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CHIP-CHAN KICK! (PCFX)
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Publisher: NEC.
Developer: Custom Co. Released: September 1996 (JP). Genre: 2D Platformer. Posted 19th June 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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Finding PC-FX games playable to a non-Japanese audience remains a tricky undertaking. NEC’s platform hosted just 62 releases, most of which focused on the format’s video and sound capabilities. As a result, a considerable majority of its software was narrative-driven. Alongside the emergence of anime-themed visual novels, traditional genres sported considerably more dialogue and storytelling than before. Just a few years earlier, the PC Engine had symbolised the perfect import option, thanks to a software library that was almost universally playable. The PC-FX came to embody the opposite: a niche collection of culturally-specific releases with little prospect of wider exposure.
Search thoroughly enough, however, and there’s the odd interesting curio, like Chip-chan Kick!. Cybertech Custom’s static-screen 2D platformer would have made for a seamless fit on the Amiga, alongside the likes of Qwak and Rod-land. You have the choice of two chirpy leads, Chip or Chap, whose differences are largely cosmetic, but for their in-game dialogue. The player simply needs to empty a screen of baddies through a stun/bash combination, to progress to the next level. The plot is somewhat nonsensical, but sees the pair battling through six worlds, each culminating in a confrontation with one of Dark Demon Lord Warbit’s henchwomen and a boss, before a showdown with the lengthily-titled antagonist himself.
Chip-chan Kick's levels are colourful and inviting, though its platforming is somewhat retrograde
It plays okay. Control responsiveness is reasonable, whilst a slew of challenging levels will occupy platformer fanatics. Textbook nineties Japanese irreverence is high on the agenda, as the weird ‘n’ wacky enemy sprites soon have you wondering whether you’re hallucinating. Road signs, ice lollies, model trains, rainclouds, telegraph poles and pink elephants. You name it, Chip-chan Kick! tries to kill you with it. Enemy movement patterns are somewhat less creative than their design choices, however, with most of them homing ponderously toward the player’s position. This can cause problems as merely touching an enemy kills the player. Seemingly out of nowhere, one might drop on you from above, or jump into you from directly underneath. If you’re especially unlucky, you might get zapped by a projectile that it’s entirely possible you won’t see coming. Chip and Chap can attack only in horizontal directions and cannot drop through platforms, which might have made some of the more crowded layouts less arduous.
CCK delivers a single distinctive gameplay mechanic: the ability to send a foe barrelling down a series of platforms until they reach the edge of the screen. This can be employed to take out several at once, resulting in lots of potential bonus points. Everything else, from the wide range of points-giving items, to the collecting letters to spell a word for an extra life, have been done before, many times. The mechanics of the game represent little progress from similar platformers from the early nineties.
CCK delivers a single distinctive gameplay mechanic: the ability to send a foe barrelling down a series of platforms until they reach the edge of the screen. This can be employed to take out several at once, resulting in lots of potential bonus points. Everything else, from the wide range of points-giving items, to the collecting letters to spell a word for an extra life, have been done before, many times. The mechanics of the game represent little progress from similar platformers from the early nineties.
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Its levels are playable but lack creative sparkle. Neither the layouts nor the platforming really develop as you progress. Sixty levels may sound a lot, but the shine starts to wear thin by the halfway point, with cheap deaths galore. No area embodies this problem more prevalently than the boss fights, which are promising in theory, but not much fun in practice. The player must first defeat a henchwoman whilst dodging a myriad of foes, before a large sprite is summoned. Such screen-hogging monstrosities include a giant bird and a mechanised tank-fish, who proceed either to chase the player or carpet-bomb them with projectiles. They’re really nicely drawn and the first few aren’t too bad to do battle with, but they soon become a chore.
It should also be noted that Chip-chan Kick! was released during the second half of 1996. PC-FX owners might have been forgiven for thinking that, with Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot and Nights into Dreams available on rival systems, they were getting something more progressive for their fifth-gen goliath. That the game utilises only two functions and three of the pad’s six buttons suggests there’s little beyond the video sequences and dialogue that couldn’t have been handled by a standard PC Engine. Just look at Parasol Stars.
It should also be noted that Chip-chan Kick! was released during the second half of 1996. PC-FX owners might have been forgiven for thinking that, with Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot and Nights into Dreams available on rival systems, they were getting something more progressive for their fifth-gen goliath. That the game utilises only two functions and three of the pad’s six buttons suggests there’s little beyond the video sequences and dialogue that couldn’t have been handled by a standard PC Engine. Just look at Parasol Stars.
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Video sequences are bolstered by a number of experienced anime voice actors
The visuals, therefore, were never likely to win awards for technical feats. That said, whilst the sprites are small and sport relatively unadventurous animations, the environments are pleasant. This is thanks to some lovely, colourful background designs that are nicely drawn and evolve just enough, level to level, to keep things fresh. Locations are typically eclectic, jumping between city streets, jungles, a zoo and a theme park, all housing sweet little touches. Keep your eyes peeled for what appears to be a PC-FX hoarding on the final level of the opening world, as well as waterfalls, a Ferris wheel and a penguin enclosure.
Plenty of effort and personality has gone into the look of the game. The tone of the video sequences is a little pantomime for my tastes, but the artwork is of a strong standard and the voicing comes across crisply and clearly. This in-turn is elevated by accomplished performances from several anime stalwarts including Satomi Kôrogi (Macross 7) and Yasunori Matsumoto (Ronin Warriors). There’s a lengthy intro, too, helping give CCK the vibe of an anime.
Plenty of effort and personality has gone into the look of the game. The tone of the video sequences is a little pantomime for my tastes, but the artwork is of a strong standard and the voicing comes across crisply and clearly. This in-turn is elevated by accomplished performances from several anime stalwarts including Satomi Kôrogi (Macross 7) and Yasunori Matsumoto (Ronin Warriors). There’s a lengthy intro, too, helping give CCK the vibe of an anime.
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Unlimited continues help limit the frustration of cheap deaths somewhat and a two-player option is a welcome bit of fun. In the end though, endearing as this oddball platformer is in the short term, a lack of gameplay development and limited replay value mean Chip-chan Kick! struggles to hold the attention beyond a few sessions. More pertinently, it’s not as playable as older titles such as Parasol Stars or Rod-land. Only those wishing to exhaust their options with PC-FX software will find pursuing it worthwhile.
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VERDICT
"endearing as this oddball platformer is in the short term, a lack of gameplay development and limited replay value mean Chip-chan Kick! struggles to hold the attention beyond a few sessions." OVERALL: 5/10 |