French developer Dotemu, the team behind the excellent Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap remake and the upcoming Streets of Rage 4 (we still can't quite believe that's a real 'thing'), has released the first alpha-state footage of Windjammers 2, the sequel to Data East's original Neo Geo game from 1994.

As you can see from the above footage, it retains the perspective of the original and looks to preserve the gameplay, but it's been given a fresh lick of paint. Old favourites Mita and Wessel are joined by newcomers Max and Grace, and there are new abilities on show, too. According to the developer:

Competitors can incorporate all-new jumps, smashes, and slapshots into the all-out performances they put up on the court, making Windjammers 2 a true elevation of the series’ style of action so revered it’s found a home among the fighting game esports community.

For those unfamiliar with Windjammers, it's an arcade-style sports game that involves throwing a flying disc at an opponent's goal zone in a top-down court. A player can only hold a disc for a few seconds during which they are unable to move. The resulting air hockey-esque experience wasn't overly well received back in the day, but has steadily gained popularity over the years, especially in France where it's become a true cult classic thanks to a thriving competitive scene.

This updated version seems to be receiving a lot of care and attention, looking lovely already despite being in an unfinished state. We've grabbed a few screens from the trailer for your perusal below:

DotEmu published the original game on Switch, so there's plenty of time to check that out before this drops at an unspecified date in 2019.

Are you a fan of the disc-slinging original? Like the look of this sequel? Give us a shout in the comments.