The Fancy Pants Adventure: World 2 - Where the Series Began to Pick Up Steam

Developer: Brad Borne

Publisher: Armor Games

Format: PC (Browser/Flash)

Oh man, if this isn't something great. I have a deep affection for the Fancy Pants line of games, and this one is why. The original game was alright, but by no means groundbreaking. This one, however, was. It was like the first, but more polished and refined. It was confident and knew what it wanted to be, so it became what it wanted to be. Remember me saying something in my Raze 2 review about the second game in a flash series being where it picks up? This was the first example in my gaming career.

This game took it's predecessor's platforming and refined it. It's tight on the ground and has some fun momentum in the air. It's all about speed, curved loops and ramps, and getting squiggles! A notable addition is that enemies take two hits to be defeated. The first jump/slide stuns then temporarily and knocks them around, and the second knocks them around further but off the screen as well. It's interesting, as enemies you knocked onto different platforms can come out of no-where unexpectedly and bite you in the ass for not finishing them off. It's also frustrating, for the same reason. It can be annoying to be punished for not going out of your way to kill an enemy, but it's not too bad, I'll let it slide.

The levels have a good sense of squareness to them. What I mean by that is that each level doesn't feel like you're going mostly right or up. There is no predictable place as to where the level will end up. You move all around in each level, moving up, down, left, right, and through places you've already been before.

One thing I praise this game on consistently is how it gave a unique and characterized flavor to the franchise. It has it's own style of comedy, it's own style of narrative, it's own style of animation, and it's own style of music that all led to the soul that I come to expect from the series. It's a happy-go-lucky fun-fest where I get to blaze through levels and enemies, stopping only for the bonus stages and maybe a chance to get that cool color of pants that caught my eye. It's witty, funny, and enjoyable.

There is plenty of stuff other than the main levels. Within each level there are secret paths for more squiggles, secret doors that lead to bonus stages referencing other games, and even a mini game of golf you play across the whole level with a snail shell and a well-placed hole. The snail-golf is how you unlock different colors of pants, and can actually be a dang good challenge. Every little nook and cranny is fun to explore, which I feel makes exploration a bit more rewarding.

Aesthetically, this game is brilliant. It not only polishes the style from the original Fancy Pants, but also adds so many neat tidbits. Simple things like the idle animations for the Fancy Pants Man, or little (or not so little) signs in the background. There are even little scenarios going on with the spiders in the background that I find amusing. It's music is different for each level, as well as fitting for each level. It's snazzy and fun, definitely molding the style of music for the rest of the games.

The first game is what introduced me into the series, and this one is the one that drew me in and didn't let me go. It's rather short if you don't do all of the bonus stuff, but with it it not only adds playing time, but also a decent challenge. For those looking into a decent platformer, I'd highly suggest this one.

Play Fancy Pants 2 HERE

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