy version of this game as a kid, but never tried the NES version. Glad to see that it looks very similar, definitely will have to give it a try!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm the opposite! I'd love to try out the Game Boy version sometime! I hope you like the NES game.

[@nichoalsnastari1433]

Your voice makes the review a 10/10

[@SwiftSmashGamingZone]

Great review! I beat this game a few weeks ago - it was my 2nd NES game that I beat after Super Mario Bros.! Loved the dinosaurs, especially the teradactyle

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh congratulations on getting through it! I've since beaten this one too, and the end of this game really kicks up the difficulty. The pterodactyl was my favourite as well!

[@sirhcman]

Loved the review! Someday I will be as good as you are at this game! 😁

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you! I wish more people had a chance to play this as kids. I'm really, really nostalgic for this one.

[@TheGameBeaters]

Very thorough and insightful review. Well done!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks very much! I've been playing it since childhood so it was a love letter waiting to happen for a long while now.

[@9thAvalon]

Awesome review! I used to rent this game almost every weekend as a kid. Such an underrated classic

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm really grateful I grew up with this game.

[@danieljacot3083]

As a child I Used to get so excited to go to my uncles cause he had this game. I also would rent it all the time from the video store. I miss those days. Movies and games had more of a magic to them back then.

[@EbenezerEibenhardt]

I never played this one on the NES, but I did find the gameboy version (untranslated) on a 51-combo cartridge. It was a lot of fun, and the music was absolutely charming. I too used to find myself whistling the tunes whenever I was out walking and passed a particularly picturesque palm tree. =P

[@hungrygoriya]

Isn't it a gem? I love it too! I haven't tried the Game Boy versions of the NES games, but I'd like to!

[@Shamazya]

The constant resource management is an interesting choice for a platformer. It can definitely make for some tense, clutch, moments. For games like that I prefer them to have unlimited lives and quick load times but I can understand why people might like the extra challenge of limited lives.

[@hungrygoriya]

Well, as long as you find the Hudson bee, you can always keep your inventory when you continue. I'm sure there are people out there that can beat this game deathless or not need the continue system or the inventory, but I'm certainly not one of them!

[@Pitrek1113]

My favourite game of all-time! I love especially when all the stages in World 4 get own, wintry color palette (I even made a romhack of AI2 that changes colors in every stage to ones based from that world).

[@hungrygoriya]

That's so cool! I also love the wintery colours in those levels too. And the special cloud levels! That romhack sounds really great!

[@Pitrek1113]

For someone interested: just type Hudson's Wintry Adventure Island II on google and there should be a link to it :)

[@CentralPennsylvaniaReviews]

This was a great review so in depth and detailed! and I think I died of laughter at the pooter part! no lie that was too great

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I always just called them pigs until I got around to reading for this review. I'm convinced even if I read it as a kid, it never registered in as hilarious as a way as it does now. Thanks for watching!

[@chumnasty777]

Thank you for the great review HUNGRY GORIYA! I really enjoyed watching you stream this and will try to find a copy to try out!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you :) I hope you can find a copy. It's a fantastic game and I wish I had the time to play it more often!

[@johnpettigrew3056]

I love Master Higgins and he has the fastest metabolism of any character ever 😂

[@hungrygoriya]

This is true!

[@johnpettigrew3056]

@@hungrygoriya Hudson has Higgins, Bonk, Bomberman, Milon, Cucumber Knight 😜 and the Tengai Makyou RPGs are no joke either. I 💙 Hudson

[@RedAuxPDX]

Great review! I have been interested in adventure island 1 and 2 and your video helped answer my questions. Thank you for sharing!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for watching! I could talk about Adventure Island II all day long. It's such a great game. Do you think you'll play it sometime? I'd definitely watch a stream of that.

[@RedAuxPDX]

Hungry Goriya I don’t own any of the Adventure Island games actually! But I might give them a shot a PRGE sometime in the future, see if I enjoy them. I’m concerned I wont like the way the life counts down if you don’t eat often enough. But then again, I like Battle Kid, so anything is possible ;-)

[@hungrygoriya]

+RedAux PDX You never know for sure! I only found the timer tricky in a few levels but it was mostly fine! Definitely let me know what you think when you do get a chance to try them out. I'd pass on the first game myself. The second and third on NES are where it's at!

[@jakek5417]

Great review, very thorough!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks very much! I really love this series so it was hard to shut up about it.

[@seanbailey7282]

One of the first games I ever played was Adventure Island. Recently picked up the sequel and it’s amazingly addictive. The difficulty definitely seems to ramp up at the end of island 4 and into 5. At that point I found myself running 0 item strategies to practice and memorize the patterns of enemies. This actually made the earlier levels easier as I learned more about the level design. Although I enjoyed the soundtrack of the first game more, I’d recommend this one over my nostalgia.

[@hungrygoriya]

The ice level going to the octopus boss was torture as a kid and I still really struggle with it today... I agree with that difficulty spike! I got to the final boss on a no item strategy since I didn't continue properly, and that final level is just awful. The end with the drip and the rock and the two frogs is just... ugh. Some day.

[@seanbailey7282]

@@hungrygoriya Yeah that ice level is a trip. I always bring a blue dino with me to make it easier. I haven't made it to the final level yet but based on what you said, it's an experience.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

I always found it interesting how the first Adventure Island and the original Wonder Boy were both quite similar. I think it had something do do with copyright of the characters so Hudson changed things up to release the game on NES. As a strange twist Sega went with a totally different style in the Wonder Boy series well Hudson tried to evolve the original style. I personally love both of them but Adventure Island 2 got extra credit when I was young because of those rideable Dinos! I always wondered if Miyamoto ever saw this game when he originally came up with Mario riding a dino before Mario World 🤔 Anyways, this series definitely need more credit. I wish someone would come out with a classic hits collection or something! If there is I’d love to know 🏝️

[@hungrygoriya]

There are definitely enough Adventure Island games to warrant a whole collection! I'd love to be able to play New Adventure Island on the TG-16 somehow that doesn't involve buying a whole new console! I have it on the TG-16 mini, but there's some input delay which makes platforming feel impossible.

[@jwrfb26]

I did not appreciate this game when I first got it as a gift from a second-hand game store (without a manual). I came back to it years later to finally complete it and now I love it. It is one of my favorite platformers on the NES. I wish I could say the same for the first one, as it seems to be quite nostalgic for many, but I find the original game's control just isn't quite as good.

[@hungrygoriya]

This is still one of my favourite NES games all these years later, and the first game doesn't appeal to me even a little bit comparatively. It's so repetitive and frustrating in some spots, and honestly, I'd rather play Wonder Boy on the Master System. It's the same game but its controls feel better somehow. I don't know if I'm imagining it or not, but I always seem to have an easier time with it than Adventure Island.

[@jwrfb26]

@@hungrygoriya It's not your imagination. There is something odd about how inertia works in the original Adventure Island, making it quite finicky at times. It's also hard to move forward carefully because if you're not at least holding down the B button or moving forward, you can only make short jumps. The sequel's control is just much more intuitive.

[@WalrusFPGA]

I grew up playing adventure island 1 in arcades and NES, and I really didnt like adventure island 2 when i played it years later. Your video is making me want to go back and re-evaluate that, because the game does look hella fun still ^-^. Also re: the unfortunate enemy naming (pooter), I ran across a couple poorly named enemies in Kid Dracula for Gameboy recently, when I was reading the manual for it. The only female character in the game is named "Witchie Wench", positioned in the manual just next to the tiny beetle enemy, "Percy Pinchaloaf". If you read through all the names, it almost seems like Beavis and Butthead were the ones who did the localization. lol

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you'll give it another go because it's definitely worth a playthrough in my opinion. Adventure Island 3 is more of the same as this if you do end up coming around. The fourth game, if you can play a translation, is completely and utterly amazing and I loved it... it's quite a departure from the sidescrolling platformer though. And omg "Percy Pinchloaf" hahahahaha that one's going to keep me chuckling all day. I need to find a scan of this manual :D

[@MrSerpico145]

This was my game as a 9 yr old. I'd scrape together change from around the house to rent it on the weekend regularly. I still pop it in and give it a run, now and then.

[@hungrygoriya]

I sat down with this game all the time growing up too since it was one of the few we owned. I pop it in to stream once in a while and still haven't finished it. I've gotten to the last boss many times but haven't been able to pull the trigger.

[@MrSerpico145]

@@hungrygoriya I haven't finished it either. It sure takes a dedicated session considering its length. I was just thinking about giving a serious go after watching your review. Tomorrow will be my chance. That damn snow island though, and those rabbits...

[@hungrygoriya]

@@MrSerpico145 Yessss, and the penguins there too! I really, really loathe the level right before you fight the octopus on the fourth Island too, and I have no love for Volcano Island. I hope you'll make it through. I believe in you! Someone has to do it and I don't think it'll be me any time soon :)

[@MrSerpico145]

@@hungrygoriya I have little faith in my skill, but I'll do my best. I haven't even experienced the volcano one :O

[@hungrygoriya]

@@MrSerpico145 The world is counting on you! There's also a level select code in the manual if you want to practice anything. I hope you'll keep me posted!

[@SaadAzim]

Neat-o. I think I'm going to have to look into the NES series one of these days. Great review. :D

[@hungrygoriya]

There is no question that you must! I don't love the first game very much, but the second is obviously one of my favourites. I think the third game is really just an extension of II, so I've been excited to try that one out for a long time. Have you played games from this series on other platforms?

[@SaadAzim]

I believe the only AA game I've played was a translated version of Takahashi Meijin 2. (A.k.a. Super Adventure Island 2)

[@hungrygoriya]

I've got that one hanging around. I hope I love it even though it departs from the formula I loved in this game.

[@SaadAzim]

It's a departure from classic AA (from what I've seen). RPG elements, health bar, clothes for Master Higgins. But it's not a bad game.

[@hungrygoriya]

RPG you say? Then count me in! :D

[@MrPanda2002]

Awesome review! I really like this series, though I don't think I played this specific Adventure Island. I've mostly played the SNES ones, which were a bit different, at least Super Adventure Island II was nonlinear. I'd love to try this one out, though! Pooters!

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh you absolutely must give it a whirl sometime. I can't recommend this game enough. It's probably in my top 3 platformers for NES up with SMB2 and SMB3. I own both of the SNES Adventure Island games. I've played the first one quite a bit and it's nowhere near as good as this one in my opinion. I'm also really itching to try out Super Adventure Island II. I think that one is more similar to Adventure Island IV which didn't see a North American release.

[@Protoman00]

Nice review! I also like the intro. I’m going to name my child Pooter. 2:25 :)

[@hungrygoriya]

Just name them Peter and then nickname them Pooter. That way nobody's gonna bug you about it. :)

[@seanbailey7282]

When are you reviewing adventure island 3? You gotta do that one too. This one is awesome and 3 is more of the same with a few added gameplay gimmicks on top of it. Both are awesome

[@hungrygoriya]

I still need to finish Adventure Island 3. It's a great game though. I loved 2 so much growing up and when I found out the third game existed, I was over the moon! I got stuck late in the game though. One of these days I'll pick it back up again!

[@seanbailey7282]

@@hungrygoriya update: I beat this game 3 times. Got to the second form of the final boss tonight. Always relearning it a bit when I’ve put it down for awhile. Definitely a fun game worth playing. You ever get to the third game? It’s definitely easier

[@endefisto123]

I loved this game as a kid. It was awesome, but man was it hard. 1st island i didn't have much issues with, but the second island boss pfff. I always hit the second bubble and the boss killed me. In the end i figured either bring the water dino or just go below the bubble to trigger the boss and then just swim up down and shoot, but that for me was the 4th hardest boss in the game, the bat and the crab were much easier to beat. Island 3 i got lucky in finding the warp, because I always shot the axes like a mad man same with island 5, however island 4 man and that damn ice level it legit gave me an issue and everytime i see ice i get angry. I couldn't get pass that for like 3 months or so, but once i did and found the warp in 5 i was really happy then came island 6 and my dad actually beat the bird boss on his first try without the flying dino and then island 7 and 8 were the hardest of them all. I also remember how hapyp I was when i finally beat the caterpillar and started wondering why isn't the music stopping why can i still move and almost broke my controller when the damn wasp spawned on me and i died. I did beat the wasp on the 3rd try but man was that annoying. Sorry for the long rant, but this game is probably my fav of all time and i still play it to this day. Great review.

[@hungrygoriya]

One of these days I want to actually beat this game. For me the 4th island boss is always the hardest because of the level you have to get through to get there! And the bunnies in the other winter levels in the game... booooo! I've gotten to the final boss a few times but by the skin of my teeth. I continued wrong the last time I played and lost all my dinos and weapons. It was a real bummer and I just couldn't stick the landing. Next time!

[@endefisto123]

@@hungrygoriya The issue is if you go to the final boss on his level you are mostly with nothing except the water dino or flying dino due tto that annoying water part. The boss it self isn't really that hard though. Just don't jump when he shoots the first projectile or you are screwed because the second one will put you in a position where if you stand you die if you jump you die.

[@jalliboy]

@ 3:02 drop rocks on you? Aren't they snowballs?🤣 also that " fluty" thing is a NES controller😝

[@hungrygoriya]

I guess the question is... would rocks kill a man dead, or could a snowball do the same? And where does the snow come from? So many things to wonder about!

[@jalliboy]

@@hungrygoriya rocks can kill a man dead yes. I think a snowball can do that too if is real hard and has a high speed when it hits your head. More of a iceball in that case🤣.. yeah that is the wonder of nes. I liked your review btw😁

[@hungrygoriya]

@@jalliboy Haha thanks very much! I'm glad... Adventure Island II is still one of my favourites. I need to revisit it again soon. Thanks for checking it out.

[@bazdaniels7420]

This game is great! I still love the first one the most though.

[@hungrygoriya]

I wish I liked the first one. It just makes me angry!

[@bazdaniels7420]

@@hungrygoriya Hahaha me too. I still can't beat it but it's exciting when I get far, still like a fresh adventure for me when I'm doing well!

[@JohnZyski]

Adventure Island II is my second favorite game for the NES, after Blaster Master.

[@hungrygoriya]

I love it very, very much! Adventure Island IV has edged this out as my favourite on NES though. Have you played that one?

[@JohnZyski]

@@hungrygoriya I haven't played 4. I liked both 2 and 3 though.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@JohnZyski I hope you'll give the 4th game a try someday. It's really good!

[@Bloodreign1]

The wolf/coyote thing leaves behind a Famicom controller, believe it or not. I believe in the Game Boy versions, they leave a Game Boy behind. I have the 3 NES games, the 4th one, a Japan only release, is just too expensive. Have the second one on Game Boy, got the game when it was cheap. I was thinking of getting the first GB one, and at some point, I will, but the prices on it have come up quite a bit from just a few years ago, when it was as cheap as dirt. And of course, I have the first SNES game, second one is too expensive, didn't like it as much as the NES games, but it has fantastic music.

[@hungrygoriya]

Right right! I don't think I even knew what a Famicom was when I was a kid so I had no idea until much later on in life. It's cool that you've tried out the Game Boy games. I think they're just remakes of the NES titles, but I'd love to try them anyway. I also really love Super Adventure Island's soundtrack! It's super catchy!

[@QMulative]

Can the blue camptosaurus destroy large boulders that are the size of small boulders?

[@hungrygoriya]

I think the only answer is yes.

[@Bigmitch256]

Master Higgins is adorable

[@hungrygoriya]

Isn't he though? His little determination face when he jumps melts my heart.

[@backinthedaygamer]

So which Adv Island is your fav?

[@hungrygoriya]

Definitely Adventure Island II. I haven't played much of 3 yet, but I have a feeling it'll be a close contender to II when I finally get around to playing it through. I prefer Wonder Boy to the original Adventure Island since the controls feel way better somehow.

[@syedali2143]

I enjoyed the game early on but the stage was repetitive after that, felt like same/similar stage kept repetitive.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, it's like any other platformer that way I suppose... it's a long game too!

[@syedali2143]

@@hungrygoriya Other platformers had different stage design for the each level which made it more interesting and fun to play, even if their games were shorter. This used same/similar design throughout making it a abit repetitive. Still an okay to play.

[@peacefuldoubt8238]

Loooove the Adventure Island games, but they gave me nightmares as a kid... ugh.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh? Was it the content or the difficulty?

[@peacefuldoubt8238]

@@hungrygoriya For me personally the difficulty, I always thought the controls for master higgins felt a little loose, or like the slightest tap moved him too far (and into a pit, falling ice, rabbit trap LoL), of course naturally it could just be me. I liked the first one as well, though I have to admit between these two it was a bit of a disaster... still great soundtracks both - particularly the title and ending themes.

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

This was way harder than the 3rd and 4th installments.

[@hungrygoriya]

You think so? I haven't finished Adventure Island 3 before but I found the later levels pretty tough. I was excited that Master Higgins could finally duck though!

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

If only *Master Higgins* had a spear, torch & boomerang in this installment, he'd be an absolute *boss* for sure.

[@jeromedado7416]

Adventure island 2,3,4 is piece of cake I beat it just one each game in a fast few days just skip AI 1 it's trash and hard Im able to reach area 3 and then stop 😅