Tuesday 15 January 2013

Chiki Chiki Boys Review (Mega Drive)


With a title like Chiki Chiki Boys, deep down you realise that this is going to be a little strange. The story goes that as one night after king Chiki Chiki’s wife had given birth (to twin boys), a group of nasty creatures decide to end all the love and joy flowing throughout the land. The principality is soon home to various monsters, and the only hope is offered by the king's twins, who must now save the day. 

The game is a side scrolling platform/beat’em with the player having the option of controlling either of the boys, as they make their way through eight action packed levels. The diet of action is fairly straightforward and in classic Capcom arcade style requires the player to continuously hammer the attack button, as endless waves of enemies fly at you from every angle imaginable. 

Graphically, the title has a style filled with charm and humour. On display are huge, brightly coloured, sprites which are animated with simple, but effective movements that help to make the action seem fresh and good-natured throughout. Each of the Levels enjoys a distinctive look - with varying location themes such as being set underwater, high amidst the clouds or the more grounded earth based levels.

The enemy creatures are quite repetitive but with so many sprites on screen at once you don't really notice as you are keep hacking through the conveyor belt of monsters. At the end of each level you face the boss monster. These huge beasts possess wonderful expressions on their face when hit, often wincing from the pain or in some instances crying. Furthermore, though the screen is constantly filled, there is no visable slow down or flickering present, which is quite impressive as many other games with similar levels of detail slowdown horribly. 

 In terms of play mechanics this is classic old school style arcade action. One attack button and one jump button are complimented by the obligatory ‘magic’ attack that we have seen in Golden Axe and Shinobi just to name a few. But with thistype of game that’s all that's really needed, as the emphasis is set heavily on pure enjoyment rather than any claim to be the next big thing in gaming.

The twins move well and are extremely responsive and can attack fast enough to plough through wave after wave of monsters without taking a hit. So while not being particuarly inventive what the game does, it does well.

Overall, Chiki Chiki Boys is a great little title from the vaults of Capcom and one that remains fairly unknown to this day. For pure enjoyment this pushes all the right buttons. It may not be particularly long or hard but it really isn't and issue as you come back to it once completed. This is everything an old arcade game should be - big, colourful and fun.
  
8/10

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