Windjammers 2 Review – A Fading Adrenaline Rush

Windjammers 2 is the sequel to the arcade classic. It offers more Windjammers. Outside of a sharp graphical facelift and some new competitors and arenas, don’t expect to find much to gnaw on after you’ve batted around the disc a few times. While the sport can be a joy to watch, the enjoyment fades after you’ve played a few times. 

Windjammers puts two players up against each other in a high-stakes frisbee game of air hockey. You shoot the disc at each other, attempting to nail it through the goal on your opponent’s side; you can also earn points if the disc touches the ground on their court, as in tennis. You will have to perform a wide range of ridiculous shots, such as ricocheting off walls or wrapping around the court in flames loop de loops. Windjammers 2 is easy to use, and I like using curved shots to trick my opponents so that they zig where it should be. 

Even though the interface is very simple, this game has an fighting-game quality of depth. Windjammers 2 is full of nuance and moves that are not easily explained by the tutorial. Committing pages of button commands to memory before starting a match is neither fun nor effective, and there’s no way to access the move list in the pause menu. After forgetting how to perform a helpful maneuver many times, I had to make a decision whether to stop the arcade ladder and refresh my memories or fly blind. The modern fighting game has made it easier to instruct and provide context about how and why moves should be performed. Windjammers 2 needs something similar because getting annihilated for matches and feeling like I didn’t have a great resource to turn to wore on me in the early goings.

There are both returning players and newcomers to the roster, with each having their own speed/strength and dedicated moves. Sammy Ho is my favorite, as he fires a Teleporting Disk that deorients opponents. Jao Raposa’s pure speed makes him an mobility machine. No matter what pairing of rivals is involved, matches can be balanced. However, taking on the CPU on arcade mode, which has a short time limit, can prove frustrating. Even when I had a clear opening in my mind, AI would often block my shots. That’s not entirely new for Windjammers, but at times I gave up on strategically lining up shots and resorted to serving any which way until I scored a lucky goal. Still, it’s hard to deny the fun, sweat-inducing intensity of a long back-and-forth volley and the triumph of tripping up your adversary for a score. 

The arenas aren’t vastly different from each other beyond the visuals, but a few sport notable gimmicks. I like the casino stage the most, which regularly changes a goal’s point value roulette-style, adding a devious layer of luck and unpredictability. I appreciate the vibrant ’90s-inspired presentation and upbeat soundtrack as well. 

Windjammers 2 can be enjoyable but is not a complete package. The basic arcade, online, and versus modes didn’t engage me for the long haul. It is also lacking in unlockable cosmetics, characters and rewards. Your only incentive is bragging rights or leaderboard dominance. It is better to have short, intense bouts of action against friends in localversus and strangers online. I respect this old-school approach as an older player, but I found it hard to stay motivated when all I could expect from winning a grueling round was a pat on the back and a “good job!”

Windjammers 2 remains a fun throwback and proves the sport’s unique spirit is alive, even though its thrill is fleeting. I’m happy to see it return; I just wish it gave me more reasons to step on its court more often.