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.

Quote:

---

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?

---

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.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kollision

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

---

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.

Quote:

---

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.

---

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.

Quote:

---

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.

---

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.

What are the differences between Game Gear version and the Genny one ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tbp

What are the differences between Game Gear version and the Genny one ?

---

Game Gear was much easier because I could beat it so I got through it rather quickly. Great grafx in the Game Gear too BTW.

(1) - I'm going to give this a 9. Yep. A few more stages or a much stronger final boss would've made it a 10; so would better Elemental Plane music.
(2) - A 2D sequel on Saturn would've been my preference as well. Even a Sega CD expansion could've been cool; and featured saving. However 3D might've worked: think Demon's Souls with more personality, + platforming.
(3) - The difficulty's exaggerated but determining what exactly Chakan can and must do at certain points mixed in with the trouble of staying alive long enough to explore or experiment is certainly daunting and why I didn't finish the game a couple years ago--more accurately, that's why my attempts to finish it were far between.

@ djshok = Ever notice that the sound effect in X-Men 2 Clone Wars for picking up a double helix is the same as in Chakan for picking up a potion? The pattering explosions in Clone Wars (ie the canisters and mechs of lv 0) are quite similar to the soul dispersal of defeating a sub boss in Chakan too.

that elemental plane music haunts my dreams when i close my eyes sometimes... (no joke).

My brother and i spent alot of time playing that game and beat it one saturday afternoon. My best gaming conquest to date.

I have this game, CIB, on my shelf downstairs. I've played it maybe twice since I bought it, so I can't really give a thorough review. I remember it being rather difficult and kind of quirky at first, but now this thread has intrigued me enough to go grab the cart!

To this day Chakan kicks my ass, the game's very unforgiving for me. My friend (see X-Men thread) owned this one BITD and even he never beat this damned thing. I have a boxed copy these days, with manual (with an ugly rental sticker on the front, why ruin a good box or cart with this ugh), and rarely ever pull it our for play unless I'm feeling masochistic and have time to burn playing something I feel is as hard as Ghosts N Goblins, only with a double jump and enemies that don't seem to respawn ever few seconds.

^Funny you mention Ghosts N Goblins, because I have that CIB as well...right next to Chakan on my shelf! Difficult games naturally flock together :cool:

Unrelenting is more accurate a term, actually.

My biggest issue with Chakan was that it was really hyped by gaming mags at the time. I had rented it with such high expectations, it was hard not to be disappointed. I expected a 9 but felt it was a 7 at the most.

Recently, I played a bit of it again and I like it more than before. I'm looking forward to playing through it soon. It's kind of nice to have a few quality Genesis platformers I haven't beaten yet (Blades of Vengeance is another one I wasn't that into until this year).

I love this game.. Yeah it was hard and did have some cheap shots but it was still awesome.. I think that the music and atmosphere are some of the best on the Genesis.

I found it quite unusual and to me unusual or strange games are often worth a look as they can offer something new,i would recommend this to anyone despite at times it feels like it is sort of plodding along at a slow pace because it is too weird to be totally dull. 7/10

I think chakan suffers the most in hit detection, as most genesis games never had a "solid" feel to the attacks. i can't explain it better unfortunately.

^I actually understand you completely! That's one of my main gripes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StarMist

@ djshok = Ever notice that the sound effect in X-Men 2 Clone Wars for picking up a double helix is the same as in Chakan for picking up a potion? The pattering explosions in Clone Wars (ie the canisters and mechs of lv 0) are quite similar to the soul dispersal of defeating a sub boss in Chakan too.

---

Ha, you're totally right!

Just gonna leave this here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rB2TOpEA9Q

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TurboRotary

Just gonna leave this here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rB2TOpEA9Q

---

The music in this game is quite good, the gameplay still feels a bit clunky to me.

Quote:

---

I think chakan suffers the most in hit detection, as most genesis games never had a "solid" feel to the attacks. i can't explain it better unfortunately.

---

Compared to what, Snes games?

Because if that's what you're talking about (not sure), I feel the opposite way. I always felt most Snes games except for Nintendo-made ones weren't smooth enough in their gameplay. I felt there was some kind of latency effect between your attack and when the bad guy gets hit, for lack of better words, and that was disturbing to me as it seemed to mess up the pacing of the game (particularly in Beat em ups). I couldn't get "in the zone".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barman

Compared to what, Snes games?

Because if that's what you're talking about (not sure), I feel the opposite way. I always felt most Snes games except for Nintendo-made ones weren't smooth enough in their gameplay. I felt there was some kind of latency effect between your attack and when the bad guy gets hit, for lack of better words, and that was disturbing to me as it seemed to mess up the pacing of the game (particularly in Beat em ups). I couldn't get "in the zone".

---

I've always felt this to be a gray area, because it's really the programming and development in which hit detection and gameplay is contingent. Saying that Genesis/SNES is better overall is one thing, but I've seen plenty of games on both systems that are guilty. Obviously, the games made by Nintendo and SEGA are going to be of slightly higher quality than any third-party release, but not always.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barman

Compared to what, Snes games?

Because if that's what you're talking about (not sure), I feel the opposite way. I always felt most Snes games except for Nintendo-made ones weren't smooth enough in their gameplay. I felt there was some kind of latency effect between your attack and when the bad guy gets hit, for lack of better words, and that was disturbing to me as it seemed to mess up the pacing of the game (particularly in Beat em ups). I couldn't get "in the zone".

---

I'd compare the hit detection of chakan to say sonic or even SoR2. It's the feeling that your character is actually hitting something rather then just having the two graphics meet. Look at what happens when chakan hits an enemy, there's no solid feeling to it or the sound effect. It feels empty, the same way x-men feels.

Meh wouldn't compare the genesis to snes in that regard because they're different systems in regard to specs.