Zoo Tycoon 2: Nostalgia is My Favorite Drug

Welcome to a video were I talk about a video game from 2004 because I'm feeling nostalgic. Thanks for taking the time to watch if you do!
Credits for footage:
Zoo Tycoon 1 footage: • Zoo Tycoon (2001) - Sa...
Super Mario Kart: • SNES Longplay [110] Su...
Rollercoaster Tycoon: • RollerCoaster Tycoon 1...
zootycoonfan1: / zootycoonfan1
Stalker2k7: / stalker2k7
PaulsLey Planet Zoo footage: • Video
My Twitter: an...
My Instagram: / animalundermanscore

[@AnimalManA]

It has come to my attention that there a lot of people who actually really like Okapi, and I was like the one one weird kid who didn't care for them. If I offended you with the things I said about Okapi in this video, please accept this picture of a cute baby sloth as a peace offering: i.natgeofe.com/n/28f65c83-cb91-4489-ba1e-b62c76863c43/01_slothlove_leaves.jpg I will never take back what I said about secretary birds though, they are evil.

[@alecmcgrathofcanada9175]

Long live Secretary Birds...

[@zoes5317]

Ngl, it was really funny hearing the thing with Okapi and Secratary Birds because Okapi were my favorite animals as a kid (probs the lower top 10 now) and secratary birds are even higher up on my list.

[@NotKaiseph]

Your offering is accepted

[@NickName-mb6wy]

@@zoes5317 Same lol, I loved Okapi when I was little just because they have such a weird name and look, while imo secretary birds are gorgeous and interesting.

[@JrgPt96]

I feel it's a regional thing? like, I know the Zoo I visited in my childhood had a extensive Okapi habitat, and my favorite zoo I've ever been to (Alpenzoo in Innsbruck) has the Ibex as one of its most important exhibits. I think that if you grew up in a place where they just didn't have these animals for some reason or another, it's easy to not feel very strongly about them. So I don't blame you lol

[@MagicMinecraftMaps]

My fav thing to do in Zoo Tycoon 2 was to close down the zoo. Put a fence in front of the entrance, and then.. build a wild habitat like savanna! Placing savanna animals around the map that I created off of images from google. The wildebeest would act like wild wildebeests and follow the heard around. Lions would hunt in a real prides.. etc.. it was really fun and a different way to play. Watching the animals survive and to go extinct.. You would think the carnivores would out last all the other animals but wildebeests would kill lions. specific animals required bigger prides to hunt them, starvation.. If you ever go back to the game I suggest trying this out.

[@MagicMinecraftMaps]

Also herbivores would actually eat the grass types that you placed, after they ate all the food in one spot they HAD to leave and continue traveling around. Again, another way to play haha

[@AnimalManA]

That is AWESOME

[@Cole-ty9dz]

YOOOOOOO the nostalgia is coming back!!!!

[@third-strike]

I did this all the time too

[@Cole-ty9dz]

@@third-strike Funny thing, I actually had a procedure where I'd fence off an area within the map where the animals would establish a group and I kept putting elephant grass, hay, etc. Once I felt like it was time I removed the fencing and it legit worked.

[@00RExProductions]

Honestly I sometimes feel overwhelmed by Planet Zoo's endless posibilities. It happened to me with Planet Coaster, it was just to big a game for me, I just didn't know where to start, so I turned back to Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. I do like Planet Zoo and I do play it often, but that doesn't quit that nostalgic need I have for playing the Vainilla Zoo Tycoon 2. What a great video! Thanks for sharing your nostalgia!

[@majnuker]

If you like dinosaurs, try out JWE 2! It fits the bill for a bit more of a limited experience, but with really neat animals to watch :)

[@sethkael9839]

Exact same feeling here.

[@HeruruMeruru]

Same, Planet Zoo is just too overwhelming. Making exhibits and paths is needlessly complicated.

[@geministrial950]

I got Planet Zoo for black friday bc i heard the AI is pretty good, which it is! But.. Its just not the same. You have to keep track of so many things and unlike ZT2 you cant just grab an animal and toss it into an exhibit to have fun. You have to do a whole process to be able to transport it, then if you have too many feeders your employees will refuse to fill them, theres the whole genetics thing and so much stuff is just.. Too much. I wish ZT2 got revamped with Planet Zoo graphics and AI but with everything else staying the same, that would be a dream come true

[@gracep4288]

@@geministrial950 I agree. I feel like simplicity has been lost in modern video games and we always have to have all this advanced stuff. I miss games like ZT2 where it was simple and I could play for an hour and build a decent sized zoo without having to worry about management.

[@noneofyourbuisness1679]

Not gonna lie, a little scary how finely accurate you captured my own experiences with this game

[@markihappy]

Same

[@ZenizhivGreen]

We are not alone :)

[@olmondboy]

Guys I wanna meet you ❤️ my missing childhood friends

[@GeckIXproductions]

Same

[@ProsopAnonymous]

Honestly I watched so many animal documentaries as a child, I was thrilled to see an Okapi in the game, lol

[@s.a.m.morrison7275]

This was so nostalgic, I remember watching those videos where they created their own Prehistoric Park episodes with ZT2, so corny but yet so goood

[@Raptorworld22]

I remember those and the scary (at the time) horror ones I also remember a video that I still quote to this day, it was basically a ZT2 youtube poop, crapton zoo where the only animal is wildebeest, and the educator's joke of "The Iraq war is a lie, how do I know this? because there is no such place as Iraq!"

[@steelwixom5502]

I loved watching those as a kid

[@joeclayton4914]

I loved those!!!

[@Cole-ty9dz]

They're kinda cringe now that we're all older but man did they entertain me years ago. Especially since I didn't have the actual Prehistoric Park on DvD , I had to watch clips of it on here at least a decade ago.

[@thelastmikester]

Damn, two nostalgia hits for me in one day, ZT2 and Prehistoric Park, those two were my lifeblood as a kid lol

[@minty6891]

Wow, all the hundreds of hours I sank into this game when I was younger and I never knew about the animal mutations when failing the minigame!

[@AnimalManA]

Guess you’re just really good at the minigame!

[@bookapanda6064]

Zoo Tycoon with Marine Mania and Dinosaur Digs was my childhood 🥰 So many fond memories 😅 (like unleashing a Dino to recreate Jurassic park) 😂

[@moodchanger3470]

yes the best childhood memories ever. feeding people to the trex.

[@megakaren2160]

I remember blocking the zoo entrance with a toilet and then letting the dinosaurs loose. In ZT1, I made an enclosure out of decorative fences. Added some paths, vending machines, toilets, and benches. Then I'd drop a few guests in and I'd have a human exhibit.

[@ianharmon3440]

I actually tried that a few times on ZT2 lol. Put a square of humans in the middle and the rest of the zoo was nature preserve, or even better, make paths for the animals to roam around on while the people were inside... I was a funny child.

[@Aethuviel]

There is one animal I want as a mod for ZT2. Humans. Really, like cave people. Naked (or with loincloths, for the prudes out there), dumb, and you have to fulfill their needs like the animals. But I guess that's the guests for you.

[@SucicRaven]

ZT2 (and WolfQuest) was my favourite game as a kid. I remember waking up super early on weekends and during school vacations so I could beat my brother to the only computer and play until my parents woke up. I still have the cds laying around even though some don’t work anymore. Ultimate collection still works fortunately, scratched as it is, but I don’t play anymore. These days I play Planet Zoo instead. ZT2 could hold my attention for hours when I was a kid, but adult me needs more complexity to enjoy creating and managing a zoo. ZT2 will always have a special place tho.

[@wtr3059]

17:34 By resurrecting the animals with the research station, if you gst 100% in the "resurrection minigame" you get "Super Animals". These are bigger than the regular extinct animals and live longer among other benefits. In the campaigns it is also a very cheap way to produce a zoo as the animals produced in this method cost no money to make and animals tend to be the most expensive in the game. Sure, it requires some extra time but the 8000$ for the research station with the minimal subsequent maintainance cost is nowhere near the cost it would take to get these animals by just "clicking".

[@PedroSantos-en4kj]

This game was a big part of my childhood, I related so much to most of the stuff (except the hate for African adventure animals how dare you!) I probably logged thousands of hours in this game over quite a few years. And for planet zoo, I would advise giving it another chance, I had the exact same response when I first played it but once you start being familiar with it you’ll be in love!

[@tinkrtailr]

God, I remember the Christmas my mom got me Zoo Tycoon 2... it was probably one of the best Christmas gifts I got, I literally screamed in joy.

[@cole8834]

8:02 Okapis are my favorite animal at my local zoo. They're beautiful, bigger than you'd think, and not too skittish

[@SliceofSimple]

Literally my favorite animal, too. I'll go anywhere just to sit and watch the okapi for hours

[@mysterycommenter]

I love Zoo Tycoon 2 and while I'm enjoying Planet Zoo, there's still no comparison to Zoo Tycoon 2. I was so excited when I discovered mods. Of course a ton of them didn't work and a good number of them crash your game instead but they are still awesome when you find ones that do work. ZT2 is so much calmer than PZ and I wish they would actually add in a slow it down mode and let you walk around PZ as well.

[@NimbleJim]

This popped up in my recommendations and Im so glad. Zoo Tycoon 2 was a massive part of my childhood. I remember making huge parks and adding well over 1000 mods. I used to film tours with my phone camera and send them to my then girlfriend, now fiancee. I remember playing it on my laptop in staffroom of my stepdads workplace to distract me on the morning that I found out my grandfather had passed away. This game will forever hold a special place in my heart, and though I don't think Ill ever go back to it. (I lost my disk ages ago) I will always think fondly of it.

[@AnimalManA]

Thank you for sharing this

[@bezka3545]

I still have CD's with the game and all DLC's. Even managed to get them to work sometime ago, but my PC has had a reset since then and I don't remember how to make it work. These games are awesome, especially when Dinosaurs come into play. This game is amazing and I wish they released it on steam or somewhere where it's easy to access.

[@meganlouise978]

this showed up in my recommendeds out of nowhere and i'm so glad it did. the intro music to this game IMMEDIATELY took me back to being, like. 11 years old and making a massive savannah exhibit just so i could see how cool the african wild dogs were. i was obsessed with them for months in elementary school because of this game. the music still shreds in these games and i'm not sure why.

[@AnimalManA]

The music is so underrated! It hits me too!

[@calkingherper4189]

This game was and still is my absolute favorite. I remember getting on the family computer just itching to continue my next zoo project. This game holds a special place in my heart, and I am so happy to see that so many other people cherish it as I do.

[@cluelessclyde4536]

Man... this and the sims (2 to be exact.) was such a big part of my childhood and even though now I find myself not really enjoying the TS series anymore, I still find myself going back to ZT2 (even ZT1) because even though I LOVE Planet Zoo, there's just something about Zoo Tycoon 2 that makes me still come back to it, like, my very first memory of it was that my mother had built a nile crocodile exhibit (she wouldn't let me play the game at first because of mothers being mothers) and we thought that the croc would attack us in guest mode so we kinda screamed a bit and she turned around and ran for the gate but then the next day when I got to play I found out that we're pretty much a ghost to everything so I had told my mom that the animals won't attack you. I also remember when I was little I would sometimes pretend to have had a nightmare so my mother would let me play ZT2 and then I'd sometimes play all night XD but yeah, no matter what, this game will always hold a special place in my heart. (Also it was only about 3 or 4 years ago that I had learned how to mod ZT2)

[@TheTakenChance]

Man the nostalgia. I loved the Marine Mania expansion. I use to build so many shows and I loved the training mini game. Great video.

[@ZombieTTG]

This was a fantastic video, and really captured everything about how I felt about Zoo Tycoon 2 as a kid. Kudos to you for making my childhood come back to life!

[@AnimalManA]

thanks for watching, mate :)

[@cozmicclockwork1136]

Zoo tycoon will always hold a very dear place in my heart. My cousin's who let me have the game told me about the animal details icon so I picked up on that quickly. Although being a dumb kid I thought it was all I needed and made habitats that were too small, too chock full of every kind of food dish and enrichment item too many animals starting off, often breeding excessively. The design for visitors faired similarly with everything condensed in one spot. Over the years I've drifted back to the game every so often and recently I've really taken to utilizing everything to make some really nice zoos. I have planet zoo but for me there's too many systems, it's not really intuitive for new players and snap functionality that could help with it is limited in my experience so I haven't really played it much. Although it could also be I don't like the lack of a keeper mode to make interacting with my zoos more engaging. I never really found myself on early zoo tycoon KZbin but I'm still glad I found your video and this has gotten pretty rambly but I also find it so interesting how many other people share these really similar experiences around this game. Edit: also restoring fossils into animals using the lab can result in super versions of this same animals, that live longer and are healthier, they can also pass that trait down to their offspring.

[@lolchocl]

What a great video! I think you perfectly summed up the feeling of having played this game for hours as a child. Thank you for the nostalgia :3

[@eddw7650]

I loved Zoo Tycoon 2 as a kid! To the point where I even 'borrowed' money from my parents without asking so I could buy the Marine Expansion when it came out because I go so overexcited...ah childhood shame haha. A very nostalgic video, I immediately bookmarked the Complete Edition on CEX for the future after watching this, thank you for bringing back so many memories!

[@bunneehra]

This video brought me soooo much joy. I still recall that Christmas Eve when I received ZT2 and left all the boring adults downstairs to sneak up to the computer and install it. Thank your for your video and such a sweet nostalgic moment!

[@Franklli]

I hope I wasn't the only one who blocked the entrance and basically made a nature reserve. God, I'm so glad young me begged for the ultimate collection in Walmart(or sam's, I can't remember)

[@cassius5692]

I had a similar experience with Planet Zoo. Zoo Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon 2 were defining parts of my childhood but I've always longed for a modern version that took advantage of new technology to offer the things ZT2 lacked, like exhibits inside true buildings, more advanced graphics, and more customization overall. I was hyped to see Planet Zoo announced. I followed it closely from the start, pre-ordered the deluxe version, purchased every expansion, and yet I've struggled to play it for any extended length of time even though I could play ZT1 & ZT2 for hours on end. Really, I probably put more hours into ZT2 than any other game in my life, but much of that time was spent admiring my zoo and interacting with it. Something I feel like I can't really do in Planet Zoo because it takes SO much time just to get past the building phase if I want the zoo to look nice. I did want more freedom to build the zoo I imagined but I feel like PZ almost overdid that freedom at the expense of the rest of what made ZT1 & ZT2 fun. I remember the thing that really made ZT2 seem so special to me in comparison to ZT1 was the animal interaction. There wasn't a lot of it, just the show mini-games and the press space to wash/feed/etc. but it brought you further into the animal management element and that's the part that my animal obsessed childhood (and adult) self loves the most. Planet Zoo doesn't focus on the animals and honestly I think that's why it doesn't keep my focus. I really wish there was a more balanced version, simpler but modern building mechanics paired with more focus on animal care. There have been a few other zoo games released recently and there are a few more on the way. I have yet to find one that scratches the same itch ZT2 did but I'll be keeping an eye out in hopes that changes sometime soon. Also imo one thing ZT2 did really well was the expansions. I can't say I'm surprised Planet Zoo has gone the route of Planet Coaster, releasing tons of expensive but sparse expansions, but I can say I'm disappointed. I think most devs could learn a thing or two about doing DLC right by looking at ZT2 and the amount of new content that came with each new expansion.

[@thecat7803]

Oh wow, I did have the first one. I also had a hard time getting into Planet Zoo just because of how complex the systems were.

[@sarapocorn]

This video just awakened so many memories. Thank you. I played Zoo Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon 2 for so many hours as a kid and still do now - at 28 with a Master‘s in Biology. Which I probably also got due to these games.

[@Raptorsified]

What broke planet zoo for me was when i realized the animals are just decorations. In zoo tycoon 2 your animals were actually animals with behavior and a food hierarchy. In planet zoo they are just costumes that play idle animations. I'm much more into the animal aspect than the building aspect so it was an easy decision to make. You can't make an ecosystem in planet zoo but you can in ZT2.

[@nublarrex5690]

The modding community is one of the most amazing things about this game

[@Ecotasia]

It was sad to see it decline, but everything has to end at some time I guess. I would love to see a video detailing the rise and fall of the modding community.

[@nublarrex5690]

@@Ecotasia same

[@retime5929]

This game does mean a lot to me. I remember being under restrictions just to play it while young. And every chance I got, I got on Zoo Tycoon 2, customized my zoos through sandbox mode to help with my curious and creative side. I always explored the possibilities of setting up a type of feel for the animals and the guests for the zoos. When night fell, I remember how the lights all around the zoo lights up perfectly. I remember looking beyond the zoo limits, just watching as birds fly in the distance, and forests on a hill as the sun sets. The loading screen was just pure bliss. I remember one that had an orangutan looking out at the Zoo entrance in the distance, with the sun over head. I tired to recreate that in the zoo. I tried, searching for that particular screen every load. But never saw it again. The videos were definitely pure quality content as well. Zoo Tycoon 2 will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for this video bring light on these memories.

[@AnimalManA]

thank you for sharing this it really warms my heart. It's all those little things, ya know?

[@retime5929]

@@AnimalManA Thank you, I would gladly return to those days

[@lonelyastronauts440]

It's so good to see someone who has an equal amount of love and nostalgia for the Zoo Tycoon games. While I do absolutely love Planet Zoo, nothing hits me right in the childhood like the Zoo Tycoon games do.

[@aquadragondavanin6745]

man it really puts into perspective how a system can affect a game, i had zoo tycoon 2....on the ds. and i loved it! i apparently loved it so much i somehow ended up with two copies! but wow does it look more impressive on pc. this was a really good video man! good stuff. B)

[@citylights1173]

Every couple of years I'll go on a journey through KZbin to see if anyone has played recently, or just to visit some of those old mini movies. It's great to know that this game meant to much to so many people. Really love the video. I remember finding some sort of blog website way back when through the launcher, outfitted as a kind of script. I believe the main characters were mice? I haven't been able to find it since.

[@Ecotasia]

Yes, Zeek and Zoe the moce that show up on the cover art for some reason.

[@Edino-tr6ni]

When you started talking about the old zoo tycoon 2 videos people used to make I was reminded of my favorite one of those as a kid, the zooevil series by meerkatmatt2. It was essentially a remake of the tv show primeval but in zt2 with most episodes revolving around a time portal opening and some prehistoric animal coming out and then the main character would capture them and try to send them back through the portal or they would keep them in some secret facility. I was pleasantly surprised to find all the videos of the series still exist and someone even compiled them into a playlist which was nice to see.

[@SlavYuriy]

God fucking damn it I started crying when you reminisced about the loading screens. Something weird hit me at that moment.

[@Casapillar]

I'm glad someone discussed the KZbin Zoo Tycoon 2 scene. It always felt like a well-kept secret on the website and I've never found anyone than remembers it

[@jonwoodhouse1444]

2:52 "I wasn't the terrorist type in zoo tycoon..." That makes one of us...

[@thelastmikester]

Damn, here comes the nostalgia train, womp. Loved Zoo Tycoon 2, was the first game that I ever played on PC, absolute classic

[@moodchanger3470]

old zoo tycoon and roller coaster tycoon were the best. i had the zoo one with the dinosaurs and the marine animals too. i miss it

[@jojo-oi7up]

as a kid who loved zoo tycoon 2 and other tycoon/city-builder games, planet zoo is a really refreshing game for me. its the game ive always wanted since zoo tycoon 2 so it still has me reminiscing about the days when i played and loved zoo tycoon 2

[@RainblazeMedcat]

Omg I love this, I have the same nostolgic feeling towards zoo tycoon 2! My favorite thing to do was to cage off the front entrance to keep people from coming in, and making the entire park area one select biome and letting all the animals run wild. Of course I loved playing through the campaign but nothing was better than going first person and walking around my park visiting with all of my animals. I'm pretty new to planet zoo but I found myself comparing the menu system to ZT2 almost instantly and wishing it was simpler.

[@joshuaholke]

This might seem like a small thing, but I absolutely LOVE how you consider Sandbox mode the "only option that really exists." Despite what most online forums for the game seemed to tell me, that was exactly how I treated the game, and really any game that had a sandbox option. I practically couldn't care less about campaigns and challenge modes, I just want to let my creativity run free, no limits - just let me do whatever I want. ZT2 excelled at that, and Planet Zoo truly does bring it all to the next level. I played it for several months, but eventually dropped it more because of my lost interest in gaming in general than for my nostalgia of ZT2. Still, I totally get your position - that game is a major source of nostalgia for me, and I loved watching this video as a trip down memory lane.

[@AnimalManA]

I was somewhat worried people would be upset I didn’t do much challenge mode, but I honestly spent 98% of my time in creative mode. Glad to see I’m not alone!

[@woazl]

when i was little i distinctly remember a video of someone putting a ton of underwater dinosaur things into a big pool of water and i cant find it again. this video was the cause of me to think of that from over probably 7 years ago. i thank you for bringing me back to my childhood.

[@jonnavdpas]

Making the extinct animals via the minigame would always save me SO much money.

[@yogibo8081]

Man, my buddy and I used to watch Stalker2k7 videos. This is a hella trip back. Thanks for the upload man

[@hannagonzales10]

I seriously teared up at the end, I’m so happy to have stumbled across this video. This game truly means so much to me and it’s so great to see it’s still appreciated after all these years. Thanks for a lovely trip down memory lane!

[@AnimalManA]

Aw, thank you so much for watching!

[@JeffGavinMusic]

Ok but that Skate Park Tycoon reference 😩🥺 Took me back! I played the hell out of Zoo Tycoon 2 ❤️

[@andrewrivera4046]

22:23 The Prehistoric Park skit was my favorite. Traveling back in time and capturing extinct animals.

[@vaehtay]

Happy to say that I’ve seen all three of the animals that you called out as niche

[@caruusel]

As a sad and kinda traumatized child and teen zoo tycoon and later zoo tycoon 2 were my escapism. I've spent so many hours in these games, making what I thought were the most incredible zoos out there. I haven't played most of the add ons but I so distinctly remember the killer penguin, because I placed him with other animals and he killed them. I remember how I struggled with some of the challenges in the game and how proud I felt for beating them in the end. I remember the animal abuse zoos you had to reform and how that sparked the love for games where you clean up/rebuild things. I haven't played this game in years since I don't have a functioning PC rn but it will always be extremely special to me.

[@addiewatson5372]

Man. Zoo tycoon and Zoo Tycoon 2 were the games that got me into tycoon games. I would spend hours at time making zoos, downloading animals, and just walking around in zoo keeper mode. Makes me wish I still had my copies of the game.

[@starscream548]

I absolutely loved this game as a kid thank you for bringing back all the memories. I remember I could never get a functional zoo to work no matter how hard I tired lol

[@d0cf0x4]

Modding this game is what got me interested in computers in the first place. I'm just happy to see people still using my mods even 10 even 20 years later.

[@DuchessGummybuns]

zt2 (and the og zt to an extent) was such a HUGE part of my childhood lmao. i used to watch the hell out of those old short films way back in the day. didnt know about mods until a bit later so i always wondered how they "unlocked" zombies and "aliens" and the like lol. i'm over the moon that zt lives on thru spiritual successors like planet zoo but there will always be something so distinct and special about zt2 and the community in its heyday. this was a really neat trip back in time my guy

[@xldxld]

This is actually still the best Zoo game ever in existence.

[@GilangPutra-jx5ho]

i really miss zoo tycoon 2, so i tried to watch it on youtube right now, and this video almost make me cry, thank you for it

[@shaulin3000]

I just downloaded this classic again recently... Man, I was playing this all day when I was a kid. This video is amazing! 😢 well made!

[@notsaying3745]

Marine mania: nothing like it before it 2001 original zoo tycoon marina mania expansion pack: am I a joke?

[@finncedar7388]

“why would you find the fossils when you could just place them down” says the man who only ever played sandbox mode

[@AnimalManA]

This is very fair XD

[@finncedar7388]

@@AnimalManA anyway aside from that, thought this video was great and really captures a lot of what made zoo tycoon special. i enjoy planet zoo for sure, but there’s something about the simplicity of the first 2 games that i really love

[@tr1pl3thr333]

My favorite feature (bug????) of ZT2 was that you could have your keepers replenish the corpses of your dead animals. I had a beaver in the same habitat as a croc, the croc ate the beaver, and my keepers would replenish the beaver carcass at breakfast every morning. Great game.

[@lobalobana]

I remember and miss this game so much, and not being able to understand english when i found about it i used to spend my time just watching people make cool exhibits without commentary, and i remember when i got to pirate the game (because god forbid buy something in this country, haha) and just spend time watching the animals and have fund creating very big enclosures, and how much i loved the marine expansion pack, even if i was awfull at making enclosures for it, anyways, great video and thanks for the memories

[@netele]

this game was my crack. this was the one I'd stay up until 5 in the morning during the summer playing on the family desktop as quietly as I possibly could to avoid waking up my parents. I never had the full expansion pass, but I did install the demo versions so I got a taste of them all. I wholeheartedly agree with you on the loading screens, my god did that unlock a memory in me. there's one in particular I can recall, I think it's an image overlooking the sunset or something like that, possibly in a safari biome with the zoo's archway in the backdrop? what I wouldn't give to feel like that about a game again. how proud I was to show my dad all the progress I'd make and how incredibly bored he must've been while feigning interest. I remember he helped me plan out a hippo exhibit once, and I never demolished it throughout the expansion of that particular zoo. I remember I'd try to keep him updated on their progress... that poor man. so many exhibits and zoos I remember making... monkey mountain, an entire alpine zoo where I let ibex and snow leopards live together, all the way to my first 5 star first challenge zoo where I unlocked pandas. I wonder how many hours I logged in total, I doubt anything else has ever come close. except maybe insaniquarium deluxe.

[@AnimalManA]

thank you so much for sharing this!

[@TheBigMeep11]

I had zoo tycoon 2 only on the DS so all of the stuff you PC players were apparently able to do this entire time is completely wild to me.

[@auttermobile]

i think i spent more hours in zoo tycoon 2 than i ever have in another game to this day. genuinely the nostalgia while watching this video was enough to make me tear up! i thought planet zoo was scuffed because i got it (or something like it) on the xbox a few years ago and it was really hard to figure out. but i just looked more into the pc game and holy crow, it looks amazing. aside from it not being as nostalgic, anyway. I instantly bought the bundle on steam (game and every expansion is for sale for 60 bucks rn). it's downloading right now. Thank you for posting this video! i might fall in love with zoo tycoon all over again, but we'll see what the new one has to offer. Cheers

[@AnimalManA]

Thank you for sharing, and happy zoo building!!

[@betabug64]

I remembered how everything I learned about how to play the game all came from KZbin videos. Very useful for when I later played the demo of the expansion packs Endangered Species & Marine Mania.

[@maewinter1531]

Okapi was one of my favorite animals in Zoo Tycoon 2. The zoo I went to as a child has always had some.

[@theglowfishpark]

It's so wild to see someone talk about the youtube zootycoon scene. I think i was around your age because i definitely remember that being an early part of my online experience. Also Zoo tycoon was the first game i ever tried to download mods for. I never actually got them to work but i wanted the floating grid mod SO badly after watching videos of people making zoos with it Also god Mysterious Island it's like you tapped into my deep brain waves

[@CJCroen1393]

My first ZT2 video I think was a cryptozoology themed one. All I remember was that the narrator marveled at how the dodos let him pet them and that I think the Kongamato (a sort of pterosaur-like bat creature) was a reskinned Protarchaeopteryx. I think.

[@cosmic_frost]

Me and my brother absolutely loved this game as children. We only had the main game without the DLC but we still played with it alot. I actually found the game and downloaded it onto my laptop and here I am experimenting with the DLC.

[@MinecraftAndChill]

Man I sunk so many hours into this. Thanks for the nostalgia trip!

[@KellyKnowlesArt]

omg i loved zoo tycoon! i played the original game as a "test the food chain murder-tycoon" but i chilled out by the time zoo tycoon 2 came out, this one was like a super relaxing landscaping simulator. i loved making islands, waterfalls, cliffs, filling it with pretty plants, and just walking around in first-person view ☺ PS i giggled when you mentioned putting a t-rex exhibit next to flamingos... some of my uhm, "experiments" in the original zoo tycoon concluded that they were the two most powerful animals in the game! (if you put every animal from every expansion in one enclosure, the only survivors were the T-rex and the lil flamingo that can outrun it. always got a kick out of that!)

[@MaskedFox-ln4vc]

I'm happy that people still remember Zoo Tycoon 2! I adored this game when I was young. Sometimes I would create safari just where lions and other predators eat zebras and so on, just to re-create their natural habitat. I had soft spot for all animal-centered games when I was young, some of them I will never find again, sadly.

[@thepsychobear2362]

Secretary birds are cool as fuck, man. They're like karate birds.

[@AnimalManA]

yeah but they HATE ME

[@thepsychobear2362]

@@AnimalManA If they really hated you, I don't think you'd still be here today. Pretty sure they'd send their sleeper agents to kick your head in.

[@chloestorm19946]

thank you for this vid, i agree w you wholeheartedly! zt2 is such a comfort game for me, i remember i only had the demo to play when i was a kid on our old windows xp family pc; now i've got all the expansions & hundreds of mods. also thank you for unlocking a core memory, aka the mystery island horror series. my brother and i watched it as kids and we were so goddamn scared lmao, i don't think we finished even the very first episode.

[@rigeltorres5754]

Man, I don’t know how I found this video, but I’m glad I did. I did stay until the end and the nostalgia just hit my body like a truck. I was a huge dinosaur fan, and the amount of hours I spent in the extinct animals expansion pack, not dlc, just came back to my head. Thank you youtube algorithm and thank you man!

[@AnimalManA]

thank you for watching :)

[@Colabrix]

Ohhh man, I always remember those horror stories of Zoo Tycoon 2, like, they were the only type of videos I watched back then, even when I didn't know English lmao. But jeez, it's just too nostalgic man...

[@lucasdeconninck1232]

I remember, I had an enclosure full of Ibexes, they reproduced like madness, the original couple grew to be an over a hundred individual herd! What was weird was that they didn't run out of space until getting close to 120! They were reproducing faster than I could get rid of them... I had to restart. Never Ibexes again! Also, do you know about Zeta Design? They are modders creating amazing stuff for the game. Namely construction packs improving the concept of aquarium/elevated path buildings. Their stuff is so cool. I even found an HD animal mod, improving the look of the basic animals, very cool too.

[@rafaelalodio5116]

Zoo Tycoon 2 and Spore are The games of my childhood, I played both so much.

[@creaturecola3208]

When you buy the delux copy of this game with every expansion, then a year later discover planet zoo. there ain't no going back lol

[@yunishot]

The zoo tycoon 2, Spore, Age of Empire/Age of Mythology 40000 IQ kids combo ❤️ Awesome video, I miss these times...

[@finnianheart]

when i was a kid i would make a killer penguin and sacrifice emperor penguins to it. and also release it on my guests

[@handoesvsynth_]

this was my first ever video game. i remember i first installed it onto my grandpa's laptop

[@fribbon7027]

I loved zoo tycoon 2 as a kid so much and it definitely brings back memories! I am very jealous of the people who can still enjoy it as much now as they did as a kid. Unfortunately I am mostly incapable of feeling nostalgic so seeing this game again made me feel nothing when I hoped it would

[@meganchambers8108]

Oh I LOVE the fossil game. I play on Challenge mode a lot and being able to get unlimited extinct animals without spending much money is a real plus.

[@AnimalManA]

True! I never played challenge mode but I can see how fossil hunting can help in that mode!

[@dchick14]

I love your mention of the old ZT2 community. I felt the same way and I used to make videos too! They’re still up too lol

[@alecmcgrathofcanada9175]

I was so happy when you brought up Stalker2k7. I couldn't remember his name, but I recognized the videos you put up on screen before you mentioned his name.

[@nesekaba]

I was so upset by the Zoo Tycoon slander at the beginning, but it was so fun joining you on your nostalgia ride. I never played the second one, but played so so so so much of the first.

[@AnimalManA]

To be fair I never gave the first game a real shot, so I might have to try sometime!

[@Azraleah]

I don't remember if it was Zoo Tycoon 2, but I used to dump the guests who complained too much for my liking into either my shark (for some reason, specifically hammerhead sharks) tanks or rex enclosures and would then remove/block the ways out and watch the guests get eaten while giggling hysterically at the animation. Good ol' days.

[@PITviper217]

I still have my Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection, unfortunately newer computers don’t have all that’s needed to run it correctly so I’m on the web trying to download fixes so I can play again bc, I do miss it. Yeah it didn’t have the drop down 3D exploration experience Zoo Tycoon 2 gave us, but it was fun. I also have all ZT2 games, and plan on seeing if they work after I download fixes since they have the same problem as the original game on newer Windows systems. But when you brought up the ZT KZbinrs and the skits they made that sent me down to nostalgia town lol I remember the zombie one too 🤣

[@NylonStrap]

I learned so much about foliage from this game.

[@UnlikeVarjak]

Played this everyday before and after school! Best moments I had in this game when I stayed up around 3am in the morning and reaching 5 stars which normally took me so long for my Zoo to get that high rating

[@bubblebird5791]

The ONLY leg up that I think zoo tycoon 1 has over zoo tycoon 2 is that if you put a mermaid statue under water, it would become a mermaid. It rocked my socks and left me putting as many things under water as I could in ZT2 lol :') There were unircorns too, but I completely forget how to get them LOOL. I just know that figuring that out as a kid solidified my views on the franchise as being extremely charming :)

[@patronsaintofprocrastination]

That mermaid detail was so cool, yeah! Also, you could unlock the Unicorn by naming an exhibit "Xanadu" ! ;) And also unlock a Triceratops by naming an exhibit "Cretaceous Corral" and a Deinosuchus by naming an exhibit "Super Croc". Those easter eggs were all so fun to discover.

[@FunnyHell]

Saame I was so happy to see planet Zoo happen. I got it and.. yeah no... there where just so much to learn.. but it is really beautiful.

[@pinklemonadez9079]

I didn't realize until you showed the loading screens, but this is probably one of the first video games I played and throughly enjoyed. I was 4. Now I kinda wanna play it again lol

[@friendlylisek]

I never played this game before and I still love it. Its so fun. Maybe its just a nostalgia for old games in general but the game is solid and fun. I get so overwhelmed with modern games and drop them fast. But old titles are just fun and relaxing. Not perfect, but sooo fun

[@vinniciusrosa8284]

I love how textures are drawn throught that time. Good old times of Directx and Opengl.

[@Dinoman71]

This game was my game as a kid. I remember my older siblings playing the first one and I got the second as a present later. They made up a song because I played it so much tooXD. I recently went back to this game not too long ago, and added some quality of life mods to it, and boy was it fun. The whole game is my childhood, I loved dinosaurs and this game only amplified it. I love creators like you showing how much you enjoyed this absolute unit of a game, because I loved it just the same. I can’t believe this game could be so nostalgic. I don’t have a way of playing it now, but soon I’m gonna get a disc player for my laptop or buy a computer so I can relive the memories this game and I made. Thank you for taking me back down those memories and sharing with your community. I know one more subscriber isn’t a whole lot, but just because you like ZT2, you earned it dude. Thank you!

[@AnimalManA]

Thank you for watching and sharing!