Kid Chameleon

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Kid Chameleon
System(s): Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Publisher: Sega & Sega of America
Developer: Sega Technical Institute
Genre: 2D Platform

Kid Chameleon is a platform game released for the Mega Drive/Genesis. The premise of the game is that the main character, "Kid Chameleon", can use masks to change into different characters to use different abilities. The game is also a part of the Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. It was released for the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on 22 May 2007, North America on 28 May 2007 and Europe on 1 June 2007. It was also released in addition to a series of other Sega games, including Shining Force and Comix Zone, in Sega Smash Pack 2.

Story

A new virtual reality arcade game arrived in town and every kid played it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until kids began to disappear. The game's boss, Heady Metal, had freed himself from his scripted AI and was using his new freedom to kidnap every kid who could not beat the game, which was all of them—until now! Kid Chameleon enters the game and must defeat every level, every boss and Heady Metal himself if he wants to save the others.

Gameplay

The player, as Kid Chameleon, progresses through a series of levels. Most levels contain a flag, which is the primary goal of each level, from which the player progresses to the next level. However, a number of teleporters throughout the game can warp the player not only to different places in the same level, but also to different levels, and sometimes to an entirely different path through the game. At the end of the game, Kid fights and defeats the final boss, Heady Metal. Kid Chameleon contains nearly a hundred levels, of which only about half are on the "main path" (traversing levels only by flags), and also counts the two-dozen smaller unnamed levels, simply called "Elsewhere". Despite the game's considerable length, there was no password system or other method of saving the game. However, both Sega Genesis Collection and the Virtual Console service allow players to save their progress mid-game.

As Kid Chameleon moves through the game's levels, he gains access to masks that transform him into different characters. Each character has different special abilities and varying amounts of hit points. The sheer amount of variety in gameplay due to the various characters is part of what gave Kid Chameleon such an addictive style; few levels repeated the same structure and they usually had specific strategies and characters to be beaten. In addition to the offensive abilities of each form, the Kid could also defeat enemies by jumping on them, although he may take damage from some enemies by doing so.

Characters

• Kid Chameleon - If Kid runs out of hit points while wearing any other mask, he reverts to this form. If Kid runs out of hit points in this form, he dies. (He will die in any form if he is crushed, falls off screen or if time runs out.) In this form he can grab onto ledges to pull himself up.
• Iron Knight - The Iron Knight is the most durable character, able to take more hits than any other character. He also has the ability to scale vertical walls. He is heavy enough to break through some floors.
• Red Stealth - A Samurai who can defeat enemies and break through some floors with his sword. He is able to jump higher than any of the other characters.
• Berzerker - This character can charge through walls or foes.
• Maniaxe - Modeled after Jason Voorhees, Maniaxe throws axes.
• Juggernaut - A wide tank that shoots skulls.
• MicroMax - A fly able to stick to walls and is half the size of the other characters, able to fit in small places.
• EyeClops - Can temporarily reveal hidden blocks and fire a harmful beam for a low diamond cost.
• SkyCutter - A hoverboarder able to ride on the ceiling at a consistent pace.
• Cyclone - A superhero who can fly by spinning like a tornado.

Other attributes of the game

Diamond powers

Kid Chameleon is considered a platformer in the game industry and generally plays like one. The player uses his character to hit blocks for rewards, must jump on enemies' heads to defeat them and collected diamonds (like Super Mario Bros.' coins or Sonic the Hedgehog's rings). But there were a few things that set the game apart. Unlike Super Mario World., Sonic the Hedgehog or other platformers, the diamonds players collected did not automatically count towards an extra life or some other reward. Instead, they were used like money to purchase support for the player. Almost every character had a set of two such supports; one would cost 20 diamonds and the other would cost 50, a chime would play when one of these amounts was reached; players could collect up to 99, whereupon subsequent collected diamonds would disappear and be wasted. The only way to get an extra life via diamond collections was by having 50 or more while playing as Maniaxe. Some characters did not have a set of diamond powers, as they were called, and instead had a single, cheap power available. For instance, Juggernaut could purchase a five-way shot for 5 diamonds or EyeClops could purchase a death ray that damaged all enemies it hit for 2 diamonds. The diamond powers can be activated by pressing A and Start at the same time.

Various blocks

Another aspect of Kid Chameleon that set it apart was the various blocks the characters could hit. Unlike some other games, which usually featured only one or two types of blocks, this title featured 11, as follows:

• Prize blocks offered rewards when hit, such as masks, sets of diamonds or an extra life. They became rock blocks once the prize was extracted.
• Rock blocks act as barriers or platforms to stand on; at times the player would need to break through them and at other times, he or she would need to be careful not to. This was especially the case with Iron Knight, as his weight would automatically break through them if he jumped too high and landed on them.
• Iron blocks function just like rock blocks, but cannot be destroyed, although Berzerker had the ability to push them.
• Rubber blocks were stationary and could not be destroyed. The character bounced atop these blocks.
• Cannon blocks shot out a sharp projectile that could break rock blocks, kill enemies or hurt the character (if he was in the way); these were used at times to make a deadly trap for the player, in that if one was accidentally touched, the player's character died.
• Ice blocks made maneuverability hard and when broken, shot ice upward.
• Vanishing blocks disappeared the moment they were touched; some levels forced the player to move quickly and these added to the adrenaline rush, as one mistake could spell the character's doom.
• Shifting blocks moved upward when hit; they could also moved sideways by hitting them with Berzerker. If a player hit a shifting block while an enemy was standing between two of them, the enemy would be destroyed; enemies could also be crushed with them using Berzerker's ability.
• Drill blocks looked just like Iron blocks, but had a deadly drill that came out when the character got too close; the game would often tempt the player with a ledge of blocks, only to fool him or her into hurting their character.
• Mushroom blocks would disappear when hit, only to grow additional ones above where it had been. These could be used to reach high, normally unaccessable areas.
• Ghost blocks looked like shifting blocks, except that they were stationary and phased in and out of existence. Sets of them would at times be grouped, making perfect timing a must. If the player was caught in the middle of a block as it materialised, he would automatically die, regardless of form.

Drill wall

There are three levels throughout the game (starting with Hills of the Warrior 1) that feature a giant, metal wall covered in drills and augers that sweeps across the screen at a steady pace. These levels require the player to navigate and exit the map as quickly as possible, as coming in contact with the wall instantly kills Kid. These levels have a unique music theme, which becomes useful in identifying the danger early on.

Comic adaptation

In early 1993, Kid Chameleon gained his own comic strip in the new Fleetway publication Sonic the Comic. The first strip ran from issues 7-12 and featured Casey entering the Wildside to rescue his friend Suzy, with a disembodied presence known as The Voice giving him advice and encouragement. Through each issue he changed into one of the different personas- Red Stealth, Eyeclops, Micromax, Berzerker and finally Iron Knight, before his Chameleon powers ran out and he had to take down a powerful enemy as his normal self. While he & Suzy escaped Wildside, the story ended with Casey discovering local school bully Brad was also trapped in Wildside. In issues 54-59 he returned again to rescue Brad, this time turning into Skycutter, Berzerker, Maniaxe and Cyclone. Here he discovered that The Voice had a more sinister agenda and was keeping children from all over the world prisoner in the Islecatraz gulag, using Brad as warden. Casey, as Cyclone, destroyed Islecatraz and freed everyone from Wildside, but when it became clear only one more person could escape, Brad sacrificed himself as penance for his sins so Casey could escape. The ending was ambiguous, with a showdown being threatened between Casey and The Voice, and fueled speculation that a third strip was imminent. Fleetway did not produce any more, however, and the story, like almost every non-Sonic strip, remains unresolved.

Production Credits

Game Design: Hoyt Ng, Broderick Macaraeg, William G. Dunn, Graeme Bayless
Programming & Software: B. C. Tchiu Le, Bill Willis, Steve Woita, Mark Cerny
Art: Craig Stitt, Alan Ackerman, Judy Totoya, Brenda Ross, Paul Mica
Sound: Nu Romantic Production
Special Thanks: Scott Chandler, Hugh Bowen, Haven Dubrul, Test Group
Created by: Sega Technical Institute
Presented By: Sega & Sega of America