Kid Chameleon

''Kid Chameleon'' is a 1992 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. The player controls the "Kid Chameleon" as they attempt to save their peers from a virtual reality video game's rogue artificial intelligence. The gameplay sees players going through a series of levels, in which the goal is to reach a flag at the end. The game's central mechanic revolves around different forms, obtained from masks, which are used to progress through levels.

The game has been ported to several platforms via game compilations and digital distribution services.

Gameplay

The player controls Kid Chameleon as he progresses through a series of over 100 levels, containing an array of enemies and obstacles. 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. There is no password system or other method of saving the game. As Kid Chameleon moves through the game's levels, he gains access to masks that alter him into different characters. Each character has different special abilities and varying numbers of hit points. In addition to the offensive abilities of each form, the Kid can also defeat enemies by jumping on them, although he may take damage from some enemies by doing so. Each form can also make use of Diamond Powers that require diamonds collected in the game to use.

Release

The game is included in ''Sega Genesis Collection'' for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. It was released for the Virtual Console in Japan on May 22, 2007; North America on May 28, 2007; and Europe on June 1, 2007. The game has also appeared in ''Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection'' and the Nintendo Classics service.

Reception

'' Mega'' placed the game at #35 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time. ''MegaTech'' magazine said it was let down by the lack of challenge. ''Sega Force'' gave the game a review score of 82% praising the game’s graphics, game music and citing the game’s similarities to the Mario and Sonic games and stating: “Great platform action, but only for fans of the genre.” Console XS gave ''Kid Chameleon'' overall score of 89/100, they praised the game having constant variety because of the main character's ability to change persona. The four reviewers of ''Mega Play'' gave very positive reviews praising the gameplay, calling it "very concise" and praised the levels, the power-ups, graphics and game music. They felt ''Kid Chameleon'' was similar to other action games and one reviewer felt the game "get to be monotonous after a while." Manci Games praised the graphics, controls and the gameplay and praised the ability to swap abilities saying that feature separates the game from what it is inspired by. The reviewer found ''Kid Chameleon'' being similar to ''Super Mario Bros'' and the only criticism the reviewer had is the game does not have a save or password system.

Legacy

In 1993, a ''Kid Chameleon'' comic strip ran from issues 7–12 in the Fleetway publication ''Sonic the Comic''. Later in 1995, another strip from Issues 54-59 called "Back to UnReality!" was run.

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/kid-chameleon
*Kid Chameleon can be played for free in the browser on the Internet Archive

1992 video games
Platformers
Sega Genesis games
Sega Technical Institute games
Sega video games
Video games about video games
Video games developed in the United States
Virtual Console games
Shapeshifter characters in video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo Classics games
Virtual Console games for Wii