Hammerin’ Harry 2 for NES doesn’t quite nail it
The Hammerin’ Harry/Daiku no Gen-San series continued from 1990 to the last game, Hammerin’ Hero, in 2009. However, only the first game was released in arcades. After the original Hammerin’ Harry, the series shifted entirely to home platforms.
Whether or not a game in the series would be released in the West, however, was another matter. In fact, only the arcade original and the aforementioned Hammerin’ Hero would reach North America, though two other titles would at least find their way to Europe. The second Famicom/NES title, 1993’s Daiku no Gen-san 2: Akage no Dan no Gyakushō was not one of them.
That is until Retro-Bit translated and reissued it. It was given to me as part of the Hammerin’ Harry Concrete Collection, which I was rather excited to try. I covered the first Hammerin’ Harry last week, so now it’s time to dive into the more elusive sequel.
Hammerin’ Harry 2: Dan the Red Strikes Back seems like a pretty straightforward sequel when you start out. You once again play as the eponymous carpenter, and his sprite, moveset, and even powerups are the same as they were in the first game. The first level even takes place at the Needless Markup Mall, which was under construction in the original game. However, it doesn’t stay all that reminiscent.
The story this time around is that the ti… the sub-titular Dan the Red is harassing Harry to try and get revenge, while Dr. Parallel seems to pull the strings in the background. Apparently, Harry’s girlfriend, Donna, has been abducted, but I don’t remember it coming up very much. I think she was in distress in the first game, as well, but that sort of just felt like a formality in mimicking the typical ‘80s protagonist motivation.
After going through some construction areas,
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