When I was a kid, I tried several different types of video games that I could get my hands on. One type that I played the most was platforms. Aero the Acrobat was a platform game that I played almost as much as the Mario games during the Super Nintendo era. This game was released not only for the Super Nintendo, but for the Sega Genesis and the Game Boy Advance as well. For this review, I’m looking at the Super Nintendo version.

Aero the Acrobat was developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft in 1993 for the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. In 2002, it got a Game Boy Advance release which was developed by Metro 3D.

Like many platform games from 90s, the game itself doesn’t give the player a clear understanding on what the story is by simply playing it. It’s one of those games where you have to read the manual to know the plot. Aero the Acrobat follows a bat name Aero, who is the star of a circus. It’s up to him to stop Edgar Ektor, an ex-circus clown who’s bent on revenge. Why is it up to Aero to stop Edgar? What’s the reason for Edgar’s revenge? Who’s the person or people that Edgar is taking his revenge on? Both the game and the manual don’t explain this. To be honest, you don’t need to know or understand the plot to enjoy this game.

Aero the Acrobat has four stages. Three out of the four stages has about four to five levels. The first two stages have two additional levels: a hidden level which you can only to get it by finding a certain item called the bonus item and a boss level. While several other perform games have you go from one side of a level to other to beat a level, this game has different objectives to beat each level while going from one side of the level to the other. For example, one level has you jump on a seven star platforms while another level has you ride a roller coaster. While each objective seems simple, each level has its challenges, and each one becomes harder from the previous level.

As for the music, I found it catchy. There are moments where I’m humming the songs while playing, and not once muted the game.

As much I like this game, there is a flaw. I found the controls to be loose. Because of this, I have dead a lot, and, to this day, haven’t beaten the game. I can see some people getting frustrated and turn this game away because of this. Despite this flaw, Aero the Acrobat is worth a try. Now some of you may be wondering about how I know how many levels and stages that this game has. It is very simply. The manual tells you.

So, if you are looking a challenging game, Aero the Acrobat may scratch the inch. At this moment, you can get this game under $20 on Amazon.