Even though it was a bit chilly outside, inside the DotEmu booth at PAX South 2020 the sun was out and the vibe of the 80’s was shining through in Windjammers 2. Before the re-release/reboot of the first game, I’ve vaguely remember the original Windjammers being on NeoGeo MVS arcade machines. The only reason that I remembered it now is thanks to the love and promotion that WWE superstar Austin Creed aka Xavier Woods of the New Day was giving it. Thanks to that huge signal boots and a renew interest in the game, it was enough to get a sequel made. Which brings us to our impressions when we went hands on with Windjammers 2 at PAX South 2020.
The very first thing that popped out at us was the new graphics. When DotEmu ported the first Windjammers back in 2017/2018, it retained the look and feel of the 90’s. Windjammers 2 still retains that 90’s feel, but now it looks even more over the top. Gone are the sprite work of the NeoGeo and in comes the comic style art, covered with that 90’s neon pastel glow. In fact one of the characters, H-Max kind of looks like a cross between Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.
As for gameplay, the devs have said multiple times that Windjammers/Windjammers 2 plays a lot like a fighting game. Now at first I really didn’t understand what they meant. I did see the first game being played in a lot of major fighting game tournaments last year, ranging from NorCal Regionals to EVO. When Cherrie and I got our hands on the game, I realized what they were talking about. In fighting games (at least in my basic understanding) positioning is key. Throwing out whiffs to make your opponent move, using footies to judge spacing, countering an attack, canceling a combo into a super- all of this is in Windjammers 2, just not in a traditional sense. You can stop your opponents volley by catching the disc or counter it with a strike of your own. You can create and judge distance by bouncing the disc on to the sides. You can even cancel a catch into a super. Again even though there are no traditional punches or kicks like in a regular fighting game, Windjammers 2 has the spirit and feel of it. I’ve said this many time, while I do enjoy fighting games I just play casually and have nowhere the skills that some higher level players have. Nor can I put it in terms where its much easier to understand. It’s one of those you have to see it, type of deals. And luckily you can, as the reps over at the booth gave us a demonstration, showing up how the game is played by those who understand the mechanics:
Final thoughts: Windjammers 2 is shaping up to be a fun sequel. The bright colors of the characters, the fast paced gameplay and the feel of a fighting game, all rolled into a fast paced package. I was really surprised at, for a cult classic, how vocal and numerous the community was. Here’s hoping for a solid launch sometime this year.
