I know that sounds dicey for a platformer inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog but it somehow sticks the landing. Despite its cartoon energy, the story tackles some heavy topics, including the long-lasting fallout of colonialism and the erasure of indigenous cultures. Picking up several years after the first game, FP2 blends a mixture of anime tropes, western Saturday morning cartoon dialogue and voicework, and an interesting mix of Chinese and Philippine culture, myth and design. That’s all fixed here, and they’ve roped in some familiar anime talent, including Chris Sabat (Vegeta and Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z’s dub) who delivers a great performance as burly brawler Askal-a performance aided by some cheeky Dragon Ball-esque sound effects.Įven Freedom Planet 2’s setting feels heartfelt and rich. Freedom Planet could get wrapped up in itself, leaving cutscenes running overlong, and some of the cast clearly had better recording equipment than others. You can feel it in the writing and voice work, too. These are the kind of details that only come from a truly passionate development team. Every NPC has a distinct sprite animated as cleanly as any of the main cast, too. Between levels, there’s a world map to wander with multiple towns, packed with interesting characters that have new things to say after every major plot beat. Every level is visually and mechanically distinct, often with a shift in aesthetic around the mid-way point. It’s easy to see how this took seven years to create. Fast platforming, slow-cooked to perfection
While the vanilla experience is excellently tuned, you’re invited to tweak those dials if you feel the need. Or you can start each stage with powerups, bonus lives, or extra powers like health-leeching attacks. Want to race against the dev’s par times or clear stages with a single hit point? Do it. On top of difficulty settings and a range of accessibility options, there are unlockable items that can greatly reduce or increase difficulty in interesting ways. It’s liberating stuff, and missing a jump can easily be recovered from in style, making FP2 a very forgiving game It wants you to have fun on your own terms.
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