+platforming and handling is definitely ahead of most early genesis titles, thanks to tighter control, a light physics system, and the ability for chuck to flutter in the air to nail tight jumps. a particular touch I like is that when running off ledges, chuck does full cartooney coyote time where he continues to run on air before freaking out and attempting to get back
+some lovely fm synth tracks here, with no grating noises or what-not
+the amount of special items that can be used for buffs or special attacks at a moment's notice is smart, even if the implementation in a menu is a bit cumbersome. it would be interesting to see a version of this game with a 6-button controller to alleviate this
+boss design is much more forgiving overall than contemporaries, though a couple have truly frustrating projectiles.
+I was worried I would dislike the "find the important item in the third stage of each area to progress" gimmick, but it actually adds some much-needed spice. the item is usually out of the way but not too out of the way, and it encourages light exploration in a positive way

-throwing the head is a neat idea but you get it so rarely and lose it so quickly. would've made more sense to lose it on death instead of just getting hit once
-much to my surprise, there is persistance in the level objects, from breakable blocks to items to temporary platforms. this is good in some cases (keeping you from having to break through walls after dying or letting you know which item capsules you've already searched) but overall is a bit of a drawback. the big issue here is that later levels often require you to make your way on falling blocks across insta-death hazards, and after a certain number of retries you'll likely not have any of these platforms left. it also prevents you from getting heads, items, or most crucially health drops after you've found the boon once, making retries more taxing. while persistance would be great in a platformer this old, the implementation was not done well
-certain enemies just are not built for chuck to deal with, since you get no knockback on enemies when you hit them. there are multiple that both move fast and take multiple hits, and there's no good way to stop them in their tracks without expending items. on that note: the ghosts that hide in the item capsules are absolutely infuriating

it feels like basically every design choice in this game is novel or forward-thinking for the time but implemented in such a way that it detracts from the experience. it's a shame too, as the core design here is significantly better than most other genesis games of the time, and gives a non-sega flair to the action game scene on the system. it's definitely worth trying a couple levels, or messing around with the much cuter magical hat game that is similar to this in japan on the mega drive.

Reviewed on Aug 06, 2021


Comments