Oddworld Adventures II - Game Boy Color - Review

Recently I reviewed Oddworld Adventures for the Game Boy, and as a big fan of the Oddworld series I was left fairly underwhelmed.  Whilst I enjoyed the gameplay and puzzles I found the graphics, and longevity to be somewhat lacking. The Game Boy port of Abe’s Oddysee had been scaled back to one small section of the original game, and as a result I was left with a feeling that it could have been so much more. Thankfully, Abe’s adventures on the Game Boy didn’t end there and so now it’s time for me to turn my attention to the game’s sequel; Oddworld Adventures II. 

 Released in 1999 for the Game Boy Color, Oddworld Adventures II is a loose port of Abe’s Oddysee follow up; Abe’s Exoddus. Taking place directly after the events of the first game the story begins as Abe is visited by a premonition in which the spirits of his Mudokon ancestors plead with him for help. It seems the Glukkons are back up to their old tricks again and have begun enslaving yet more poor, Mudokon souls.  The slaves are being used to unknowingly dig up the bones of their own kin so that they can be used to make a highly addictive drink called Soul Storm Brew. And so once again Abe must set out to free his people and take revenge on the greedy Glukkons.

Although simplified, Oddworld Adventures II is certainly a lot more faithful to its origin than its predecessor was as it follows the same rough plot and locations seen in Abe’s Exoddus. Taking place over seven distinct areas, each containing several levels to tackle, the game is certainly a lot more generous too. The levels range from the cavernous Paramite and Scrab Vaults, to the cold, industrial environments of the Brewery and Slig Barracks. 

Abe controls fairly similarly this time around as he can still jump, climb, chant, roll, sneak, disarm mines and pull levers, just like in the first game. He also has a few new neat tricks up his loin cloth. This time round the ‘game speak’ has made its way to the handheld pretty much intact. Armed with this, Abe can interact with and command his fellow Mudokons to safety. Being a polite fellow Abe can attract attention by saying ‘hello’, and from there he can instruct the Mudokon, or Mudokons to accompany him by saying ‘follow me’, he can stop them in their tracks by asking them to ‘wait’ and if he needs a hand with something he can instruct them to ‘work’. Once he’s found a flock of birds, he can chant to create a portal for his companions to escape through. It should be noted that rescuing Mudokons is entirely optional as progressing through the game never requires it. It does however offer an additional challenge for those who want to try to rescue all 31 of the workers who are hidden throughout the stages of the game. 

Abe’s ability to possess enemies using his chant is much more utilised this time round too. There is a decent variety of enemies and creatures in the game and all of them can be controlled to solve the game’s puzzles. Sligs can be used to gun down enemies or pull levers. Flying Sligs can be used to throw grenades onto enemies, mines and security orbs. Paramites can be used climb webs, pull chains, and eat leaches. As you progress towards the end of the game even the Glukkons themselves can be controlled allowing Abe to exact some sweet, sweet revenge… The Sligs and Glukkons have their own ‘game speak’ vocabulary too, and this is used to deactivate barriers.

No Oddworld game would be complete without a healthy dose of fart humour and Oddworld Adventures II is thankfully no exception. It seems the Glukkon’s new brew has some nasty side effects and if Abe downs a bottle he can fart to create an impressive gas cloud. As everyone knows, the first thing to do after a fart like that is escape the scene of the crime, however in this case it’s absolutely essential as the guff will literally explode after a few seconds. Alternatively Abe can stand his ground and chant to possess the fart and move it around freely causing it to explode on a nearby enemy. Nice.

When played on a Game Boy Color, the backgrounds in the levels are packed with detail and much more in line with what you’d expect from an Oddworld game. Some of the environments have a slightly garish colour scheme but nevertheless it’s a remarkable improvement over the first title and it certainly adds a lot to the game. The characters are much improved this time round too with them being larger and more detailed. 

The game can also be played on an older Game Boy in monochrome however the graphics take a big hit, with most of the backgrounds being removed entirely. It only looks marginally better than the original title like this so I’d definitely recommend playing it on colour compatible Game Boy.

The sound in the game is very good with a nice selection of digitised voices on offer. I particularly enjoy hearing Abe’s mischievous chuckle as he sends a possessed enemy to an untimely fate. It all adds a tremendous sense of character to the game. It’s well utilised too. One of the most memorable moments in the game for me involved possessing a Glukkon near a lever. Glukkons being far too important to do menial tasks such as pulling levers have their arms tucked inside their long coats and so after a while of not being able to figure out what to do I suddenly thought what would a Glukkon do? Using the ‘game speak’ I shouted for help, and sure enough a lowly slig appeared to do the job for me! It was a really nice touch. 

Overall I had a great time with Oddworld Adventures II. The game is a huge improvement over the first title and rectifies all of the issues I had with it. The variety and creativity of the puzzles, the tight level design, impressive graphics and sound make this the Oddworld game to own for your Game Boy. It’s a title worthy of the series and shows just how capable Nintendo’s plucky handheld could be in the right hands. 

So if you like what you’ve heard, why not seek out a copy of Oddworld Adventures II for the Game Boy Color and take down the sinister Soul Storm Brewery and once again rescue the enslaved Mudokons from the evil, corporate Glukkons.