Aero the Acro-Bat
| Aero the Acro-Bat | |
|---|---|
 Genesis box art | |
| Developer(s) |
Iguana (GEN, SNES) Atomic Planet (GBA) |
| Publisher(s) |
Sunsoft (GEN, SNES) Metro 3D/Zoo Digital (GBA) |
| Designer(s) |
David Siller Nigel Cook |
| Composer(s) | Rick Fox |
| Platform(s) | Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Aero the Acro-Bat is a 1993 video game developed by Iguana Entertainment,[1] and published by Sunsoft. It was released for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Aero the Acro-Bat, a red anthropomorphic bat, was created by David Siller.
Plot
Aero the Acro-Bat works and lives in The World of Amusement Circus and Funpark. He must defend and save the circus from an evil industrialist and ex-clown called Edgar Ektor. Aero must also deal with Ektor's sidekick Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.
Gameplay
The levels are played in typical 2D platforming style. In order to clear them, the player must accomplish certain tasks so that the exit warp can be revealed. Those tasks include passing through hoops, stepping on platforms until they disappear, riding roller coasters, etc. There are 4 worlds with 5 levels in each one, and the levels are large, many of them containing awkwardly positioned spikes that kill instantly.[1]
Aero can attack enemies by shooting limited stars or by doing an aerial diagonal drill attack at his target (when he is in the air).[1]
Music
The soundtrack was composed by Rick Fox, credited as Fox Productions. The SNES version used the Aero title song as level 1-1, but the Genesis version used the Saber Dance song as level 1-1 instead (which it shares with level 2-2). The SNES version also featured a level intro song which the Genesis version lacks entirely. However, the Genesis version features some music that the SNES version lacks, such as the level 4-3 theme.
Reception
Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Genesis version a 7.6 out of 10. They criticized the absence of the exceptionally good music of the SNES version, but held it to still be an excellent game with its large, challenging levels.[2]
Aero the Acro-Bat was awarded Best New Character of 1993 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[3]
Four reviewers in GameFan gave the Genesis version 93, 97, 87, and 90.[4]
Legacy
During the 16-bit era, Sun Corporation of America used him as a mascot. In 2002, when Metro 3D released a version of the game for the Game Boy Advance, with a battery back-up (which the original versions lacked).[1] It was released in Japan as Acrobat Kid.
The SNES version of the game was released on the Wii's Virtual Console in the PAL region on July 23, 2010 and in North America on July 26, 2010. Its sequel, Aero the Acro-Bat 2, was released for the Virtual Console on September 20, 2010.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 "IGN's Review of Aero the Acrobat (GBA)". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- ↑ "Review Crew: Aero the Acro-Bat". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 54. Sendai Publishing. January 1994. p. 46.
- ↑ "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". 1994.
- ↑ https://archive.org/stream/GamefanVolume1Issue11/GamefanVolume1Issue11October1993#page/n9/mode/2up