"The crowning acheivement of the Lemmings series"

Back in the early 90's, Lemmings was a staple of PC gaming culture. Alongside smash hits like King's Quest, Monkey Island, Wing Commander and many other fondly remembered series of the 90's, Lemmings set itself out as the definitive PC puzzle game. The premise was simple: you had to guide a bunch of green-haired, blue-bodied creatures called Lemmings (no relation to the real-life animal) from an entrance point in a level to the exit. However, the Lemmings faced all sorts of obstacles on their quest for freedom, not the least of which was their own stupidity and suicidal tendencies. The Lemmings games were known for simple gameplay, yet tricky puzzles that could keep people entertained for hours. Sadly, this series died out sometime around the mid-90's after a series of lacklustre sequels that saw the Lemmings fade into obscurity. Lemmings Chronicles is widely regarded as the start of the decline of the Lemmings series, a stigma which I believe is not deserved at all. The third entry in the series, Lemmings Chronicles did a few things different than its predecessors and got rather unfairly bashed for it. Personally, I loved the new additions and Lemmings Chronicles still remains one of my favourite puzzle games, even though it's been over a decade since I first laid eyes on it.

In the story thus far, the Lemmings built a large flying airship (called The Ark) and managed to squeeze all 12 of the various Lemmings tribes onboard (each one given a specific theme, like Egyptian or Space-age). Now that their home island has been enveloped by a catastrophe, they set out in search of new lands to call home. They come across an archipelago of uninhabited islands that they immediately decide to colonize. Thus begins Lemmings Chronicles.

Lemmings Chronicles was intended to be the first in a series of sequels that would cover all 12 Lemmings tribes (Chronicles gives you control over the Classic, Shadow and Egyptian tribes). Unfortunately, the poor reception Chronicles received ultimately led to this storyline being abandoned and, thus, this is the last game in the original Lemmings storyline.

Graphics: 7/10

The game's graphics were really impressive back in the day, and they've actually aged reasonably well. The game is fairly pixelated, like any PC game of the day, but a lot of the backgrounds and sprites contain a surprising amount of detail for a game this old. Everything is picked out in bright, pastel colours and the backgrounds are remarkably atmospheric (again, taking age into account). The Lemmings themselves are bigger than in games past, but don't really have much more detail to them, leading them to look somewhat more “blob-ish” than they formerly did. My only real complaint with the graphics beyond simple aging has to do with some of the game's traps. At times, you'll pass by an object in the background, only to have it suddenly zap, incinerate, crush, bludgeon, impale, decapitate, mutilate or otherwise kill your Lemmings because you didn't realise it wasn't just a piece of decoration. Similarly, some parts of scenery look like they can be walked on, but are actually just pieces of background material, which can lead to some rather embarrassing deaths.

Gameplay: 10/10

The gameplay in Lemmings Chronicles is absolutely top notch. If you've never played a Lemmings game before, I'll give you the basic outline. As I already mentioned in the intro, gameplay features you guiding a gaggle of blue-clad, green-haired Lemmings through a series of levels, trying to help them reach the exit without getting killed. You do this by ordering individual Lemmings to do certain tasks. This could be something like building a bridge over water or digging a tunnel through an impassable wall.

This is where Lemmings Chronicles starts to deviate from its predecessors. In the original Lemmings and its sequel, you were given a series of actions/tools when you first began the level. You could order the Lemmings to perform these actions a certain number of times at any point in the level, but only for a limited number of times. Things were slightly revamped for Lemmings Chronicles. Now there are three actions which you can order any Lemmings to do an unlimited number of times: walk (causes the Lemming to stop what he's doing and start walking forward or change direction if he's already walking), block (causes the Lemming to stop and set up a Lemming roadblock, which prevents any Lemmings from passing him) and jump (causes the Lemming to perform a short hop over any obstacles in the way, including gaps, traps or blocker Lemmings). The remainder of the actions and tools that were formerly given out at the start of a level are now scattered about the level in boxes. Any Lemming that picks up a box gains the ability contained within that box for as long as he holds it (he can drop it to pick up a new ability or to give it to another Lemming at any time). These actions include laying bricks, digging, setting bombs, throwing hand grenades, shooting a fireball (cutely called the “Lemdoken” by fans), climbing walls, etc., and can only be used a limited number of times.

This gives a slightly different feel to the game. Lemmings games in the past were an exercise in learning where and when to use the various tools you were given. In Lemmings Chronicles, you not only have to figure out where and when to use the tools given, but also how to get to the tools if they're not placed out in the open. The game's developers also put in some “dummy tools” in certain levels: tools that aren't required to complete the stage and that only serve to confuse players who attempt to acquire them.

One more new addition Lemmings Chronicles features is the addition of enemies. In the Lemmings games of the past, the only thing you had to protect the Lemmings from was their own tendencies to walk off cliffs or into spike traps or underneath laser beams if you didn't intervene to protect them from their own stupidity. Now, however, there are creatures who actively attack the Lemmings on sight. There are precisely three enemies in the game: the Potato Beast, who walks along the ground and will punch out any Lemming he encounters, the Lemme Fatal, a female fake-Lemming who swoons your dull-minded charges and eventually causes them to commit suicide in a surprisingly gory fashion, and the Psycho Buzzard, who flies through the air and swoops down on your Lemmings, plucking up the heads of unfortunate victims. There's also the Mole, who's classified as an enemy but is more of a semi-ally, as he won't directly harm the Lemmings and instead will dig tunnels whenever he comes up against a piece of scenery he can't pass through.

The level design in Lemmings Chronicles is spot-on and features some very tricky puzzles. You have to guide each tribe (which are identical in gameplay and differ only in their appearance and the scenery you walk through) through 30 levels, making for a total of 90 levels in the game. Some of them are teeth-grindingly hard to finish, particularly taking into account that there's a time-limit involved that is sometimes punishingly small.

Another new addition in the way the puzzles are approached in this game is that it is possible to complete the game without losing a single Lemming, which makes for a very difficult challenge. Additionally, in some levels there are Lemmings trapped somewhere in the stage that do not get dropped out of the usual entrance hatch. In order to get the best score, you have to find these Lemmings and rescue them as well.

All in all this makes for a very fun, addictive and challenging game. Most stages can be completed in a minute or two if you know what you're doing, but it will take much longer than that to figure out exactly how to complete the puzzles.

Controls: 7/10

The controls for Lemmings Chronicles could be better, but are passable as is. In order to have a Lemming perform an action, you have to click on the action, then click on the Lemming. The only problem with this setup is sometimes you have to order a single Lemming to do a series of actions very quickly (drop that item, then turn around, then set up a blocker) and it can be hard to scroll the mouse down, click on the action and scroll back up in time. Another problem which has plagued the Lemmings series from the outset is the difficulty of picking a single Lemming out of a crowd. Lemmings Chronicles alleviates this complaint, if only slightly, by featuring a highlight feature. Right clicking on a Lemming highlights it in red and clicking an action on a crowd of Lemmings with the highlighted one in it will cause the highlighted Lemming to perform the action. Furthermore, right clicking anywhere on the screen will instantly highlight and cycle through any Lemmings currently holding tools. It's quite a handy little feature. Still, the controls are solid, but can be very frustrating at times.

Sound: 7/10

Depending on which version of Chronicles you get, you'll either have a .midi soundtrack or a much improved .wav soundtrack with the same tracks redone with much better quality. The music is fairly good, although it can get repetitious after a while, since there are only two songs per tribe. There are also a few simple sound-effects that get horribly annoying very quickly. Your Lemmings will shout “Yippee!” when they reach an exit or “Oh no!” when they get killed, all of it done in a piercing, high-pitched voice. Turn the sound-effects off and you actually have yourself a nice-sounding game.

Overall: 9/10

Lemmings Chronicles is a fantastic game, elegant in its simplicity. Most versions require a DOS emulator these days, assuming you don't have a 20 year old computer kicking around, but it's well worth it. Lemmings Chronicles has two difficulties: Adults (default) and Kids, with the latter removing all the enemies except the mole and toning down the more graphic Lemmings deaths, while the former keeps the challenge high and the game interesting. With 90 stages, each taking between a minute to 20 minutes to figure out, this game will take even seasoned Lemmings players several hours to beat. So if you're up for an old-school puzzle showdown, give Lemmings Chronicles a try and see if we can't get a new Lemmings game one of these days.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/08

Game Release: The Lemmings Chronicles (US, 1994)