Here comes the kid!
Although Kid Chameleon might not be as well known as his Genesis/Mega Drive stablemate Sonic, he actually proves to be a worthy platform hero that is more than deserving of some attention, alongside the equally fine Ristar. There's nothing overly original here but the game is simply put together with enough style and good humor to make it easy to overlook any deficiencies in this department and which results in a game which is simply good fun. What you have here is a classic side-scrolling platform adventure where you take the part of the eponymous hero who must enter a virtual reality world to rescue a bunch of kids who've got themselves kidnapped. The cool part comes from our hero's ability to morph into different forms (hence the name) and which allow him to proceed through the various levels. One such ability for example, makes you look like Jason from the Friday 13th movies and which allows you to throw axes at your enemies. There are more than 100 levels to explore and in 90s fashion, they're pretty tricky thanks to the lack of saves or continues, but they make up for this difficulty in the way that they encourage exploration. Kid Chameleon is definitely a 90s platformer that deserves more recognition. It's got tight controls and a cool storyline, while the visuals have that classic look in spades, with lots of nice environmental and character design to enjoy. The levels themselves are well designed and a joy to explore, so if you have any interest in the genre, make sure you check this out.
