I told myself "oh man if this is just Jumping Flash 1 but better, it's a sure 4.5 star for me!"
Well... it's weird. More than anything, i consider this game to be just Jumping Flash+.

The levels are clearly different, larger and more challenging than the original but the overall structure of the game seems the same. Six worlds, Bonuses on the first levels per world, enclosed levels, conveyor belts and fans, you know, all the gimmicks from the 1st. The stage themes are really interesting too, moving from generic mario level theme stuff like Desert World, Water World, Space World... To a feudal japan themed world, another one set in a factory, another in a theme park, and such. All of which are trapped akin to ships in a bottle by some Kabuki Ballerina guy. Also, you are now rescuing the enemy of the first game and his helper floating pod things called Muu Muus, which is pretty wholesome.
Other than that there are also a few new powerups, bosses that are somewhat harder (although honestly none as good as Shadow Robbit from the 1st game) and a slew of extra levels and the super mode after beating the game, as well as collecting Medals which are basically the game's Achievements for doing certain stuff, although i felt some of these were a bit too easy to get.

Sooo yeah, it's Jumping Flash! 2 for sure. There are no flaws or negative changes worth taking stars away for but also no big improvements or new mechanics worth giving them either. The only thing that really made me consider giving it a slightly lower score was lacking the novelty factor of the 1994 original, but eh, i think this score is more fair. Now i wanna tackle 'Robbit Mon Dieu!'

Probably the most spectacularly pointless videogame sequel ever made.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was certainly not some sort of Wabisabi flawed masterpiece hidden gem. It was just an adequate 3D platformer working with the unfortunate limitations of trying to make a 3D platformer for PC, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation. Three platforms for which analog controllers were still pretty much a fetus of a thing. Something which i can't imagine most of the people complaining how the tank controls in the original ever keep in mind and probably just think that every dev team back then mastered 3D movement overnight after the release of Mario 64.

Croc 2, i have my reasons to have a lot less sympathy for. And it's not from a lack of nostalgia because i played it almost in conjunction with the first one as a kid. Launching in 1999, Croc 2 feels outdated than the original Croc was in 1997. In fact, it just feels like an inferior Banjo Kazooie clone at times.
All the "improvements" over the original here are just like a small drip feed of superficial things that were already standard for every other 3d platformer by then. Binoculars, mediocre racing sections and an item store don't make a platformer good on their own. You're still stuck with the same super short-range tail attack as your defense throughout the whole game, enemies still respawn after you kill them, the boss fights are still numb (the final one against Dante being basically a fucking escort mission) and the outside of the wholesome thing about Croc seing his family again, the story elements still doesn't have anything memorable, or interesting, or appealing to people above the age of 8. I might be having expectations way too high for what may or may not have always been meant to be a babby game, but what i'm basically saying is that Croc 1 was a game that was flawed but felt like it was made with soul, while Croc 2 feels like an early example of "more mechanics = gooder" game design thought.

I don't hate Croc 2 because it's worse than Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. It's not and it's honestly why i didn't rate it any lower than 2.5 as i would've liked to. I just hate it because it simply isn't better. I liked Croc 1, but not enough to want a carbon copy repeat of it that improves and adds literally nothing.