Ufouria: The Saga 2 review

We’ve reached the point in video games where it’s hard to be surprised that a game is getting a sequel. Some franchises lay dormant for a ridiculous amount of time only to jump into the spotlight again, like Toejam and Earl or Battletoads. Other games get sequels that you just wouldn’t expect to be made, like Deadly Premonition 2. Well there might be a new king of unexpected sequels, and that’s Ufouria: The Saga 2.

For those of you who aren’t up to speed on your obscure NES games, the original Ufouria game released in Japan and Europe at the start of the 90s. It was Sunsoft’s attempt to create a mascot that would be associated with them, their version of Mario or Sonic. They thought that having four adorable animal characters would be better than one, and so Ufouria was born. I’m not going to pretend I’m a veteran of this ancient series (or have even played the original) but it’s an interesting bit of gaming history to look back on now the sequel is here.

While relaxing in his bed, the adorable penguin in a blue hat Hebe is alarmed to see an alien object fall from the sky. It turns out it’s an actual flying saucer piloted by Utsujin, an alien trying to take over earth using gooey monsters called Bumyon. Ever the hero, Hebe decides to stop Utsujin and clear the world of goo using his Popoons (little creatures he can throw) and the power of his friends. It might sound a bit cutsie and twee, but the writing of Ufouria 2: The Saga is actually genuinely engaging with some fourth wall breaking and a whole host of amusing characters.

At first the gameplay of Ufouria: The Saga 2 feels fairly basic. The protagonist Hebe can move, jump and ground pound his way from A to B, and for the most part that’s all you need to get around the game’s early stages. Regular enemies usually just take a simple butt stomp to dispatch them and turn them into shiny coins, but Bumyon are immune to the power of the posterior. That’s where your Popoons come in, which can be thrown at any time from the little capsule you carry around. This set of skills is all you really need to make it through the first couple of levels, but to explore the further reaches of the world you’ll need to make a few friends to help you out.

The boss of the first stage is an adorable cat called O-Chan, and it turns out she’s one of your friends who has been infected by Bumyon. One boss fight later and she joins you, and is followed by two more buddies as you progress. Each new friend has an ability that helps you access new areas in the world, from being able to dive underwater to a floaty jump that can get you across big gaps.

You’ll also need these powers to reach extra currency and cans of pop, which are a crucial collectable that unlock new items you can buy at the vending machine. There are even more important abilities waiting to be purchased here, like the ability to crouch, break certain blocks, or spot hidden passages. This sort of makes Ufouria: The Saga 2 a Metroidvania, but with one big twist that makes it totally different to other games in the genre.

So in most Metroidvanias when you get a new power you’ll go back to a previous area so you can use it to check out secret passages you couldn’t reach. That’s not how it works in Ufouria: The Saga 2 though, because every time you go to an area it changes entirely. You’ll find different hidden passages, different enemies and even totally different layouts every time you enter a level, so the best way to ensure you come out with the most cash and pop for upgrades is to unlock as many new abilities as possible. This leads to a really compelling loop of improving your skills and unlocking new ones as you play the same stages and slowly branch out to new ones, and it makes Ufouria: The Saga 2 hard to put down.

If this awesome gameplay loop isn’t enough for you, Ufouria: The Saga 2 also happens to feature some of the most gorgeous and unique visuals I’ve seen in some time. Everything is made out of fuzzy felt or other real world textile materials except for the character portraits that are made out of iron beads for a pixel art style twist, and it makes the visuals feel so tactile. The animations have an almost stop-motion effect to them too, and as an overall package it’s just lovely. The soundtrack is incredible too, with some seriously wacky tracks that are sure to get stuck in your head.

There’s a lot to love about Ufouria: The Saga 2, but some people probably won’t appreciate the lack of challenge it presents. For the most part you’ll probably not die in this game, and boss fights feel especially trivial. To mitigate this there are some mandatory quests towards the end of the game that task you with taking no damage at all in a specific stage, which are jarringly difficult and pretty frustrating.

Ufouria: The Saga 2 is a delightful platformer with loads of interesting upgrades to unlock and a whole lot of charm. The constantly changing stages ensure that you never get bored when gathering coins and pop, and the visuals are outstanding. If you’re looking for a few hours of easy-going platforming then look no further, this revival of a 33 year old series is well worth playing in 2024.