Windjammers 2 Reviews
A stylish arcade throwback that delights while it lasts but has little to offer.
Dotemu delivers an exquisite extension of Data East's 1994 masterpiece.
Windjammers 2 is a tightly balanced, addictive game of combat air hockey that will have you screaming at your friends.
Dotemu has created a nostalgic slice of competitive sporting excellence with Windjammers 2. It might only offer a handful of modes, but its wide roster of characters, tight controls, and admirable dedication to what came before it meant I was entranced the moment I picked up a disc and hurled it into the air. This is one of the finest local multiplayer games in recent memory that is easy to learn yet devilishly hard to master. It’s also very sexy.
Windjammers 2 gives existing fans more of the wacky disc hockey they love but not much else.
Windjammers 2 offers fast-paced and intensely fun online and offline versus play, but there's little to keep your interest if you're flying solo.
Windjammers 2 is far from a revolutionary new take on the original game, but it's a great sequel and terrific arcade sports game in its own right, continuing to establish Dotemu as masters of the retro throwback scene.
Whether you're a newcomer or someone steeped in the history of the Neo Geo classic, Windjammers 2 is arcade action in simple and enthralling form, beckoning you in with a low skill barrier, dazzling art style, and an eclectic mix of characters.
With Windjammers 2, Dotemu has taken the fiendishly addictive core formula of the Neo Geo classic and improved upon it in every way. The core gameplay here remains as immediately endearing as ever whilst being enhanced and given a real strategic kick by a bevvy of new moves and skills that add to the fun without detracting from or overcomplicating proceedings. Yes, there's not much in the way of modes, and we've yet to see how online fares here, but this is another banger from Dotemu, an all-time classic improved upon, an arcade classic refined for a new generation.
Windjammers 2 brings out that superb, rowdy competitiveness that any game worth its salt needs, I cannot wait to see what DotEmu does next.
It has all the ingredients of the original game and updates them to present a more complete and spectacular experience. Still, we would have appreciated more content and a more balanced Arcade mode. The real fun is in the multiplayer.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
For what it’s worth, I enjoyed my time with Windjammers 2. It sucked me in for hours as I slaved over a hot arcade stick. The single-player is very challenging, but it can only hold up the overall product for so long. It’s also not as transcendental as something like Streets of Rage 4 was in its revival of an old formula. It is as it says on the box: a sequel. It might as well have come out in 1996 for all it adds.
An admirable refresh of a cult classic, with excellent presentation and thoughtfully implemented new mechanics, but it's held back by its reluctance to modernise in other areas.
Windjammers is back and Dotemu did a terrific job giving to this classic game a proper and stylish sequel. All the players who loved the original game will find a pure gameplay experience with a couple of interesting new twist. On the other hand, content wise the game will not please who is looking to a meaningful single player experience and the arcade leagcy of Windjammers will rely only on the multiplayer mode.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Windjammers 2 is here and it is fantastic. The game’s presentation is another highlight of Dotemu’s always incredible-looking catalogue of published titles and I love the blend of new and returning characters, courts, moves, and music. Mix this with a great online system and a versatile array of ways to play against humans or bots and it could end up being one of the most standout sports titles of the year.
With its special combos and metres, this frenetic and summery Air Hockey-style game has more in common with Street Fighter than with other sports games
Windjammers 2 is a really great game. There’s a nice community of players still going strong online and this game could be a great controller passing time for local play. Sure, the tutorial is a bit rough, but just playing and experimenting with the game allowed me to get better and have a fun time with it. Anyone who is into arcadey sports titles and to a lesser extent, fighting games should give this one a try.
Windjammers 2 is a great follow up to the original arcade classic and worth the wait. The major improvements to the overall aesthetic are fantastic and a testament to Dotemu's stellar work.
Windjammers 2 is the triumph of Dotemu's playability and dedication: the arcade spirit of the past lives again in a sequel that is philologically irreproachable and has a great personality. A very good result, that could be further improved with a greater emphasis on the single player aspect.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Windjammers 2 is an almost perfect revival of a classic 90s franchise. The sequel strikes an immaculate balance between new and old ideas, and presents the classic sports gameplay so vibrantly that it's hard not to be captivated by it all. There could, admittedly, be more meat on its bones – but it's online, with the gameplay's high skill ceiling, where the longevity will be found. We still want to spend a little more time testing this component, but our early impressions of the rollback netcode are positive to say the least.