Having never tried the original Death Jr., I was pleasantly surprised by how marvelous its successor could be. Following the exploits of Death Jr. and his sister Pandora, the duo team up to stop an even eviler … evil. An uncharacteristically lively adventure, Death Jr. 2: Root of Evil is a solid action platformer that is hampered by loopy level design and loose controls.

After reviving an evil that could only come from the realm of horticulture, Death Jr. and company  - a disgruntled, deformed, disgusting baby that floats in a vat, twin mad scientists, etc. – band together to defeat the spreading menace. Pandora is also in the gang, who isn’t only family but also the other playable character, answering Death Jr.’s scythe with a whip of her own.  The two face off in separate but similar campaigns, slinging off of hooks, balancing on beams, and smacking the denizens of an evil garden and corrupt world.

Their adventure will take them from decrepit forests to haunted malls, often with results that will both marvel and frustrate. Often the designers display an incredible knack for level design, with nooks, crannies, and hooks laid out in such a way that the game screams for speedruns. Then, just as you’re convinced that this is the undisputed king of handheld platformers, you run into an area so difficult to navigate that you question whether the previous brilliance was actual or just great in comparison to the dredge you’re currently wading through. The major problem is that both characters suffer from loose controls – they don’t stop when you want, jumping is touchy, and switching from a double jump to a grab move doesn’t always flow as it should. At times, this makes sense, because Death Jr. is a small fella and he wields a giant scythe; yeah, he’s not going to be able to stop on a dime. Even when taking into account Death Jr.’s stature and weapon, the levels still disappoint because some did just that and resulted in some marvelous areas; others did not, though they aren’t the majority, there is still a significant amount that fall flat. The areas that fail to take drift into account are often those with insta-kill elements around, like lava or acid, which results in some very frustrating sessions.

The enemy will also do its part to dampen your enjoyment. The horde mentality of the enemies isn’t too surprising, but they can be so overwhelming that the aforementioned danger zones end up being visited all too often. When enemies crowed around you so much that you can’t see where to go, it’s a problem. This isn’t controlled chaos like in a Dynasty Warriors title; this is a rushing of generic monsters – mind-controlled rats, robotic centipedes and spiders, and evil mushrooms - into rooms with a camera that does a poor job of compensating. Your weapons and moves will often be difficult to make effective use of because you either get pounced on during the setup animation or you just don’t know where to attack first.

As you dispatch your enemies, you accumulate orbs that regenerate health as well as currency to purchase new moves along with new weapons. You can max out your move list relatively quickly, with the result being some tedious endgame melees, but the weapons, which require that you also find the various component parts, can take a while to get your hands on and offer some visual treats. The game’s humor is pervasive throughout the title but is conveyed most successfully through the weapons, which include exploding hamsters and exploding rolls of toilet paper. This feature is actually implemented very well and helps to keep the player from being overwhelmed.