If you’ve never heard of the original Ufouria, chances are you aren’t alone. The 1991 NES platformer skipped the US market, all because Sunsoft’s American wing feared that the peculiar characters wouldn’t hold much appeal. Alterations were even made to the European release, recasting characters – including the penguin protagonist Hebe. This long-time-coming sequel stays truer to the Japanese original, fully embracing the oddball cast and their peculiarities. Who knew a penguin, a blue haired girl in an orange cat costume, a baseball cap wearing ghost, and an overly cautious anglerfish would have such great chemistry?
After a UFO lands near Hebe’s home – literally a toilet and a bed positioned at the top of a tall tree – the plucky penguin discovers the surrounding woodlands and its inhabitants have become coated in ominous purple ooze. Thankfully, it can be easily cleansed with a throw of a Popoon – gormless spherical blobs that act as projectile weapons. Popoons will also stun regular enemies, ready to be butt bashed – Hebe’s signature move; one that causes no end of ailment to his poor behind.
To fend off the invasion and cleanse the lands, Hebe seeks to round-up his chums. This quest more-or-less forms Ufouria 2’s first half, which has a slight Metroidvania feel as each character has their own ability. Hebe can climb walls, O-Chan can swim, Jennifer illuminates dark areas, and the ghostly Sukezaemon can glide. To access new locations and explore them fully, you’ll need to switch between characters via the LB/RB buttons. Helping the enforce the emphasis on teamwork, resting characters will chime in via speech bubbles, in addition to doling bonus items periodically. Interactions between the curious quartet are fun, fuelled by cute animations and incidental music resembling a distorted version of the Rugrats’ theme tune.
Hebe’s home takes pride of place in the center of the map, with all four directions leading to platforming stages. The adventure is spread across rolling fields, icy caves, fiery volcanoes, treetops, and even a crow’s nest – with said birds fond of emptying their bowels on anyone brave/stupid enough to walk underneath. This is something of a running joke, incidentally, along with other examples of potty humour. The stages themselves are short, lasting just a couple of minutes, and the vast majority can be beaten without losing a life – of which three are granted. Enemies fail to pose much of a threat, with most seemingly glued to the spot, and platform jumping is as basic as can be. Of course, it also helps that the controls are responsive. Accidentally leaping into water without tagging in Jennfier is likely to cause more damage than any enemy encounter.
Hebe’s friends will only join his cause once their favourite items have been purchased from the vending machine handily located at the bottom of the Hebe’s house. These items are expensive, requiring a return visit to previously completed stages to gather coins. In a bid to curb repetition, stages are randomly generated. Or to be more exact, there are variants of each; you’ll notice some similarities. Every stage has a random bonus mission too. Defeating ten enemies or taking no damage bestows bonus coins while on the journey home – with a giant purple bird happy to ferry Hebe and friends from location to location. Later, they have their own fetch quest to fulfill, involving another jaunt through each stage to retrieve eggs.
Every stage has a boss to beat on the first visit too, including Hebe’s then-possessed chums. These are far from challenging, with most beatable on the first attempt due to their basic attack patterns. Most simply stroll from left to right or fly around the screen before slowly swooping. In fact, I don’t think I died once during a boss fight, the final confrontation included.
The structure changes during the game’s second half, putting a focus on returning to past locations to find alternate routes leading to new areas. Cut scenes occur well before your approach, preventing aimless wandering. The final four stages increase the difficulty a tad by making missions mandatory (two stages introduce a timer, while the remaining two have a ‘no hit’ restriction) but even so, it’s doubtful anyone will struggle here aside from younger gamers. There’s always a reminder of your current objective present, but these can be a little vague in places too. If in doubt, gather more coins and hidden cans and return to the vending machine, as you’ll probably find a new item in stock.
The whole shebang is nicely presented, even incorporating pixel art from the original in creative ways. Yoshi’s Crafted World is a reasonable comparison, due to the world being formed from construction paper and the main cast crafted from a felt-like fabric. It’s even possible to see loose fibers hanging from Hebe’s hat. The backdrops aren’t much to write about, with perhaps their randomised nature to blame, but on the few occasions when the camera zooms in you will get to see hidden intricate detail. The PS5 and Xbox Series versions run at 120fps, making for a silky-smooth experience, and especially on the Xbox Series it’s pleasing to see a platformer with such a vivid art style – with examples of Japan-developed platformers on Xbox being relatively few.
Indeed, it’s fair to assume the side-scrolling Kirby and Yoshi games provided the bulk of inspiration here. For better or worse, this includes their lax difficulty. Ufouria 2 is light-hearted, and its easy-going nature makes for a frustration free experience. If you prefer your platformers on the easier side, this will wholly entertain for the 5-6 hours it lasts. Aim to purchase everything from Hebe’s vending machine, and you can add another couple of hours to that total, with some fun late additions. Those who played the original Ufouria during the ‘90s may be left wishing for a stiffer challenge, although will likely appreciate the references crammed in too. It’s a faithful experience, despite the passing of thirty-odd years. Ufouria 2 may not be completely euphoric, but it’s certainly able to hit a few highs.
Sunsoft’s Ufouria: The Saga 2 is out Feb 29th on all formats.