It seems like we're in the age of weird, oft-forgotten platforming mascots making a return. We say that because today, Ratalaika Games announced that "the bat is back!" No, not that bat — Aero the Acro-Bat. The circus performer will be making his grand return on Switch (and all other consoles) on 2nd August 2024.
Originally developed by Iguana Entertainment (later Acclaim Studios Austin) and released on the SNES and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive in 1993, Aero the Acro-Bat stars the titular bat on an adventure to rescue his girlfriend Ariel. Edgar Ektor is trying to ruin the circus — and all amusements as we know it — and our acrobatic bat has to put a stop to his misdeeds. The game also came to GBA in 2002.
This isn't your typical platformer, given that Aero is an acrobat. To complete each stage, you need to complete a number of actions and objectives to reveal the warp goal and move onto the next level. There are four unique areas with five stages in each, and if you gain enough points in a level, you'll unlock a bonus stage which sees Aero diving into a pool. The bonus stage was different depending on what version of the game you played — the Genesis version is a vertical stage, whereas the SNES version utilises Mode-7.
This being a modern rerelease, there are a few little extras to help make the experience smoother for newcomers. Rewind, turbo, save states, and a cheat menu (to give yourself infinite health or lives, etc.) are all in as-standard, and there are screen filters and a gallery for you Aero fans out there. Your patience paid off!
This definitely wasn't on our bingo cards to get a rerelease, but we're all for it! Even if we're not the biggest fans of Aero the Acro-Bat, we certainly respect it. The game got ported to the Wii Virtual Console back in the day, and we gave the game a respectable 6/10:
Are you an Aero the Acro-Bat fan? Will you be picking this up on 2nd August? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 38
Should had just release a collection of all five games.
Or at the very least a remastered with HD graphics and qol features and extra contents would had been nice.
I absolutely loved this game on the SNES!
My friend and I rented it from blockbuster video just on a whim and I saved up and bought it after that. Loved the sequel as well!
I remember this!
I'd like to see The 'Noid get an update now too!
And to complete it, let's get ol' Spot from 7-up as well...
It's incredible the games they made back then!
I kinda remember this game. Only played it once (needed something to rent)...I will pick it up again and beat it. There were are LOT of mascot platformers in the '90's.
Strange that it's just the first game and not a collection with the sequel (plus the actually connected Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel).
Sorry but don't remember this character AT ALL
Played this maybe once back in the day. Can’t remember if I liked it.
Ok, ummmm…pretty mid games from that era, guess for preservation it’s great. 🤷🏼♂️
I don’t know if it’s a surprise to see a 90’s platformer..
I was literally watching a Genesis/Mega Drive "Best Of" compilation yesterday and snickered when this popped up. Thought to myself "So when are Aero and Boogerman coming to Switch??". Guess I know part of the answer now. :/ Now 7-UP needs to get off their butts and give me COOL SPOT!!!
This was one of the few platform mascots that didn’t have a pure dog poop game. This was actually a fun game.
Okay, this one is legitimately a mascot I've never heard of before... which is exactly why I'm even happier to see it coming to Switch so I can eventually give his first game a try - too bad that it isn't a collection as others have already mentioned, though!
Come on...this is not a forgotten mascot, nor obscure. I remember it!!!!
I remember playing both 1 and 2 on the Snes back in the day. They were good games, solid platformers with some different things to do. They were pretty hard, though. Yet, my memories of playing them are good. 7/10 for me.
I just don't get why they're releasing just the first one. I doubt they're expensive games to license, but who knows...
I remember the version released on GBA.
@AlanaHagues Is getting enough points for a bonus level something changed in this port?
Originally bonus levels were accessed by finding a Bonus icon hidden in the regular stages.
The original game had a cheat menu but it was VERY convoluted. You had to enter multiple cheat codes to enable a level skip, then another code to upgrade it to a level select, then ANOTHER to enable to add cheat options to the level select BUT you weren't able to enable the cheat settings for them. You had to enter ANOTHER code for EACH of them. I don't think the devs even officially released the code to allow the Infinite Lives setting to be changed. I believe it took some Internet madman digging into the game's code to uncover that!
@Lanmanna I remember that one having slippery controls.
It did however add a save feature.
The original had a notoriously unforgiving continue feature which was not only limited but also sent the player back to the FIRST stage in the current world.
Looks like a 90s platformer alright. Also looks like one of those platformers where you almost have to know a hazard is approaching before you can see it.
O_o Good for everyone hyped for this.
I remember seeing this mofo at the video store all the time when I was a kid, and always wanted to try it, but there was always something else I wanted a little bit more, so I never did (we were only allowed to rent one game at a time).
Rented this one as a kid and have fond memories of it! Even if the music scared me a bit haha
Sunsoft is Back
I have this on an Evercade cart, but haven't played it yet! I must address that. Also, I'm glad to see Cool Spot being mentioned! I had that on the Amiga, it's fantastic... full of character and charm! But I guess that licensing issues would mess that one up these days. ☹️
Ah cool, I actually played this game on the GBA a lot, and was considering getting the Evercade cartridge that comes with it.
I’ll get this instead!
This game was ridiculously hard and infair. I feel bad that the only way I could beat it is with these cheats 😂
@KingMike The points are new, it was in the original from what I remember (and some quick googling seems to confirm that)
As for the cheat menu, hopefully it's much easier to access this time around
It's a shame it's not a collection of all the games, but still game preservation of lesser known titles like this is still great .
I always want to like this game and have bought it multiple times, but it really is mid. The music is annoying in the controls are a bit stiff. I always end up selling it again. Agreed with those who say it should have been a collection as the second game is better.
Aero the Acrobat is obscure? It was one of the first games I owned on SNES. Such a fun game although I think I was pretty terrible at it. Let’s see how long that nostalgia trip lasts when I boot this up.
@Serpenterror Yeah, it feels cheap to only have ONE version of only ONE game.
@Serpenterror Don't forget both the SNES and Genesis versions of Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.
As a boy I felt like this franchise could've been a rival to Sonic the Hedgehog
@MirrorFate2 Do we have a price yet? It might very well BE cheap.
"No, not that bat"
(question: the "bat" mentioned in this part of this article)
I hope Sunsoft at some point will release Batman and the Looney Tunes games. But due to licensing I guess it’s a long shot.
Either make this 10 bucks max, or include Aero 2 and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.... otherwise it's a pass
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