SonSon II

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That was the overall impression I had while playing this game. With tight controls and nice graphics, especially considering the year it was released, Son Son II has all the necessary elements of a worthy title. However, there is little going for it in the realm of innovation.

I'm afraid I can't tell you what Son Son II is about. It isn't that I don't want to tell you (well maybe I don't), but this particular version is in Japanese. As I've alluded to in the past, I no speaky Japanese. The game begins with a rag tag party of unlikely heroes standing in a row, all being of various animal persuasions. When you press start, a few of them disappear, and you invariably start as a monkey looking character with a long staff.

Here's where things start to take off, or rather, should take off. Your character's weapon has substantial range, and pressing the button for a long or short duration will determine the length of that attack. This is nice, as you can tear through several baddies at once.

Along the way you encounter an item selling maiden which hocks mysterious wares I never really knew the significance of. I had enough for the more expensive ones, so that must have been lucky for me, I guess.

As I said before, there really isn't anything bad about this game. Well, I'll retract that slightly. When your life meter drains to nothing, that's it; you do not have the option of continuing. Aside from that, there isn't much to criticize. That, in itself, was what I disliked about this one. Granted it is an early Turbo title, but it is so by the book you'll swear you've played it before ...when it was called Adventure Island. Even the Adventure Island series incorporated wacky things like skateboards and different weapons. If this one would have pushed the envelope slightly and tried to work in some unique feature, I definitely would have given a higher mark.

I would have to say it is worth at least checking out. If you own a Turbo machine it isn't like you're holding out for a new game, so what the hell are you waiting for!?