PixlBit

A fun 3D platformer with a twist. 

Have you played this one? This game makes me feel old because I remember when it had just come out and I was playing it for the first time, and now I'm reviewing it as a retro game! Oh well, I guess I'm just getting old. 

Chameleon Twist was released for the N64 in 1997; it was published by Sun Soft and developed by Japan System Supply. It's a platformer that stars adorable little chameleons with backpacks. And while the game really isn't that interesting and the story is moot, the gameplay itself is very unique. 

1. 

You see, the chameleon can use his tongue to do all kinds of things, and he's going to need it in order to overcome some tricky obstacles. Just with his tongue, he can catch enemies in his mouth and spit them out; he can swing around poles; he can propel himself to new heights; he can do a tongue-stand and hold it for a couple seconds; yes, you've never seen a tonuge used like this before in any game. Due to this, CT is a very unique platformer. When you press the B button, the tongue comes out; then, holding B, you can control the direction of the tongue using the analog stick. 

When you start the main game, you will choose one of four chameleons: Davy (blue), Jack (green), Fred (orange), or Linda (pink). Yes, fantastic names, I know. Anyways, the story is really weird and doesn't make any sense at all. First it shows your chameleon just sitting on a log chilling when all of a sudden a white rabbit runs by looking at his watch. "Oh dear! I'm going to be late!" Sound familiar? He jumps into a magical hole and the curious chameleon decides to follow him. On the other side, the chameleon sees that he's been changed into more of a humanoid form. He's in some kind of jungle. At this point you can go through the level and learn all the tongue techniques on your own, or you can go to the training room and let them explain them to you and practice. 

So you run through the jungle, grabbing bad guys with your tongue, then spitting them out, swinging around poles, having a good time. This is not a difficult level, nor is it long. Soon you come to the boss, a big ape with blazing red and yellow hair. This has to be the easiest boss in the world. All you need to do is spit butterflies at him until he falls off the cliff. After your victory, two more areas are opened up for you to try. There are six stages in the main game: Jungle Land, Ant Land, Bomb Land, Kiddie Land, Desert Castle, and Ghost Castle. These six destinations are very distinct from each other and feel different and fresh instead of a repetition of the same. 

Each level is full of puzzles. In Ant Land, you have to gulp up hords of ants just to stay alive from their constant marching; in Bomb Land, you have to grab bombs in your mouth, then spit them out at floor tiles to find the switch to open the door; in Kiddie Land, you have to spit out little bad guys into moveable walls so you can get past. These are just a few of the puzzles found in the game. The puzzles are done well, and yet, I felt they could have used the tongue techniques to a greater extent. There was quite a bit of platforming in the Desert Castle level, but the other levels lacked in this area. And for the most part, the levels are too short. If there's going to be only six levels, make them long. The bosses at the end of the levels are fun, yet very easy (I thought the Ant Land boss was the best, a big queen ant that swings her butt at you! And it's a big one!) In fact, the overall game is very easy (I beat the game as an eight year old kid for crying out loud). 

Dude, this boss swings her butt at you! That's awesome!

The soundtrack for the game is one of the best parts. The music is very upbeat and catchy (look below for a few of my favorite tracks). This kind of music makes the game more enjoyable. I would tell you who the composers were, but about ten people did the music for this game. No wonder it was so good! 

I also have to mention the multiplayer. CT has good multiplayer. With four people playing at once, the multiplayer can be intense and fun. You can choose to play either Survival or Time Trial. In survival, you grab whatever it is they give you and spit it at your opponents, trying to knock them off land into the abyss. You can also poke your opponents with your tongue. In Time Trial, you have just a short time to cause your opponents to fall off the land and keep them off for the longest period of time; the person with the least amount of time wins. This fast-paced multiplayer is very fun, and the music is great too. 

What I felt was really lacking in this game was a villain. As I mentioned before, there's not much of a plot. You follow a white rabbit into a magical hole and KAZAM you get to go on an adventure! The bosses are just random creatures (an ape, a queen ant, a giant cake, just to name a few), but the final boss was disappointing. Are you ready for this? The final boss was a bunch of bad guys welded together to form......the final boss. Okay, so why are we fighting these bad guys? What's going on? This game really needed a cool villain. But apparently, Japan System Supply didn't think about the story too much; gameplay was their focus. 

Final Verdict--4 Stars: Recommended

Despite its flaws, I'm going to recommend this game. It's fun and unique. Rarely did the game ever become frustrating, and that's a plus in my book. And the music is wonderful (another plus)! The great multiplayer also helps this game to remain enjoyable even to this day. The lack of a villain is the game's greatest problem, but in no way does that diminish this game from being a fun and unique adventure. If you get the chance, wrap your tongue around this one. 

Join me every Saturday as we take a look back at all kinds of retro games, good and bad.