Adventure Island II is the sequel to Adventure Island, although whereas the first Adventure Island was an adaptation of the Wonder Boy arcade game, this second title in the series is an original game in its own right and features a number of improvements over the first Adventure Island. Adventure Island II was developed by Now Production and first published by Hudson Soft in 1991.

You again play as Master Higgins, trying to rescue his girlfriend, Tina, who has been kidnapped by an evil witch doctor. To find her you’ve got to make your way through eight different islands by running, jumping and throwing weapons that you find hidden inside eggs.

This time you also have the help of four friendly dinosaurs who you can rescue and recruit to your services. These animal friends are summoned when the player finds playing card symbols hidden inside eggs. The Blue Camptosaurus attacks with its tail and can walk on ice without sliding; The Red Camptosaurus can breathe fire and walk over lava for a period of time; The Pteranodon can fly over obstacles and drop stones; and The Elasmosaurus is the only dinosaur that can make Master Higgins swim faster.

Adventure Island II has the addition of an inventory, which allows you to change between your dinosaur friends, and also shows you how many uses you have of each. There’s no checkpoint system this time; if you die mid-level then you have to re-start from the beginning of that level.

Adventure Island II was also ported to the Game Boy under the title of “Adventure Island“, which is a little confusing. This second Adventure Island game is a step in the right direction, though.

More: Adventure Island II on Wikipedia