This game is as good as I hoped it could be. I loved the first game, and this one is just as good if not better. Mechanically, the game is nearly identical. It has the same play-style so that fans of the first game will have a smooth transition into this one.
There are also some new features such as checkpoints, new pieces of equipment, and longer levels than the first game.
While these updated features make the game a bit easier for more casual players - the level design is brutally difficult, in some ways even harder than the first game, especially with some of the boss fights, which have sporadic moves that they do instead of following a specific pattern each time, making them more unpredictable.
I see some negative reviews for this game online, and I think it's mostly people going into this not knowing what to expect. This is a hard action platformer that is all about timing and memory. You have to know the enemies, how to defeat them, and you have to memorize the levels. There's lots of difficult platforming and slightly mistimed jump will have you falling to your death and having to restart at the last checkpoint.
As a fan of the first game, I appreciate this more nuanced level design, as I was worried this game might be too easy. It took me about 20 hours to beat this game (Best ending, A), and I have since gone back to get all the achievements and can now (through memory) beat the game pretty flawlessly.
For what this game is trying to accomplish, which is a throwback to the old arcade style platformers that were extremely difficult, it succeeds very well.
Oh, and this game has a bumping soundtrack, and some beautiful backdrops and setpieces in the levels.
My only minor gripe is that the game is kind of short and rather quite linear. I think a couple of different game modes or bonus levels could spice things up a bit.
