Mega Twins was a game I had never heard of until I played it on the Capcom collections. Which is unusual because I'm pretty well versed in all things Capcom. I think Mega Twins was on the Genesis, too. And it's quite possible that Akira Toriyama did the artwork. I think he did the art for other video games around that time, like Buster Bros. and Go! Go! Ackman!
BaD #12: Mega Twins
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 On 02/16/2018 at 10:53 PM by daftman See More From This User » |
Mega Twins, released in arcades in 1990, is a beautiful game. It would have looked right at home on the SNES, and that was still a year out from release (in America at least). This action platformer sees two brothers—the sons of the king—defend their land from invading monsters. And what adorable monsters they are! The whole game is colorful and cheery and filled with little visual touches and comic moments. One of the later bosses, for instance, is a vampire but underneath his large cloak-like wings he's just a dude in a bow tie and boxers and a funny hat. When he blows up at the end of the fight his boxers go flying off and can land on your head if you jump into them, which totally makes your little guy freak out. It's a completely unnecessary little sequence but adds a ton of personality to the game. The graphics look heavily inspired by Dragon Ball (especially the promo art) but I found no evidence that Akira Toriyama worked on the game, and certainly that would be a major selling point. But whoever was ripping off his style did a good job!
See what I mean? And Chiki Chiki Boys is the original Japanese title.
The game doesn't start out too hard but the difficulty really ramps up as the game progresses. Without infinite continues Mega Twins would be very challenging! I was also playing solo and I'm sure it helps to have a friend along. The game doesn't skimp on variety either as you'll play on land, sea, and in the air. Most levels are normal side scrollers but there are some auto scrollers too. Your character attacks with a sword and limited magic bombs you can find in the levels. You collect a ton of coins, which I had hoped meant there was some sort of shop or upgrade system, but they're just for your score. I was also surprised to see that your little dude could momentarily stick to and then jump up walls, three years before Mega Man X was praised for that ability!
Mega Twins is a delightful game. It's either a little too hard or a little too short, depending on your number of continues, but it is certainly a fun experience while it lasts.
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