Just as in the first game, you must set out through various Konami-themed environments, except this time, there is a slightly greater incentive to do so. Your goal is to try and save the lovely Princess Herb (a possible elderly transvestite?) from the clutches of the nasty wizard, Waruumon. Fail in your quest, and she will probably be forever locked away (in a sham marriage)! You don't want that. Nobody really wants that. Taking control of some happy-go-lucky scarlet robot hero named Rickle who, alongside some random Konami characters, must travel to the mystical Parsley Castle and rescue her from the sprigs of evil. Thankfully, you don't actually have to also rescue any Konami characters like last time. It was annoying to have to find a key in an already difficult level and then bring it to the caged being, and then get BACK to the beginning of the level. Somehow, all the characters managed to avoid being caged up a second time around. Unfortunately, the available selection is limited. That goofy Moai head and the ruffian from the Goonies games obviously had scheduling conflicts... Okay, so they just weren't called back. Don't worry, though: replacements are on the way! In addition to the irreplaceable cast of Goemon (the mystical ninja of gaming lore, once under the alias of Kid Ying), Simon Belmont (vampire killer and soufflé expert), and Fuuma (the slice'n'dicer from Getsufuu Maden), we can add Bill Rizer from the Contra series and Upa, an infantile mischief maker from the Japan-only Famicom Disk System game "Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa" who boasts a rattle as a weapon. Yeah, that's right. He's the unsung hero of Japan, and his blanky hangs off the left side (yeah, that's the crib side). Each character has their strengths and weaknesses, but ultimately, I enjoyed Goemon and Bill for their long-range attacks. The choice is yours to make. Before starting a new game, you get to choose from a team of 3 combined characters -- but there are only four team possibilities, so it's not exactly an opportunity to select your favourite characters (unless they are all available within one particular group). That's cruel.

This is the map! Okay, so that Moai guy snuck in the back way...

The game follows a primarily linear path, but with a couple of bends along the way. Occasionally, some odd Konami character will pop up on your army walkie-talkie and give you two options as to what the next stage will be, but both stages will lead to the same destination on your map. Stages (or "worlds" as they call them) vary in both atmosphere and gameplay style. There are typical platforming levels (including some annoying auto-scrolling ones right at the beginning -- I wish the screen moved faster than the speed of molten diarrhea), which was expected. But there are also space shooter levels (à la Gradius and Twinbee), a strange puzzle picture stage, and even a little bit of highway racing with dinky cars. You will get a thorough examination of all that Konami has to offer on the Famicom, all in one cartridge! Suupaa! The controls are very fair, as is typical of Konami fare. If you say jump, the game will ask, "How high?" And by collecting power-ups along the way, you will get the ability to transform into one of the three characters for a short while, blossoming with even more abilities to try out. You are limited by a timer, and if you get injured, the timer drops a few seconds. After your time is up, you shapeshift back to Rickle. There are plenty of opportunities to transform, though, so you won't feel too restricted.

The graphics are a step forward from the original Wai Wai World, and perhaps they are on par with what you could typically expect on the NES. They are of more light-hearted fare, bursting with brighter colours and more detailed backgrounds. A more humour-based vibe pretty much envelops this game with goofier bosses and more chipper sprites. The characters themselves are also more detailed (with even larger heads than before). Admittedly, the faces of each character has a tendency to look like that of another, but that's just a result of limited sprite changes; I'll accept that. Enemies are well-designed, too -- a far improvement over the prequel. The music is also upbeat as well, offering a healthy mix of original music and remixed versions of classic Konami game themes. Nothing beats that. Not even a big stick.