Croc 2 (1999). Play online

Summary

Croc 2, the sequel to the original gobbo‑rescue platformer, feels like a love letter to late‑90s PlayStation adventures. I spend most of the playtime darting through four colorful Gobbo villages linked by an open hub, gathering gems to stock up at Swap Meet Pete’s stalls where heart‑potions, Gummi Saver jumps, and even a tiny wind‑up robot called the Clockwork Gobbo await. The levels get wild—go‑kart races, speedboat chases, hang‑glider glides, snowball roll‑outs, and even a hot‑air balloon segment keep the platforming fresh.

Hidden gems include 100 crystals per stage, multicolored crystal sets and jigsaw pieces; snagging every trophy unlocks a secret fifth world of remixed stages. For a change of pace, the “OmniPlay” mode splits Croc’s control between two players, turning the solo run into a quirky co‑op challenge. Though its graphics impressed critics, camera quirks and steep difficulty kept reviews mixed, yet a clever tie‑in with Nabisco’s Gummi Savers helped the game inch past half a million units sold in the U.S.

Storyline

Croc 2 picks up several months after Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. The Dantinis have resurrected Baron Dante, and an Inventor Gobbo is captured while witnessing the ritual. Back in Gobbo Valley, Croc finds a bottle with a message and a crocodile footprint; he shows it to King Rufus, who sends him to search distant Gobbo villages for help. A massive Gobbo see‑saw launches Croc onto the Mainland, where his reputation precedes him and each village greets him as an old friend.

Across the Mainland, each village has its own biome and culture, but Baron Dante’s minions constantly attack. Croc defeats the Dantinis and boss monsters, rescues Professor Gobbo in the Inca Village’s airplane showdown, and uses a portal to send the Baron back to his banished dimension.

The final act has Croc locating his long‑lost family on a remote island, gathering Jigsaw Pieces and Colored Crystals with the aid of Golden Gobbos, and retrieving three of Baron’s stolen egg‑pods in the Secret World to complete the game.