Windjammers 2 is here, and it features almost everything that was in the original game, but it also adds a whole bunch of new stuff on top of that. So I’m going to walk you through everything that’s included in Windjammers 2. If you want to compare this to the original, I did include a list in my broader article about the original Windjammers, which I wrote for our sister site Retrovolve.
Alright, so let’s dig in!
Characters
In the original game, there were six characters divided into three categories (Light, Medium, and Heavy). In Windjammers 2, there are now ten characters, and every one is unique, with a slightly different balance between speed and power. I’ll list them from fastest to most powerful.
Jao Raposa (Brazil)
Jao Raposa is the fastest character in the game, but also the weakest. He’s brand new for Windjammers 2.
Hiromi Mita (Japan)
Hiromi Mita returns from the original Windjammers. She’s balanced really far on the speed end of the scale, but she’s not quite as fast as Jao.
Steve Miller (U.K.)
Steve Miller is another returning character from the original game. Previously, he had the same stats as Hiromi, but now he’s slightly slower and slightly more powerful than her. Apparently, in the European version of the original Windjammers, Steve Miller was instead Beehoo Yoo from South Korea.
Sophie De Lys (France)
Sophie De Lys is brand new for Windjammers 2. She’s ever-so-slightly slower than Steve but a little bit more powerful.
Jordi Costa (Spain)
Jordi Costa was in the Medium category in the original Windjammers. He’s approaching a balance between speed and power, but he errs on the side of speed.
Sammy Ho (China)
Sammy Ho is a new character in Windjammers 2. He’s your all-rounder, striking the perfect balance between speed and power.
Loris Biaggi (Italy)
Loris Biaggi’s balance slightly favors power, but that stat balance is hardly discernable from Sammy Ho’s. He’s a returning character from the original game.
Gary Scott (U.S.A.)
Representing the good ol’ U.S. of A. is Gary Scott. We like our power here in the States, so Gary’s got loads of it. Gary is a classic character from the original Windjammers.
Hurricane Max (Canada)
And, just to show up their neighbors to the south, the Canadian Hurricane Max has more power than Gary. He’s new for Windjammers 2.
Klaus Wessel (Germany)
The most powerful character in the game is Klaus Wessel, who returns from the original Windjammers.
Maps
I guess it’s probably more accurate to call these “courses” than “maps,” but I have a nasty habit of referring to stages in video games as maps. So here we are.
Anyway, there are ten maps (or courses) in Windjammers 2. Five are returning maps from the original game, and there are five new ones in the mix. For some reason, Concrete just didn’t make the Windjammers 2 cut (I’m going to go out on a limb and say Concrete was probably nobody’s favorite map anyway).
Beach
The classic Beach map makes a return from the original Windjammers. This is a pretty standard course, with three-point goal segments in the corners and five-point sections in the middle, without any bumpers or gimmicks. The sand looks a lot nicer now, though I admit that I kind of miss the pixel art look of the original.
Lawn
Lawn was always my favorite map in the first game. There’s just something about the clean-cut grass with its mow lines and painted logo… This is mostly the same layout as Beach, but the painted goals (rather than the foam bumpers) make it a lot easier to discern where the yellow section ends and the red begins. And that’s important for maxing your score!
However, like Beach, I can’t help but feeling like I actually prefer the pixel art course over the updated version. It just feels cleaner somehow.
Tiled
Tiled is another map from the original game, only this one reverses the red and yellow segments. What I mean is that, unlike Beach, the corners are worth five points instead of three, with the center being worth three. The modern coat of paint really does this one some good, and I love how they even managed to add the Data East banner in the background.
Clay
This map, which returns from the original game, takes Beach’s goal layout (with the red segment in the center) and adds some bumpers in the middle of the course that allow you to set up some cool ricochet trick shots.
Stadium
And one last course from the original game…
Stadium looks absolutely great now, with the hardwood basketball-court-style flooring really standing out with the improved graphics quality. This course has a neat gimmick where the longer you go without scoring, the wider grows the red section of the opponent’s goal. This allows you to wait out your shots a bit to see if you have a chance at shooting at a really wide red stripe to get that five-point score.
Rooftop
Rooftop takes the red-in-the-corners goal layout and adds a couple bumpers. It sort of feels like a remix of Clay, but I really like how the goal markers look spray-painted on and slightly textured.
Junkyard
Junkyard is a new map that has bumpers like Clay and Rooftop, but these ones actually move if you hit them from the side with a disc. That adds a neat little tangle to matches here.
Ring
Ring is a no-frills, red-in-the-corners map that takes place in a wrestling ring.
Arena
Arena is definitely my least favorite of the new maps. It’s basically Ring, only with the bumper-style goal markers of Beach. I would definitely take Ring or Beach over Arena any day of the week. At least it’s not as drab and gloomy as Concrete…
Casino
Casino is probably my favorite of the new maps. This one features lights on the floor that are constantly blinking and making new patterns. Even cooler, though, is the core gimmick here, which bases your score on the number printed on the disc instead of the section of the goal you hit.
Minigames
In Arcade Mode, you’ll participate in minigames in between matches. Unfortunately, the bowling minigame doesn’t seem to have returned, but there is a new one in its place.
Disc Attack
Disc Attack is a brand new minigame that has a clay pigeon shooter chucking discs at you, which you need to intercept and smash into the ground.
Hot Dog Distance
Dog Distance from Windjammers returns, only it’s called Hot Dog Distance now. In this minigame, you toss a disc and then control a dog as it chases it. It’s a true classic, and it’s always fun to add dogs to video games!
