269. SuperLite 1500 Series: Lode Runner 2 (Presage Software, Playstation, 2000)

As I was leafing through my PS1 games, I notice another game in the Lode Runner franchise that went unnoticed when I was playing the other Lode Runner games I own earlier this year. What I did not anticipate was how hard of a time this game would give me, in more ways than one. 

Lode Runner 2 was released as part of Japanese publisher Success' SuperLite 1500 line of budget Playstation titles, many of which were rereleases of previously published games. And there were two other Lode Runner games published in Japan for the PS1: Lode Runner: The Legend Returns, as well a standalone expansion titled Lode Runner Extra. While The Legend Returns was published under the Superlite 1500 brand, whatever this Lode Runner 2 is, it does not have the same levels as Lode Runner Extra, though it has the same graphics/engine. 

That's a lot of words to explain that this is a very obscure game, which was a problem because although I thought I had a decent handle on Lode Runner mechanics, I couldn't manage to beat the first level of Lode Runner 2 after multiple tries, and I couldn't even find a walkthrough online. There aren't even any enemies in the first level, it's just you and the digging / ladder mechanics. Eventually I watched some harder levels from Lode Runner: The Legend Returns, and remembered you can destroy an adjacent tile when standing on a ladder, which gave me the push I needed to beat the first level.

The second level introduced enemies so it felt a little more Lode Runner, although instead of being little Bombermans the enemies are dark red blobs that violently kill you if you touch them (kind of cool). However,  the layout of the level was super tedious to collect all of the gold and there was a new locked door / key mechanic that I couldn't figure out, so after a handful of tries and not having much fun, I gave up on Lode Runner 2. One small thing I also had an issue with: some tiles that appear to be real, but are actually false and cause you to fall through them when stepped on. I'm not sure if this was intended or a glitch, but if it was intentional, that's a cruel mechanic to introduce to such a relatively honest game. This is definitely the worst Lode Runner game I own. It has the high difficulty of Championship Lode Runner, but none of the clever level designs.

2/5, the worst, most tedious Lode Runner game I've played