Little-Known ’90s Mascot Platformer ‘Aero The Acro-Bat’ Makes Surprise Return
It seems like we’re in an era where weird, often forgotten platform mascots are making a comeback. We say that because today, Ratalaika Games announced that “the bat is back!” No, it’s not. that thing bat – Aero is Acro-Bat. Circus Artist will make a grand return to Switch (and all other consoles) on August 2, 2024.
Originally developed by Iguana Entertainment (later Acclaim Studios Austin) and released on the SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1993, Aero the Acro-Bat sees the titular bat on an adventure to rescue his girlfriend Ariel. Edgar Ektor is trying to ruin the circus—and all entertainment as we know it—and it’s up to our acrobatic bat to stop his misdeeds. The game also came to the GBA in 2002.
This isn’t your typical platformer, as Aero is an acrobat. To complete each level, you’ll need to complete a number of actions and objectives to reveal a warp target and move on to the next level. There are four unique areas with five levels in each area, and if you score enough points in a level, you’ll unlock a bonus level where Aero dives into a pool. The bonus level varies depending on which version of the game you play—the Genesis version is a vertical level, while the SNES version uses Mode-7.
This is a modern re-release, with a few small extras that make the experience smoother for newcomers. Rewind, speed up, save states, and a cheat menu (so you have infinite health or lives, etc) are all standard, and there are screen filters and a photo gallery for Aero fans. Your patience has been rewarded!
This definitely wasn’t on our bingo list for a re-release, but we’re all for it! Even if we’re not the biggest fans of Aero the Acro-Bat, we certainly respect it. The game was ported to the Wii Virtual Console at the time, and we gave it a respectable 6/10:
