Kid Chameleon

 Now a days every other game seems to be a bland looking first person shooter (FPS) but back in the 1990's games were more often than not platformers. Of course the kings of platform were Mario (on the Nintendo systems) and Sonic (on the Sega systems) though this didn't stop other platformers from being incredibly good games such as this one, Kid Chameleon.



The back story of the game is pretty meaningless but you're effectively playing a game inside a game. The local arcade has a new virtual reality game, called "Wildside" which has been abducting it's players and you, as Kid Chameleon must defeat the game and save the kids who have been taken by the game. Despite having such a pointless story the game it's self is actually excellent.

Although platformers were the big thing of the 1990's Kid Chameleon differentiated it's self from most of the other platform games of the era in a number of ways. Firstly, unlike most platform games you're not stuck in a single form, in fact Kid Chameleon sees the player taking 10 different forms, each with their own power. These range from the Kid (a child in jeans) to an Iron Knight (who can climb vertical walls) to Hovercraft rider (who can ride on the roof of levels). It's these helmets that give the game not only extra depth but also different strategies. For example you may wish to keep the "Cyclone" helmet which can fly to get through some levels or you may which to keep the Maniaxe mask which allows you to throw axes at enemies from a distance.

As well as the number of different forms (and strategies) a player can use to get through the game the game also stands out from the rest of the platformers on it's sheer size. The game in total features over 100 levels, and whilst you won't have to visit them all you will have to visit a lot of them (unless you use a cheat). Whilst this makes the game very long it's also rather frustrating as the game features neither a password system nor a save feature (at least in it's original form). This generally means most players will never manage to complete the game despite a number of shortcuts in the game.

Despite being one of the toughest games ever to actually complete it's also a game that has so much wealth to it that it's actually impossible to hate. The various helmets add so much to the game that always feels so fresh and original even when you've played through it before.

Whilst some of the graphics and some of the sound does fall below the standard of the gameplay it's merely a minor complaint (much like the games length) and you will find yourself really enjoying an excellent and unusual game.

87%

Details:
Console-Sega Mega Drive
Release-1992
Developer-Sega Technical Institute
Genre-2D Platformer
Players-1or 2

Trivia- To player can complete the game by completing as little as 3 levels by skipping from the 2nd level to the final level.

SPOILERS/MEGA CHEAT
At the end of Blue Lake Woods 2 you need to jump on the last prize block above the flag, then press Right/Down + Jump. You will skip one to the final level "Plethora".