For the past decade, I’ve encountered a constant problem when revisiting classic Neo Geo games. It always starts with something exciting – usually an announcement that a game I loved as a kid is being ported to a new console. And it almost always ends in disappointment, with the memory of my experience outshining the game itself.
Before I get too far into that, let’s narrow down a few things. For one thing, this doesn’t apply to all Neo Geo games. A handful – generally those that rely heavily on animation, like the Metal Slug series and Garou: Sign of the Wolves – keep nice. Second, I still consider much of the system’s library to be one of the finest artistic achievements of the ’90s.
But going back to a decent chunk of the early Neo Geo lineup makes me realize just how much spectacle was a big part of the point back then. Now that we’re 20 — or in some cases 30 — bringing big characters to the big screen isn’t as impressive as it used to be. So I’ve been happy to see some of these games remastered or sequels updating their visuals in line with the direction SNK has taken King of Fighters 12 and 13rather than its current 3D approach.
With Windjammer 2, developer Dotemu scratches that itch. Use a sharp but simple art style similar to games Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, Windjammer 2 strikes a near-perfect balance of updating windjammer enough that it looks modern and still comes across as how I remember the 1994 original in my head. I think the characters and effects could use a little more detail, but this is a great template that I’d love to see applied to much of the early Neo Geo lineup.
It also helps that while Windjammer 2 is a sequel, it doesn’t change too much. The original game was very much a product of its time, packing fighting game mechanics into competitive play pongand that concept has earned him a cult following over the years. Windjammer 2 feels like a respectful extension of that concept – it has some new characters and traits, although in some ways it feels more like a remake than a sequel. I suppose one could argue that expectations for a mid-’90s sequel weren’t quite so high.
It all works in Windjammer 2in favor of because the result is a game that brings back the feel of the original game without any of the mid-90s baggage. Hopefully, with any luck, we’ll see the same treatment applied to other classic Neo Geo games.
