Having successfully saved the kidnapped princess Lala in his original Adventure, the rotund blue ball Lolo thought he'd earned himself a bit of a rest from solving mind-bending brainteasers. His vacation was short-lived, though, as the Great Devil of Eggerland quickly rose again, kidnapped the princess again, and set Lolo to the task of tracking him down through another labyrinthine maze of perplexing puzzle rooms... again. It's Adventures of Lolo 2, same as it was the first time around -- you just have to do it all again.
It's not an altogether bad thing that Adventures of Lolo 2 is so directly similar to the first game in its franchise, as fans of that original quest would likely love nothing more than a bonus pack of 50 more levels of the same puzzle-solving action. But it's worth noting right up front that this sequel offers little more than that. It's a straight continuation of the first game, using the same graphics, gameplay and style of level progression. It's like an Adventures of Lolo expansion pack, really.
The concept, for those who missed out the first time around, is that Lolo is an unassuming hero with few redeeming heroic qualities beyond his great IQ. He can only walk around, push objects and occasionally shoot out egg projectiles -- there are no other abilities in his arsenal. His task is to collect all of the Heart Framers in each room of the Great Devil's tower. If you do that, then a treasure chest opens up, revealing a jewel. Then, if you grab the jewel, the current room is cleared and you're able to move on to the next challenge.
The trick comes in trying to properly navigate each room's unique set of obstacles, as enemies, trees, blocks and waterways all appear and get in Lolo's way. You'll have to use your wits to strategize the proper placement of movable Emerald Framers in order to block off the line of sight of distance-attacking enemies, as well as use good old-fashioned running speed to dash away from danger on other occasions. The best and most intriguing of Lolo's levels may have you scratching your head for hours as you try to figure out the right way to go about grabbing every Heart without having Lolo get stuck, shot or squashed.
Adventures of Lolo 2 actually does end up being a little bit different than its predecessor... if you stick with it long enough. Though the majority of the game uses the same visual style and background music as Lolo 1, the final chapter of Lolo 2 takes place in a new location -- the Great Devil's floating castle in the sky. There the ambience shifts in a new direction, the puzzles are even more challenging, and you'll also get to face off in an actual boss fight against the Great Devil himself to end the adventure.
There's also an additional set of "professional" challenge stages, accessible by password. To go straight to them, enter "PROA", "PROB", "PROC" or "PROD" on the main menu's code word entry screen. And good luck, because you'll certainly need it there.