Tom & Jerry Adventures 2: The Ultimate Lifeform is a 3D platformer released for the PS2, XBOX, Gamecube, GBA & PC in 2003 and released for the Wii & PSP in 2006, it is the second installment in the Tom & Jerry Adventures series.
Development[]
Development on a sequel began shortly after many employees of Up, Right, Left, Down Games joined SEGA following the company shutting down. Following the release of Sonic Adventure 2 in 2001, one of the developers of the original Tom & Jerry Adventures approached Takashi Iizuka about potentially allowing them to use Tom & Jerry in a re-telling of the original game. Iizuka was more than happy to allow them to use it and development quickly got underway. The game would be released in the Summer Of 2003 for all major platforms and re-released on Wii & PSP in Holiday 2006.
Plot Synopsis[]
While Tom & Jerry are chasing each other one day, the two are suddenly pulled into the world of Sonic The Hedgehog during the events of Adventure 2 via unknown means, but the duo are quickly given the mission to save Sonic and stop Eggman before it's too late.
Gameplay[]
Much like the previous installment, Tom & Jerry Adventures 2 is a 3D platformer (2D platformer if it's the GBA version) with light combat and puzzle solving elements, but there are sections where the player will be moving quickly throughout the levels, save for the levels based on the Knuckles/Rouge stages from the original game, each stage also has seven stamps to collect, which unlocks more content in the Extras Menu. Compared to the 8 worlds of the previous game, Tom & Jerry Adventures 2 instead has 4 areas the player must travel through in order to complete the game. Each area also has a few bosses, ranging from 1 to 3, with Area 2 having 4 and Area 4 having 5. Plus a secret fifth area upon 100% completion. In addition, the game now allows for two player co-op, with one player as Tom and the other as Jerry.
Area 1: Station Square[]
- Chopper Chase
- City Escape
- F-6t Big Foot (BOSS LEVEL)
- Mission Street
- Radical Highway
- Stinky Sewers Are Back Again!
- G.U.N's Most Wanted (BOSS LEVEL)
- Down At The Harbor
Area 2: Prison Island[]
- Sailing In Through The Back
- White Jungle
- Weapons Bed
- Dr. Eggman 1 (BOSS LEVEL)
- Security Hall
- R-1/A Flying Dog (BOSS LEVEL)
- Prison Lane
- B-3x Hot Shot (BOSS LEVEL)
- Metal Harbor
- Shadow The Hedgehog 1 (BOSS LEVEL)
- Green Forest
- Route 101
Area 3: Dry Desert[]
- Dry Lagoon
- Rouge The Bat 1 (BOSS LEVEL)
- Dangerous Dunes
- Hidden Base
- Pyramid Cave
- Death Chamber
- King Boom Boo (BOSS LEVEL)
- Egg Quarters
- Egg Golem (BOSS LEVEL)
- Up To Launch
- G.U.N HQ
Area 4: Space Colony Ark[]
- On The Approach
- Meteor Herd
- Rouge The Bat 2 (BOSS LEVEL)
- Eternal Engine
- Crazy Gadget
- Moongazing
- Desperate Movements
- Final Rush
- Shadow The Hedgehog 2 (BOSS LEVEL)
- Cosmic Wall
- Lost Colony
- Dr. Eggman 2 (BOSS LEVEL)
- Cannons Core
- The Biolizard (BOSS LEVEL)
- The Finalhazard (BOSS LEVEL)
Area ???[]
- Green Hill Zone (100% Completion Award)
2006 Re-Release[]
In December of 2006, Tom & Jerry Adventures 2 was released for the Wii & PSP under the title Tom & Jerry Adventures 2: Battle. The re-release featured some more quality of life improvements, included a brand new VS Mode for multiplayer with tons of mini games, every stage from Sonic Adventure and more.
Sonic Adventure Stages[]
In order to unlock the SA1 stages, the player must find secret exits within most of the levels, which can only be found upon beating the game. The stages are as follows:
- Emerald Coast (Found in Chopper Chase by going to the left right after crash landing in Central City and finding a portal)
- Windy Valley (Found in City Escape by falling down the pit after the snowboarding section and finding a portal)
- Casinopolis (Found in Radical Highway upon reaching the end of the level, go past the goal ring and find a cannon that will shoot you to it)
- Icecap (Found in White Jungle at the start of the level, go left and find a log, climb inside it and crawl until you find a portal)
- Twinkle Park (Found in Route 101 during the second lap, go to the right during the tunnel section and you'll come across a turn-off which will lead to a cannon that'll shoot you to it)
- Speed Highway (Compared to the rest of the bonus levels, this stage will automatically be played upon completing Twinkle Park)
- Red Mountain (Found in Dry Lagoon when the level begins, head over to the turtle and wait for it to submerge in the water, swim down and you'll find a current that will take you there)
- Sky Deck (Found in Egg Quarters after collecting the first key, after you collect the first key, head back to the room you spawned in and you'll find a portal that will take you there)
- Hot Shelter (Much like Speed Highway, this stage will automatically be played upon completing Sky Deck)
- Lost World (Found in Moongazing during the section inside the destroyed part of the moon, before heading to the section where the player must traverse the floating chunks, drop down instead of hitting the spring, you will find a portal shortly there after)
- Final Egg (Found in Cosmic Wall at the end of the level, upon reaching the end of the level, head past the goal ring and hit a button, this will open a portal and take you there)
Multiplayer Modes[]
Adventures 2: Battle features the multiplayer modes from the original Sonic Adventure 2, this time with additional characters outside of Tom, Jerry & the Sonic Cast. The characters are as follows:
- Spike Bulldog
- Butch Cat
- Mickey Mouse
- Donald Duck
- Bugs Bunny
- Daffy Duck
- Elmer Fudd
- SpongeBob Squarepants
- Patrick Star
- Squidward Tentacles
- Popeye
- Son Goku
- Vegeta
- Pac-Man
- Scooby-Doo
- Shaggy Rogers
- Homer Simpson
- Spider-Man
- Mega Man
- Stitch
In addition, Mario & Luigi are playable on Wii and Ratchet & Clank are playable on PSP. In addition to all of the multiplayer modes, the player can also partake in mini games in the Extras Menu either in Single Player or Multiplayer.
Hard Mode & 200% Ending[]
Tom & Jerry Adventures 2: Battle introduced a staple feature into the Tom & Jerry Adventures series, the first of which being Hard Mode. Which allows the player to play stages again but at a harder difficulty, with tougher enemies and harder events, such as the Truck Chase in City Escape having a faster truck. Battle also introduced the 200% Ending, which has a list on how to unlock it. In order to access the 200% Ending, the player must:
- Beat the game normally
- Achieve 100% completion
- Collect every stamp in the levels
- Beat every bonus level and collect every stamp in them
- Beat every level again in Hard Mode
Upon doing this, the player will be shown a red star on The Finalhazard's space on the World Map, upon entering the stage again, the player will be met with The Biolizard's Soul, providing a secret final boss. Upon beating The Biolizard's Soul, the player will be granted a bonus credits sequence to set up Tom & Jerry Adventures 3. After the credits roll, the player will be granted with 200% completion and a Boss Rush mode, this is not required to achieve 200% completion, but will grant the player a shiny gold star on their profile.
Reception[]
Both Tom & Jerry Adventures 2 and Adventures 2 Battle were received warmly by critics and fans alike. Praising it's fun gameplay and unique story, but was met with some criticism for basically being Sonic Adventure 2 but with Tom & Jerry there. The game would go on to be one of the best selling games on every console it was available on.
Legacy[]
Tom & Jerry Adventures 2: Battle would later be re-released on the Nintendo Switch in 2018 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the original release of the game. Adventures 2 would be followed up by Tom & Jerry Adventures 3: Pandemonium Personified in 2010 for all major platforms. The game would also be backwards compatible on XBOX 360 & PS3, while Adventures 2 Battle would be backwards compatible on Wii U & Vita and the GBA version would later be added to Nintendo Switch Online's GBA Expansion Pack.