Aero the Acro-Bat 2 Walkthrought
Let’s cut to the chase: Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is one of those games where a short guided run beats bashing your head against locked gates a hundred times. On SNES, stages are built like modular rooms: elevators, cannons, and hidden passages link everything, and the exit is often chained behind a string of switches. Stick to safe lines, grab stars for a ranged poke, and watch for hidey-holes—the acrobat bat loves to reward sharp eyes.
Early stages: learning to open exits
The opening act keeps it honest: head right, but don’t bulldoze. Under the first wide platform is a “pocket” of goodies accessed through a tight slit; drop straight down the middle, then bounce back via the spring. Next, get the rhythm of moving platforms: your safe height is when the spikes sit below knee level—don’t jump at the crest of their cycle. The first lock opens by hitting two switches: one on the lower tier by the conveyor, the other up top, best reached with the left cannon (it rotates; launch when the barrel points to about 2 o’clock). Once both click, the red light at the exit goes dark.
In Act 2, any “incomplete” branch usually hides bonuses. Right after the checkpoint, check the left wall—one patch is darker and breaks in two hits; behind it is a 1UP and extra stars. Further on is a room of hanging platforms: don’t chain jumps; wait for the parallel row to slide down so the cycles sync and you can cruise through cleanly. The act ends with three switches: first the lower one by the gear carousel, then the right one by the lift (ride to the middle level, not the top), and only then the left one past the spike strip. Order matters: hit the left early and the upper grate closes—you’ll be forced into a long loop.
The first boss waits in a hall with two ledges on the sides. He enters from off-screen, arcs across, and briefly “opens” a core. Play the timing: land one crisp diagonal strike during the opening, then drop away immediately. When he lingers at the ceiling and “shakes” out tiny projectiles, stand on the far outer edge of a platform—the spray won’t reach. Save stars for when the core is open but the jump window is too tight. After the fourth hit he speeds up; don’t try to meet him head-on—wait for the return pass for safer hits.
Midgame: multi-tier rooms and color locks
Now the Sunsoft classic blossoms: puzzle rooms, colored doors, and micro-routes. Hunt for narrow ladder shafts into “in-between” rooms—switches hide there, and without them the main corridor doesn’t react. A handy flow: clear lower branches first, then middle, then upper. One fork features a “double” lever that moves a platform and a spiked drum. The safe pass is to slip through right after the click instead of waiting for the drum to vanish; the platform’s cycle runs longer than it looks and your timing will drift.
Mind the teleporter cannons: some change rooms as well as your angle. Check the aim: a barrel at 3 o’clock sends you to the upper-right segment, while 4 o’clock drops you into the lower-right, where a key lever for the next hall usually sits. If you end up “off-route,” ride the same cannon back—the loops are linked, so getting lost is hard, but the detour can still cost a life. Checkpoints are picky here: tag the flag only after you’ve opened the nearest lock, or you’ll respawn and trudge a long branch again.
Before boss two there’s a room full of junk and crumble tiles. Don’t wreck everything: one block is a “support.” Knock it out and the ceiling sags, cutting a corner—but you’ll lose the quick path back to the exit after the boss. It’s better to leave the support intact, snag the extra life up top (on a hanging platform past two springs), and descend the normal route.
Boss #2 is a machine with pendulum swipes. It runs two tempos: slow wide swings and a quick triple burst. The safe spot is under the hinge when the pendulum commits to a side. Simple pattern: after every third fast hit, the chassis lifts its hood for a short window. One strike, bounce out, breathe. Don’t get greedy—two hits per cycle is possible but too risky. If it hovers mid and “spits” a couple of shots, meet them with stars so you keep position for the next opening.
Closing in: wind, slick floors, and long switch chains
Before the lair you’ll hit a run of levels with vertical pipes and air streams. The rule is simple: jump short and often—don’t build speed on slippery ground. You can read streams by the animation: fine ripple means a light lift, big “arrows” signal a strong one. On a strong draft, don’t fight—let it carry you to the next ledge with a lever. Down below, under the right fan, there’s a hidden 1UP alcove—enter from the side ledge, and jump from a half-step or you’ll get blown back.
Rooms with long switch chains go smooth if you break them into pairs: left-low—right-high, then center-low—far-high. Check the indicators by the door—they tell you which color you’ve just toggled. If an indicator blinks twice, it’s a flip-flop lever, switching two doors at once. Any time you move forward, glance back to make sure you didn’t shut your return. In Aero the Acro-Bat II, these spots are deliberately built for “turnarounds”—time-savers for players who know.
The pre-boss corridor with spiked ceilings—don’t charge it. The center lift stops at three heights, and the middle one is fake safety: single spikes drop from above. Wait at the bottom mark for a “quiet” beat (a longer pause), then ride straight up and right. There’s a short bonus room there—worth a detour to top up stars before the fight.
The pre-final boss loves to pull you in and then shove you away. A low hum means pull; don’t fight it head-on—cut diagonally toward the far edge. After the push, he opens a lower section—strike straight up from beneath off a jump, or the ricochet can fling you into spikes. Phase two starts at half health: slow circular projectiles appear. Don’t waste stars on them—thread the lanes and save ammo for the final window when the boss starts closing up too fast.
Finale: locks in sequence and a two-tempo big bad
The last stretch is an endurance corridor: five rooms, no freebies. Crucial for Edgar Ektor’s domain: the lever up top left always affects the second room, not the current one—don’t backtrack for nothing. Room three has a “funnel” of one-way platforms—drop from above; there’s no return, so make sure the exit lights are already out. The checkpoint sits neatly before room four, but tag it only after the upper-right switch, or you’ll loop on partial progress.
The final boss goes in two phases. First, he spins side turrets and “mows” diagonal beams. Work from the soft corners: stay about a third in from the edge so you’ve got a step of space when a beam “hops.” You can hit the central module only when the turrets face outward in sync—that window is brief. Two or three clean strings and he sheds his shell. In phase two, the platform drops by sectors in 2–4–1–3 order clockwise. Stay calm: camp on sector two, wait for four to fall, hop to one and swing immediately—the boss hangs a bit lower here, so the window runs longer. Save your stars for the very end, when he snaps the core shut in half a frame; a couple of sharp tosses finish him safely.
If you slip—no biggie. Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is generous with checkpoints and passwords: jot them after tough rooms and jump back right where you stalled. The trick is watching switch order and not cutting off your own return paths. Do that and Aero 2 opens right up: clean routes, consistent boss windows, and tasty secrets for the road.