Sequal to 2020’s Super Jagger Bomb, Super Jagger Bomb 2: Go East is more of the same and that isn’t a good thing. The annoyances that marred the original return, making this low-cost download feel more like a disappointing expansion pack versus a whole new game.
Taking inspiration from Mighty Bomb Jack, Go East has players controlling a caped super hero on his quest to collect bombs before they explore. The entire game takes place in an awkward 2.5D perspective that makes it difficult to distinguish foreground from the distracting backgrounds. However, the backgrounds play into the gimmick; you are supposed to gather the bombs before the monument gets destroyed. Thing is, with such loose control, demanding challenge, and cheaply placed enemies, almost everything is stacked against the player to generate frustration instead of entertainment.
Navigating the single-screened stages are way harder than it looks thanks to the floaty controls. The gameplay demands near perfection but doesn’t give the players the appropriate tools to do so. Not only are the jumps/movement way too loose, the control scheme isn’t intuitive. For example, in order to jump through cracked floors above, the player must first tap up, down, hold, then jump in one fluid motion. Why can’t I just hold the jump button for more power? Or maybe just hold down on the analog stick for one extra second? The only thing worse than the frustrating controls are the repeating stage designs and enemies that always seem to bounce exactly in your way with each jump. There is an optional tutorial though, but it requires absolute perfection and speed to clear the final stages.
Oddly, there are dozens of stages but the player can only start on stage 01, 31, and 61 and nothing in between. Levels don’t really get more challenging as they increase either since the stage designs and enemy behaviors ultimately repeat. This means the player only has a few lives to try and reach that next checkpoint thirty stages away. Even if you are the most skilled Super Jagger player, this can take 20+ minutes of constant perfection to clear. Players that play well will receive higher ranks on the online leaderboard though, which is probably the best feature in this game.
The overall design concept of the game is sound – jump through a single-screened stage to gather all the bombs in order before time runs out – but the execution isn’t polished. If the controls were tightened and more intuitive, maybe include a 2-player co-op option, and this could have been an entertaining five-dollar romp. Instead, this sequel is sadly just as annoying as the original.
Not As Good As: Tecmo’s NES original
Not To Be Confused With: Jäger bombs
Wait For It: someone to make a real life version of Jagger’s helmet
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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RATING
OUR RATING - 4
4
SCORE
Super Jagger Bomb 2 is a disappointing follow up that doesn’t attempt to rectify any of the issues of the original.
Editor in Chief - been writing for mygamer,com for 20+ years. Gaming enthusiast. Hater of pants. Publisher of obscure gaming content on my YT channel.
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