Adventures of Lolo 2 (NES, 1990)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-6.5 Control-7 Challenge-8 Story-6
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Some great puzzles
Good puzzles overall (strategic and memory-wise mostly, sometimes in execution as there are timing-based ones as well)
Some alternate solutions to puzzles
Pretty good length (54 levels including the optional pro rooms accessed via passwords)
Unlimited continues
Good art direction
Nice intro and other cutscenes
+/-
Password save (short)
Very sensitive control
Semi tile-based movement (half steps)
Resetting a level costs a life
Single screen levels only
1-player only
Can destroy enemy fireball shots (your ammo is generally very limited however)
-
Trial & error (the way the snake in a floor 7 level respawns in a different spot if a block is placed on its spawning point, expects you to have played the first game (very steep learning curve), water currents are invisible+you don't know how long an egg will last while floating, some mechanics such as trees not blocking shots or how egging doesn't work on the green enemies hopping around after you've touched them+can't pick up a heart/key by half touching it, the way you gain shots is inconsistent - some hearts contain shots and others don't and the ones containing shots aren't marked, new enemy descriptions could’ve been included at the start of levels to avoid some frustration, Lolo can move through a one-way tile if he enters it from the side in-between the tiles while a block can't be moved this way (blocks can't be made to change direction i lolo isn't touching them with his full body) - floor 7, the pink devils can't shoot you if you're moving past them at the same time as they're moving past you while in-between two tiles - hard to time)
It’s easy to accidentally push a block and there's no rewind (Catrap)
Uneven difficulty (spikes at 4-3 and 8-3 for example)
Button layout could've been better (one button used both to fire and for items while Start and B aren't used at all meaning you can't pause)
Only 1 in-game music track besides the boss track
Various puzzles only offer one problem to solve
Usually there's only one way to beat a level with some minor variations
Fairly repetitive
No difficulty options
Some tedious aspects (some of the waiting for things to move into place can get tedious, overly tight timing challenges in some levels)
Easy and simple final boss since you have unlimited ammo and can destroy his shots+there's only one pattern and no puzzle aspect to it
Recycled graphics, mechanics and enemies - no new ones
Slowdown in a few levels
No time counter or ranking system
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8 Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
+
Some great puzzles
Good puzzles overall (strategic and memory-wise mostly, sometimes in execution as there are timing-based ones as well)
Some alternate solutions to puzzles
Pretty good length (54 levels including the optional pro rooms accessed via passwords)
Unlimited continues
Good art direction
Nice intro and other cutscenes
+/-
Password save (short)
Very sensitive control
Semi tile-based movement (half steps)
Resetting a level costs a life
Single screen levels only
1-player only
Can destroy enemy fireball shots (your ammo is generally very limited however)
-
Trial & error (the way the snake in a floor 7 level respawns in a different spot if a block is placed on its spawning point, expects you to have played the first game (very steep learning curve), water currents are invisible+you don't know how long an egg will last while floating, some mechanics such as trees not blocking shots or how egging doesn't work on the green enemies hopping around after you've touched them+can't pick up a heart/key by half touching it, the way you gain shots is inconsistent - some hearts contain shots and others don't and the ones containing shots aren't marked, new enemy descriptions could’ve been included at the start of levels to avoid some frustration, Lolo can move through a one-way tile if he enters it from the side in-between the tiles while a block can't be moved this way (blocks can't be made to change direction i lolo isn't touching them with his full body) - floor 7, the pink devils can't shoot you if you're moving past them at the same time as they're moving past you while in-between two tiles - hard to time)
It’s easy to accidentally push a block and there's no rewind (Catrap)
Uneven difficulty (spikes at 4-3 and 8-3 for example)
Button layout could've been better (one button used both to fire and for items while Start and B aren't used at all meaning you can't pause)
Only 1 in-game music track besides the boss track
Various puzzles only offer one problem to solve
Usually there's only one way to beat a level with some minor variations
Fairly repetitive
No difficulty options
Some tedious aspects (some of the waiting for things to move into place can get tedious, overly tight timing challenges in some levels)
Easy and simple final boss since you have unlimited ammo and can destroy his shots+there's only one pattern and no puzzle aspect to it
Recycled graphics, mechanics and enemies - no new ones
Slowdown in a few levels
No time counter or ranking system