Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue

He puts the BOOM in BOOMERANG!

NA release: 12th October 2004
EU release: 5th November 2004
JP release: N/A
Developer: Krome Studios
Publisher: EA Games
NGC Magazine Score: 64%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

Ty 2 reminded me of how rewards are dished out in games can massively change how they feel. At the end of the challenge in the original game, you got a shiny egg. When you complete a section in Ty 2, you get some of the game’s currency – so a number in the thousands will go up slightly. It’s just not as satisfying.

That’s not the only thing that’s changed in this sequel, the entire structure of the game is different. The first wore its inspiration out on its sleeve – it had Super Mario 64 style levels, with distinct levels containing multiple collectibles to find. Bush Rescue will give you four or five different tasks to complete across the game’s entire world and it’s up to you on which levels you want to tackle first.

Connecting the levels together is a series of roads making a fairly large but simple map. Here, you drive around between the different areas of the game. Once you get there, there’s typically a single challenge, like a linear level, before moving on. The only reasons to return are for finding optional extras or some driving challenges that have you drop something off near the entrance.

There’s one area later on that does feel much more like a fully fleshed lit level – Never Never Land. It’s an area with dinosaurs, which also gives it a distinct theme over the “outback” settings of everywhere else. There are multiple missions and challenges in this area and it’s a shame that the game couldn’t be more like this.

There’s also some vehicle sections, which are fairly monotonous but over quickly. The camera is fixed, so you often hit obstacles if you go fast due to not being able to see them. These levels are also the only times you’ll see loading screens within the game, as the rest of the game has “air lock” style doors and a few things to smash, as while the levels don’t have distinct themes, they do feel like a fully connected area.

But the thing that hasn’t changed is the core gameplay. Platforming still feels great, and the boomerangs are all wonderful to use, with this game also giving you more powerful versions of them all. When you do get to do platforming, it’s an absolute joy – it just feels like you’re spending less than half your time doing it.

The mechs are also fun to use, especially in the few puzzle-based levels, having to get in and out of them to progress, although I was not fond of the final level and final boss being a mech only level – you don’t get to use any of Ty’s move set to finish the game. It feels like the actual final level is missing as it feels more like just reaching the final area.

Outside of the main game is a kart game. You can play by finding the races on the map or by selecting the kart mode from the main menu. It supports up to four players and has a bunch of tracks to race on. It includes CPU opponents and items, and even grinding for shortcuts. It’s quite good.

While I didn’t enjoy it as much, it’s still nice that the developers tried something new with this instead of reiterating the game thing. It gives Bush Rescue more of its own identity, I just wish it focused more on the actual platforming.

Fun

Mario fans aren’t going to be impressed with any of this, which is the eternal problem with releasing this kind of game on a Nintendo console. But it’s a decent enough B-list platformer, and if you’re in the market for one of those you can add Ty 2 to the ever-lengthening list.
Martin Kitts, NGC Magazine #100

Remake or remaster?

This game has a decent remaster.

Official Ways to get the game

The remaster is available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch.