Bug Too!

Bug Too! follows on from the first game and delivers improved, more elaborate platforming action on the Sega Saturn. The player once again returns to the role of the bug Bugg, though this time with the option to choose a different playable character, which brought slightly different abilities and perspectives on the individual levels. The level design is more intricate than in the first game, with more hidden paths, bonus rooms, and platforming puzzles that reward thorough exploration of each environment. The individual worlds are thematically more varied and add new types of enemies and obstacles, so the player must constantly adapt their playstyle to new situations.

Technically the game benefits from the experience gained while developing the first title — the environments look more colourful and detailed, character animations are smoother, and the camera follows the action better, even though it still works with a semi-restricted, corridor-like movement along set paths. The music and sound effects continue the stylised, slightly kitschy tone of the series, which makes Bug Too! a distinctive experience with a clearly recognisable atmosphere. More elaborate combat situations were also added, featuring bigger enemies and level guardians who require different tactics than regular opponents.

In contemporary reviews, the second game was usually rated as an improvement over its predecessor, thanks to more varied content and better pacing. The somewhat higher difficulty and the variety of tasks the player had to complete on each level were also praised. From today's perspective it's a game of interest mainly to collectors and Saturn fans rather than a title that defined the genre, but within the small group of Saturn platformers it ranks among the most technically accomplished and most playable. Bug Too! thus nicely illustrates how quickly developers on the console managed to improve, and how quickly the very grammar of 3D platformers evolved in the mid-1990s.

Why play: For collectors and Saturn fans who will appreciate the most technically accomplished and most playable entry from the small group of Saturn 3D platformers, while knowing the genre itself was rapidly maturing at the time.