A forever mediocre mess
Mix of RPG and magic can’t save Chakan from terrible fate
As Sega and Nintendo fought for more territory in the final arc of the 16-bit era, Sega tried to stick with new original properties in unrealized genres. I recently was reintroduced to Chakan: The Forever Man, a game with a cool original theme that didn’t grow to the potential that developer Extended Play Productions envisioned. I would even dare say that with its dark theme, it could have been the Genesis’ answer to Castlevania, which later appeared on Genesis. However, dark and spooky doesn’t equal great.
Based on Robert Kraus’ comic book series, Chakan is what happens when the supernatural meets a legendary swordsman. You take on the role of Chakan, a legendary swordsman with blade and spell skills who boasts he can defeat Death without any problems. As a result, Death challenges Chakan to a duel to the death stating if Chakan wins, death will grant him eternal life. The battle ended with Chakan victorious and Death, keeping his promise with a sinister twist: While Chakan won eternal life, he is now tasked with eliminating all evils of the underworld. With the heavy burden of everlasting life upon him, Chakan must embark on a righteous requiem to earn eternal rest.
The graphics in Chakan are the usual fanfare for 16-bit systems. The theme of supernatural battle would be a meaningful change for a Genesis game that could have been expanded on, but the graphics placed the game at an unfair disadvantage because they are so bland and boring. Despite the handicap placed on the graphics, the music sticks to the game’s theme of fighting demons and perfectly pairs the music to each stage.
Controlling Chakan is easy but can be customized. Chakan has a special spin attack like Sonic the Hedgehog and can use fire and other elemental attacks using alchemy potions. My problem with the controls is obviously immediately: the Genesis controller has too many functions. Everything from movement to weapons and alchemy is time-consuming and a test of my patience.
While it’s a neat concept game, Chakan isn’t great at all. The many problems really start with the lack of hindsight to hire Kraus to consult on game development. This would have allowed more insight into the character. It’s also frustrating that Chakan’s time limit prevented me from locating his special weapons. Also, the various symbols representing alchemy were confusing. Trying to determine which symbol matched the element Chakan would need to fight multiple enemies was a chore.
Chakan: The Forever Man is sadly a game with a great concept that was decades ahead of its time. While I give Extended Play Productions credit for trying to introduce a different concept, the pressure to help Sega defeat their competitor blinded Chakan’s potential. More time should have been used toward the game’s development and introduction of Chakan as an anti-hero. Kraus will continue Chakan’s quest for a peaceful death but, for now, he deserves a well-earned rest.