Obscure Video Games: Wai World 2

Not another mascot platformer!

Konami used to have a sense of humor. The long-defunct Parodius series is well-loved for being a wacky send-up of its hardcore shoot-’em-up Gradius. Even more obscure, however, are the Wai Wai games, which (outside of Konami Krazy Racers) never saw release in the West. According to Wikipedia, “wai wai” means “noisy, crowded area” in Japanese. I guess that’s a good way to describe this crazy mash-up of the Konami catalog.

The second game in the series, Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Jou released for the Famicom in 1988. The story is that a wizard has conquered Wai Wai World and resurrected a bunch of bad guys killed in other Konami games. Dr. Cinnamon (of TwinBee fame) has created you, a robot named Rickle, to take the wizard down. To help on your quest, Dr. Cinnamon has given you the power to transform into different Konami characters such as Simon Belmont, Ganbare Goemon, Bill Rizer (Contra) and Upa (the baby from Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa). While each of these characters has a corresponding level in the game, this doesn’t limit who you can be. You may find yourself playing Upa in Castlevania or Goemon in Contra.

While Wai Wai World 2 is mostly an action-platformer, it does mix things up a little every once in awhile. For example, one level has you flying TwinBee though what looks like the overworld map of an 8-bit JRPG. Another level has you doing sliding-tile puzzles while a timer counts down. You even get to choose your path through the game, so there’s no way to see everything without playing through a few times. It’s a pretty short game, so may actually want to do this.

I enjoyed my time in Wai Wai World, and I’d recommend you give it a chance. There’s a full fan translation patch available; and though it’s not really necessary, it is nice to know what’s going on. I’ll leave you with this video of the boss battle from the Castlevania (or is it Kid Dracula?) level, as it nicely sums up this noisy, crowded game.