Chakan (MD, 1992/2022)(Ultimate Chakan Hack)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-5.5 Control-6.5 Challenge-7 Story-6
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5/8.5* Fun-6.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6.5
*Some later levels (ice and lava areas)
+
Spells via potion mixing/alchemy (slow down enemies and their projectiles (blue+green), elemental swords (most also shoot projectiles), super jump (blue+transparent), smart bomb (green+red), temporary invincibility (two kinds - one (top left spell) makes you invisible besides the swords but it has the same function), healing, time increase (flips the hourglass), teleport back to the hub area (you also get teleported back to where you used it when re-entering the level so it's like a proto-Town Portal from Diablo)). Mix two potions at a time to use spells (can carry up to 4 of each)
Pretty good art direction overall, Pretty good intro (mostly artwork stills and text)
8-way attacks while standing still (hold down attack and press the direction - fun although it looks a bit silly when held in place and enemies moving into the swords die)
Double jump+spinning sword attacks (Revenge of Shinobi/Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
Platform Adventure elements (some ability/tool gating (grappling hook to cling to certain hooks in some levels, scythe to destroy web walls in the Earth area, axe to destroy wooden doors in the Air area, hammer to destroy certain walls and floors in the Water and Fire areas), hub area with a portals leading to more standard action levels although several of these are more maze-like, item inventory, some hidden items)
Some mini-bosses
Some alternate paths through levels (in Fire 2 you can use either the grappling hook and move through a false wall or both it and the hammer)
Some decent bosses (the yellow bug creature in the Earth area, spider queen - main boss in Earth area (early-game/terrestrial plane), late-game/elemental plane Fire area dragon, late-game Earth area giant worm)
Up- and downstab (downstabbing doesn't make you bounce off of enemies though) - Dragon Buster (downstab), Zelda II
Ride a flying bug in the late-game Air levels (the hammer becomes more useful here, too easy to fall off though)
Health refill after each level
Decent variety
Some interesting level design/enemy design (the rock throwing enemies that change weapons when you reach them, the giant worms that harass you in two of the late-game Earth levels, the )
Compared to the original:
Larger enemies and Bosses' invincibility frames have been reduced by half (reduced to 30 from 60) and your swords' base damage have been increased to 2 - gives the game a better difficulty curve overall
Several changes to potions (start the game with one of each potion, Red and Clear potions grant full health upon pick up (this is a bit much in some levels), Green potions grant Super Jump upon pickup, Blue Potions grant Lightning Swords upon pick up)
Chakan's spinning swords double jump remains active until you touch the ground
Hammer and Axe base damage have been increased to 4
Lightning Swords base damage have been increased to 5
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (it's recommended to do the top right (fire) level first though followed by the bottom right (air) one - the top left one (earth) seems to be the hardest to start with, areas are split into several smaller sub levels which you progress through by re-entering their portals - in Fire 2 you need a the grappling hook to progress to the end of it (gained in Water 1), in Water 2 you need super jump then the grappling hook to progress; after beating the main boss of each area the same portals lead to four new levels each)
Unlimited lives+found potions are kept after dying and respawn in the level you found them in, so you can keep farming for potions if you want
Can't revisit beaten sub levels
Super jumps and elemental swords last until exiting or beating a sub level
The roll move doesn't grant invincibility time or hurt enemies - can still be used to dodge some hazards and attacks though or for faster (but unwieldy) movement
Can't move while crouching
Can't block but can destroy some projectiles
Can't double jump after reaching the peak of a jump and you start falling
Some larger enemies drop potions but they (the enemies) don't seem to respawn
Frequently respawning smaller enemies in some segments
Your attacks don't stun or knock back enemies - they flash for a bit but can still attack you. The one exception seems to be the yellow bug bosss in the Earth area
Contact damage from small enemies but not most larger ones (it's their attacks that hit you)
It's possible to perform a jump from mid-air after rolling off of a platform but it's very hard to time consistently
Spells aren't explained in-game
The dark rider boss fight would've been good if it was less drawn out (it's kinda like a medieval horse duel which works fairly well once you get the hang of it - or you can use the earth/green sword projectile for the first phase)
Can't steer yourself onto a platform after falling down from a higher one above it (you get pushed away when touching the ledge)
Many death pits
Compared to the original:
Much longer invincibility time after taking a hit - from 2 to 5 seconds (a bit too generous honestly)
Much more time has been granted to clear each level (perhaps too much). If you run out of time you respawn in the middle of the hub area
Chakan jumps slightly higher (v1.2 only))
Chakan has lower gravity when falling (can still release the jump button for a fast fall) - doesn't seem to change much
Fire and Earth Swords base damage has been increased to 8 - Seems too strong overall
-
Some control/interface issues (can't look up/down - various leaps of faith into death pits even early on, sometimes inconsistent hit detection (can get semi-stuck in Earth 4, hard to hit the tower guardians in the late-game Air levels), not enough horizontal speed+Contra-like (vertical focused) jumps, odd how you automatically move horizontally a bit when walking off a ledge, can't exit a level without either dying or using a teleport spell, can't double jump while carrying one of the alternate weapons unless it's the grappling hook - why?, fairly high default jump height, a bit too hard to gain momentum using the grappling hook - should've let you use the d-pad while hanging to build it up too, if you jump and then attack immediately while using the axe/hammer/scythe then you'll automatically jump as high as possible)
Trial & error (cheap surprise attacks here and there (sometimes you get attacked right away when starting a level), have to press up then down while attacking to hit the floor with the hammer, in Fire 3 you break a floor only to find... a death pit!, some delay on the laser barriers in the late-game Air levels disappearing after killing their guardians - fairly easy to fly into them by accident since the upwards scrolling is a bit loose (these guardians can also shoot you through walls), some boss patterns)
Some tedious aspects (too much stop and go gameplay at times (waiting for platforms and hazards to move), very short vulnerability period for the ice area boss, a few dead ends with nothing in them - sometimes after a platforming challenge)
Weird how bosses are introduced when entering their areas but then you are kicked out of the area at set points such as finding a weapon
Some difficulty spikes (grappling hook segment over a death pit in Fire 2 where you also get attacked by swarms of bats while climbing, late-game Fire area - partially because of the tight camera when jumping but also overly precise platforming over instant death hazards, almost no potions in the late-game Air levels - none in Ice 2?)
No save or password save
Invisible roof in the sky
Mostly grating music, Mostly weak sfx although there are some exceptions
Keep finding potions that you already have a full stock of (such as more red ones when you already have 4)
No boss music (the final boss fight uses the intro track)
No death animation for the red dragon/demon boss
Kind of easy final boss unless you used up all of your potions before it
Sometimes so-so color choices
No combo attacks
Compared to the original:
The game ends after clearing the terrestrial plane (Elemental Plane still available through portal skip) - this is the entire latter half of the game cut out (you'll miss several cool moments like dueling a boss while riding a flying bug). Using the portal spell to skip ahead (use it on the small platform in the bottom right of the hub area) only works if you don't beat the last sub level of each area in the first half, so you then have to skip 4 levels of the game anyway
The Fire area boss dies too quickly here and so does the "purple pharaoh" boss in the Air area, The Air area boss dies too quickly when using the hammer, The final boss dies too quickly to the fire/earth swords
Bugs:
-I had to move backwards after hitting the breakable walls/floors until I was 1-2 screens away for them to disappear
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-7.5/8.5* Fun-6.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-6.5
*Some later levels (ice and lava areas)
+
Spells via potion mixing/alchemy (slow down enemies and their projectiles (blue+green), elemental swords (most also shoot projectiles), super jump (blue+transparent), smart bomb (green+red), temporary invincibility (two kinds - one (top left spell) makes you invisible besides the swords but it has the same function), healing, time increase (flips the hourglass), teleport back to the hub area (you also get teleported back to where you used it when re-entering the level so it's like a proto-Town Portal from Diablo)). Mix two potions at a time to use spells (can carry up to 4 of each)
Pretty good art direction overall, Pretty good intro (mostly artwork stills and text)
8-way attacks while standing still (hold down attack and press the direction - fun although it looks a bit silly when held in place and enemies moving into the swords die)
Double jump+spinning sword attacks (Revenge of Shinobi/Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
Platform Adventure elements (some ability/tool gating (grappling hook to cling to certain hooks in some levels, scythe to destroy web walls in the Earth area, axe to destroy wooden doors in the Air area, hammer to destroy certain walls and floors in the Water and Fire areas), hub area with a portals leading to more standard action levels although several of these are more maze-like, item inventory, some hidden items)
Some mini-bosses
Some alternate paths through levels (in Fire 2 you can use either the grappling hook and move through a false wall or both it and the hammer)
Some decent bosses (the yellow bug creature in the Earth area, spider queen - main boss in Earth area (early-game/terrestrial plane), late-game/elemental plane Fire area dragon, late-game Earth area giant worm)
Up- and downstab (downstabbing doesn't make you bounce off of enemies though) - Dragon Buster (downstab), Zelda II
Ride a flying bug in the late-game Air levels (the hammer becomes more useful here, too easy to fall off though)
Health refill after each level
Decent variety
Some interesting level design/enemy design (the rock throwing enemies that change weapons when you reach them, the giant worms that harass you in two of the late-game Earth levels, the )
Compared to the original:
Larger enemies and Bosses' invincibility frames have been reduced by half (reduced to 30 from 60) and your swords' base damage have been increased to 2 - gives the game a better difficulty curve overall
Several changes to potions (start the game with one of each potion, Red and Clear potions grant full health upon pick up (this is a bit much in some levels), Green potions grant Super Jump upon pickup, Blue Potions grant Lightning Swords upon pick up)
Chakan's spinning swords double jump remains active until you touch the ground
Hammer and Axe base damage have been increased to 4
Lightning Swords base damage have been increased to 5
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (it's recommended to do the top right (fire) level first though followed by the bottom right (air) one - the top left one (earth) seems to be the hardest to start with, areas are split into several smaller sub levels which you progress through by re-entering their portals - in Fire 2 you need a the grappling hook to progress to the end of it (gained in Water 1), in Water 2 you need super jump then the grappling hook to progress; after beating the main boss of each area the same portals lead to four new levels each)
Unlimited lives+found potions are kept after dying and respawn in the level you found them in, so you can keep farming for potions if you want
Can't revisit beaten sub levels
Super jumps and elemental swords last until exiting or beating a sub level
The roll move doesn't grant invincibility time or hurt enemies - can still be used to dodge some hazards and attacks though or for faster (but unwieldy) movement
Can't move while crouching
Can't block but can destroy some projectiles
Can't double jump after reaching the peak of a jump and you start falling
Some larger enemies drop potions but they (the enemies) don't seem to respawn
Frequently respawning smaller enemies in some segments
Your attacks don't stun or knock back enemies - they flash for a bit but can still attack you. The one exception seems to be the yellow bug bosss in the Earth area
Contact damage from small enemies but not most larger ones (it's their attacks that hit you)
It's possible to perform a jump from mid-air after rolling off of a platform but it's very hard to time consistently
Spells aren't explained in-game
The dark rider boss fight would've been good if it was less drawn out (it's kinda like a medieval horse duel which works fairly well once you get the hang of it - or you can use the earth/green sword projectile for the first phase)
Can't steer yourself onto a platform after falling down from a higher one above it (you get pushed away when touching the ledge)
Many death pits
Compared to the original:
Much longer invincibility time after taking a hit - from 2 to 5 seconds (a bit too generous honestly)
Much more time has been granted to clear each level (perhaps too much). If you run out of time you respawn in the middle of the hub area
Chakan jumps slightly higher (v1.2 only))
Chakan has lower gravity when falling (can still release the jump button for a fast fall) - doesn't seem to change much
Fire and Earth Swords base damage has been increased to 8 - Seems too strong overall
-
Some control/interface issues (can't look up/down - various leaps of faith into death pits even early on, sometimes inconsistent hit detection (can get semi-stuck in Earth 4, hard to hit the tower guardians in the late-game Air levels), not enough horizontal speed+Contra-like (vertical focused) jumps, odd how you automatically move horizontally a bit when walking off a ledge, can't exit a level without either dying or using a teleport spell, can't double jump while carrying one of the alternate weapons unless it's the grappling hook - why?, fairly high default jump height, a bit too hard to gain momentum using the grappling hook - should've let you use the d-pad while hanging to build it up too, if you jump and then attack immediately while using the axe/hammer/scythe then you'll automatically jump as high as possible)
Trial & error (cheap surprise attacks here and there (sometimes you get attacked right away when starting a level), have to press up then down while attacking to hit the floor with the hammer, in Fire 3 you break a floor only to find... a death pit!, some delay on the laser barriers in the late-game Air levels disappearing after killing their guardians - fairly easy to fly into them by accident since the upwards scrolling is a bit loose (these guardians can also shoot you through walls), some boss patterns)
Some tedious aspects (too much stop and go gameplay at times (waiting for platforms and hazards to move), very short vulnerability period for the ice area boss, a few dead ends with nothing in them - sometimes after a platforming challenge)
Weird how bosses are introduced when entering their areas but then you are kicked out of the area at set points such as finding a weapon
Some difficulty spikes (grappling hook segment over a death pit in Fire 2 where you also get attacked by swarms of bats while climbing, late-game Fire area - partially because of the tight camera when jumping but also overly precise platforming over instant death hazards, almost no potions in the late-game Air levels - none in Ice 2?)
No save or password save
Invisible roof in the sky
Mostly grating music, Mostly weak sfx although there are some exceptions
Keep finding potions that you already have a full stock of (such as more red ones when you already have 4)
No boss music (the final boss fight uses the intro track)
No death animation for the red dragon/demon boss
Kind of easy final boss unless you used up all of your potions before it
Sometimes so-so color choices
No combo attacks
Compared to the original:
The game ends after clearing the terrestrial plane (Elemental Plane still available through portal skip) - this is the entire latter half of the game cut out (you'll miss several cool moments like dueling a boss while riding a flying bug). Using the portal spell to skip ahead (use it on the small platform in the bottom right of the hub area) only works if you don't beat the last sub level of each area in the first half, so you then have to skip 4 levels of the game anyway
The Fire area boss dies too quickly here and so does the "purple pharaoh" boss in the Air area, The Air area boss dies too quickly when using the hammer, The final boss dies too quickly to the fire/earth swords
Bugs:
-I had to move backwards after hitting the breakable walls/floors until I was 1-2 screens away for them to disappear