Chakan

"Known to be a classic, but unable to stand the test of time"

The premise of Chakan is a good one; the story is intriguing, the setting is dark and lively. Great character design, creepy foes, good twisted-fate plotline, nice weapons. And for its time, the graphics aren't half bad, nor is the ''pseudo-Castlevania'' style gameplay. Trouble is, the game's level design is not really up to par, and its level of challenge provides more frustration than amusement, with little reason to persevere.

For the synopsis of its parts:

Graphics -
For an early genesis game, not awfully bad. But compared to genesis games that came out even a year later, rather stiff and dull. It's got fairly good usage of color at the start, but it kinda sticks to a dark blue/black theme for the entirety. The sprites are pretty static, and collision detection is pretty weak. Things look pretty blocky and poorly drawn, when it gets right down to it. It may be that I've been playing too many late-age Genesis games such as Comix Zone and Vectorman, but in truth I think the graphics don't even hold up too well when compared with other early titles like Captain America and the Avengers and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. Coulda used some help here.

Sound -
Same story, but even a bit sadder. Decent music, but sound effects in the game are pretty darn basic. Attacking sounds and collision effects are clearly computer-generated, creating difficulty in that ever-so-important suspension of disbelief. I know the Genny isn't the greatest sound machine by far, but there could've been better selected effects here.

Control -
Also...not so hot, unfortunately. Not terrible, mind you, but reaction time to button presses and D-pad presses is far from instantaneous, and can be quite frustrating.

Level Design -
Levels at first appear to be interesting, but then they get repetetive quickly. Lots of very difficult and annoying jumps to be made, all the more difficult due to the control issues.

Overall, a good idea poorly executed. The version that was being worked on for the Dreamcast would have been a great sight to see, but the original just isn't worth of one's time in this day and age. If this game truly was a great game when it came out, it's more a testament to how bad things were at the time than how good the game is, 'cause it' ain't that hot.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/22/02, Updated 04/22/02