Aero the Acro-Bat

Lore & Background

Aero the Acro-Bat was created by David Siller, who first sketched the concept in 1992. Although early designs resembled a human acrobat, Siller always intended the character to be a bat. The final concept was designed by David's son Justin Siller, inspired by mixed themes from the 1970s and 1980s. The gameplay mechanics were partly based on Namco's Mappy series. Originally planned for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the game was moved to 16-bit consoles as that market emerged, and both the Super NES and Genesis versions were developed simultaneously in Orange County, California.

The plot follows Aero, the greatest star of The World of Amusement Circus and Funpark, after a spoiled rich kid named Edgar Ektor—banned from the park for a failed prank—returns 20 years later as a powerful industrialist. Aided by Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel and his Psycho Circus gang, Edgar sabotages the funpark and kidnaps all the performers, including Aero's girlfriend Aeriel. Aero must rescue them and stop Edgar's schemes.

After the sequels, David Siller left Iguana Entertainment; he did not join Universal Interactive, and Universal never owned the rights to Aero. The planned sequel "Aero the Acrobat 3D" was not a Universal project, and Crash Bandicoot was not a factor in Aero's cancellation. The rights to Aero remained with Sunsoft and later other entities; Siller did not buy back the rights. In 2002, Metro 3D released a Game Boy Advance version with a battery back-up, and in 2024 the Super NES version was re-released on multiple modern platforms.

Reader's Guide

Aero the Acro-Bat holds significance as a mascot platformer from the early 1990s that attempted to establish a new character for Sunsoft. While it received mixed critical reception—with Electronic Gaming Monthly scoring the Super NES version 8.3/10 and the Genesis version 7.6/10, and GameFan giving the Genesis version high marks ranging from 87 to 97—the game was recognized with EGM's Best New Character of 1993 award. Its legacy includes a sequel, Aero the Acro-Bat 2 (1994), and a spin-off, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel. The character's history reflects the competitive mascot-driven market of the era, as Universal Interactive ultimately chose Crash Bandicoot over Aero as their flagship character. The game's re-releases in 2010 on Wii Virtual Console and in 2024 on modern consoles demonstrate its enduring niche appeal. The Game Boy Advance version introduced a battery back-up and a mission objective feature not present in the original releases, and a new Japanese localization titled Aero: Acrobat Kid was made for the 2024 Nintendo Switch release.

Did You Know?

• Aero the Acro-Bat was originally planned for the Nintendo Entertainment System but was moved to 16-bit consoles as that market emerged.
• The Game Boy Advance version of the game was titled Aero The Acro-Bat - Rascal Rival Revenge in Europe; no Japanese release under the title 'Acrobat Kid' has been confirmed.
• Sunsoft planned to port the game to the Atari Jaguar in 1994, but this version was never released.
• David Siller intended to compile Aero the Acro-Bat 2 and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel into a Game Boy Advance collection called 'A-Z Force', but cancelled those plans.