Chakan the Forever Man

[Flygon]

I got this game for $42, along with 15 other games (So basically, $2.25 or so).

I was really turned off by the difficulty. >.<"

[otaku]

Cool game but to damn hard it needed a password feature and the difficulty toned down a bit

[TheEdge]

This may be a weird comparison but I think Chakan is very much like the MegaMan series. The reason why I say this is because you have to know which portal to go in first to get a specific weapon to use to progress through the other portals.

Its like defeating MetalMan and then using the metal blades to make the fight easier when dealing with WoodMan.

Chakan is just a darker version of that.

What do you guys think?

[vintagegamecrazy]

I agree with "theedge". I bet if more people would get a walkthrough from anywhere online and sit down and give the game a wholehearted chance then it will seem much easier to get through and much more enjoyable. It gets a bad rap since most won't give it a chance and decide to make some solid playthrough before giving it a score or bashing it.

[Kollision]

The real fact is that people are afraid of a real challenge.

People will shy away from games that demand at least a little bit of effort, and in most cases these are the same people that complain about today's games having almost no replay value and no challenge factor.

Is the game difficult?
Try harder.
Don't run away like a chicken and say the game sucks.

[TheEdge]

I agree with "theedge". I bet if more people would get a walkthrough from anywhere online and sit down and give the game a wholehearted chance then it will seem much easier to get through and much more enjoyable. It gets a bad rap since most won't give it a chance and decide to make some solid playthrough before giving it a score or bashing it.

The real fact is that people are afraid of a real challenge.

People will shy away from games that demand at least a little bit of effort, and in most cases these are the same people that complain about today's games having almost no replay value and no challenge factor.

Is the game difficult?
Try harder.
Don't run away like a chicken and say the game sucks.

Amen, Brothers Hallelujah

[Benjamin]

This may be a weird comparison but I think Chakan is very much like the MegaMan series. The reason why I say this is because you have to know which portal to go in first to get a specific weapon to use to progress through the other portals.

Yes aside from every Mega Man after the first game including a password feature likely due to the difficulty of the original Mega Man.

[TheEdge]

The real fact is that people are afraid of a real challenge.

People will shy away from games that demand at least a little bit of effort, and in most cases these are the same people that complain about today's games having almost no replay value and no challenge factor.

Is the game difficult?
Try harder.
Don't run away like a chicken and say the game sucks.

I can't stand it when people say "this game is too hard, WAAAA". I loved challenging games back in the day because I hated when I used to buy a brand new game and beat it in one sitting. Games should be long but not drawn out and moderately challenging.

[Nicpezer]

I went back to play this game after reading the review. I'm trying to enjoy it but every thing just seems...so...broken. I try to land some jumps on higher ledges and it looks like Chakan will land but instead he just buffers around the side.

I don't even know if I can call what I fight at the end of some stages bosses. They're really just sprites moving erratically around the screen and animated slightly. They look almost like clip art.

There was this spot in the third level of the Water Dimension were I started out and I moved to the right and fell into some water with those green fishes. I had no potion to teleport or high jump and I couldn't jump high enough to grapple my way out of there so I was stuck. The only other way to get out was to load my state or reset the Genesis. That is just bad design. I know if I had a guide troubles like this can be avoided, but a guide should not balance out a game's problems the game should do that on it's own.

Not to mention one Guide I found was written like this

Keep heading left until you find some seaweed. Jump up and hit the
fish's head with a weapon. Go back down and cut the seaweed. Hit
the middle door while there is a picture of a spider on it and you
will get two potions. Then a huge Mantis will come down.

That's a walk through of stage three in the Water Dimension. Those are just vague directions, and not only that but there are some inaccurate details as well. The fish head I found had blue eyes and you didn't have to hit it, you just had to touch the eyes to pick them up, I don't think you cut down the seaweed either, I think it just falls.

I like this games dark atmosphere but this game is about as fun as playing Bart's Nightmare. It's just mediocre.

[Noiman]

I love the otherworldly atmosphere of Chakan. Good game, although quite difficult and confusing at certain parts. Haven't beat it yet.

[Antony]

This is the stuff the saved state feature is made for! I finished it just once and only by having my fingers between F5 and F8 all the time.

I don't think games should be very, what you call, "challenging", other things outside any black or grey boxes are challenging, games are for fun.

[Ecco]

Nice review, Chakan is actually awesome, just difficult. But the thing is, you get better at it, the more you play.

Art and music are great and very unique (besides stiff animation). Dark but artistic and crazy, like comic books.

Basically, if you can settle on slowly figuring out just one stage at a time, then it works fine. (Stages are manageable once they're figured out.)

Also it is a strong challenge, with a lot of dying, just as part of it. It should be appreciated for being one of the few Genesis games that was hard on nails, on purpose. Maybe people find it too frustrating to die a lot, in the process of learning each stage, but that's how it works.

The double-jump reminds me of Shinobi -- both took me forever to get the hang of, but now I can do it fine. I'm surprised people complain so much for Chakan and not Shinobi.

[Barone]

No, it's not awesome. This game sucks to no end.

[Gogogadget]

I don't get the love for this game, the platforming physics are horrendous.

[NeoVamp]

Chakan is like Fantasia, as in it looks and sounds great but the gameplay is horrible.

One of those games that I have on my shelf that I look at and fantasize about what might have been,
and that's the only reason I even have it. because it was so fucking close to being a good game.