Chakan the Forever Man

--Yes I'm aware we have a few other Chakan threads but they're old and I want my questions to be seen-- Thanks for not merging it Baloo.

I beat this game early this week and it’s been on my mind since so I thought I’d ask everyone here his thoughts on it.
In case you saw my TMNT thread Chakan was the game that motivated me to finish Turtles, mainly because I feel their strengths and challenges are remarkably similar and I wanted something harder.
Questions =

(1) How would you rate it on a scale of 1-10? Or, if you dislike scales, does it deserve a place on any MD list besides the toughest games?
(2) You're probably aware a 3D sequel was aborted and recycled as a Legacy of Kain title; had it stayed purely Chakan how do you think the transition to 3D would've affected it? Would you have preferred a 2D sequel or are you just relieved that no true sequel got made?
(3) Have you finished it? Do you think its reputation for difficulty accurate or overblown? Any chance you would've liked it longer or harder?

You really adore this game, don't you?
To be fair, I like the game's atmosphere, but that's about it. The gameplay suffers badly because of shoddy level design and irrational difficulty. Other than that, the gameplay is nothing special. It lacks the finesse that the Shinobi series has, excluding perhaps the first one, which I think you scolded for being too slow, funny that.
The graphics and sound are also average, even considering its release date. This game could have been so much more, so much better. The character and backstory are really cool, but that is ultimately useless if the game plays like ass.
Taking this into account, a 4.5-5/10 seems about right for this game. Which, all things put together, is average. Not bad.

Chakan definitely belongs on various types of Genesis to-play-or-collect games. It is simply too unique and has way too cool of a premise to be ignored. I just wish that the cheap shots were avoidable. I can never enjoy a game where hits are mandatory, this ruined the Super Star Wars games for me too. It is for this reason that I haven't finished Chakan.

Blood Omen 2 was quirky and I didn't think as polished as the first Soul Reaver game, and it introduced storyline contradictions with the Soul Reaver games. I don't remember what that was now, but it was something to do with the timeline of events throughout the world's history. Still I liked the game, but I can't think of anything that makes it a Chakan game. The early Dreamcast previews emphasized intelligent AI for the bosses and the need for contextual strategy in each of the fights. I don't remember anything like that in Blood Omen 2, but some of the last fights were quite challenging.

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Originally Posted by StarMist

(1) How would you rate it on a scale of 1-10? Or, if you dislike scales, does it deserve a place on any MD list besides the toughest games?
(2) You're probably aware a 3D sequel was aborted and recycled as a Legacy of Kain title; had it stayed purely Chakan how do you think the transition to 3D would've affected it? Would you have preferred a 2D sequel or are you just relieved that no true sequel got made?
(3) Have you finished it? Do you think its reputation for difficulty accurate or overblown? Any chance you would've liked it longer or harder?

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1 - I like it, I'd give a 7-8 out of 10. Definitely a cool game with an interesting concept.
2 - I think it wouldn't have done well in 3D, like most 2D games that got ported over to the evil dimension. A 2D sequel would've been awesome.
3 - I beat it, but that was a long time ago, not sure if I could do it now. That being said I think it's difficult reputation is way overblown, the game isn't nearly as hard as others on the system ie: Contra Hard Corps, Spider-Man and X-Men, Battletoads, etc... lots of harder games out there. The first time I picked it up I got halfway through it, after that it was just a matter of figuring out the exact order needed to acquire the weapons. I think the length and difficulty are just fine, though a save option would've been nice.

I was gonna answer, but then djshock scannered my mind and wrote my words before I could type them.

To me it's like Shadow of The Beast. A really cool concept that is more of an experience than something you would play for fun.

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Originally Posted by Kollision

I was gonna answer, but then djshock sacnnered my mind and wrote my words before I could type them.

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Mwhahahahaha.

I haven't spent a lot of time with it to give a fair assessment of it though part of the reason I haven't spent a lot of time with it is that it just wasn't very fun. The game is very cool, just not terribly polished from what I've played.

Good atmosphere. The scrolling is choppy though.

I love the art, music, & atmosphere. (In that stage-select hub, seems like tiny mumbling voices real soft... Anyone else notice that?!)

Hard game and I haven't given it a real shot, mainly bc it seems like it would take so much TIME to get thru it & figure it out...

I rented it and I couldn't beat it, but I heard it was a hard game.

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Originally Posted by old man

To me it's like Shadow of The Beast. A really cool concept that is more of an experience than something you would play for fun.

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This. Chakan's darkness is pretty damn awesome, however, to play it and enjoy it can be a struggle.
(1) 7 out of 10.
(2) I actually think Chakan would work in 3D and it would certainly be one I was interested in.
(3) No, I believe I got frustrated and ended up throwing my controller down in outrage.

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Originally Posted by sheath

Blood Omen 2 was quirky and I didn't think as polished as the first Soul Reaver game, and it introduced storyline contradictions with the Soul Reaver games. I don't remember what that was now, but it was something to do with the timeline of events throughout the world's history.

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It included the Sarafan which would of been impossible as their Order was wiped outyears before, thoughI guess, it could of been another group using their name. Also, Vorador was alive, yet he was killed in the previous game (Blood Omen 1). The Vorador plothole was never addressed.

I didn't like Blood Omen 2; even on it's own, separate from the other games in the series, it was poor.

This falls in the Eternal Champions category for me, Beautiful game but too hard to enjoy, Yet I'm proud to have it on my shelf.

I had it for game gear and loved it.