Kid Chameleon

"Not an easy game"

This is one massive game. I have never played a game like this before. It scores high points based on origninality alone.

Story: You are Kid Chameleon. There is a great new game at the local arcade that all the kids line up to play. One problem though: they don't leave the arcade. The game eats up all those who play it and it is your mission to play through the game and defeat the boss.

Graphics: Kid Chameleon sports some good graphics. All of the costumes that you transform into look nice and colorful. The backgrounds are sort of bland however.

Sound: The soundtrack is okay. Most of the levels have some nice tunes, however they might start to get old after a while. When you lose your costume, the game says 'bummer!', which gets sort of annoying after you hear it so many times (and you will.)

Gameplay: THIS is where the game really shines. As you progress through the levels, you will find various costumes to don, each of which have special abilities. For example, the knight can climb, the rhino can bash blocks with his skull, the tank can shoot at enemies, etc. The levels are big and well designed and there will be objects that you need the aforementioned costumes to pass. After you collect 100 crystals, you will gain an extra life (you'll need all the lives you can get in this game, believe me.) This is one of the hardest games I have ever played, due mostly to its length. There are over 100 levels in all, with branching paths, so the game is somewhat non-linear. One flaw in the game is the lack of a save feature or password feature, which means that you have to complete the game in one sitting, which is no easy task. That may turn some people off unfortunately.

Fun Factor: High. Even though you might get frustrated after dying a lot, when you discover a new costume you will be like 'that is sweet!' and want to keep playing.

Overall: Kid Chameleon is in my top 5 Genesis games of all time for good reason. Yes it is hard, yes it is long and no, you will not beat it quickly, but it is one hell of a good time. Definetly pick this one up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/00, Updated 08/22/00