Chronos Twins DX – WiiWare – REVIEW

The anticipated Chrono’s Twins hits the European shores. Has it been worth the wait or has Chrono came too late?

Just a brief on the details about the game itself Chronos Twins DX is not apart of the Chrono Trigger series. Some may get confused by the title but this is not a Chrono Trigger title. The game was previously on the Game Boy Advance known as Chrono Twin.

Story

The story starts of putting you in the role of a character Nash who is trying to stop there planet being taken over by going back in time. Nash doesn’t succeed and you get placed into the role of Nec (his younger brother). You then continue through out playing as Nec who also takes part in travelling back in time and the future through out the game. I guess you can say it follows the concepts of the film “back to the future” but you get to wield a plasma cannon… and your an alien.

Gameplay
Chrono Twins DX is a 2D (with 3D elements) puzzle/side scrolling shooter that puts you in to multiple different level environments and boss battles. The game play can be known to be very similar to the Game Boy Advance version. I noticed this and was happy it was following the same game play mechanics as the previous.  You encounter the battle between the past and future through out giving it a very unique game play element, especially since you can see simultaneously what happened in the past as what you are doing in the future. If what i have just said has confused you then let me break it down in a simple manor. If you walk into an enemy in the bottom screen it will be exactly the same in the top screen. You will have to learn over time that you will be having to plasma cannon you way through enemies, jumping over obstacles and solving some puzzles. Which if you haven’t guessed are always simultaneous.

Th e good thing is when you progress further into the game you can actually get an ability which allows you to stop the simultaneous action and allow you to focus on to one screen which is much easier to control. It is very confusing to master and myself encountered difficulties focusing on both at the same time which caused a downside and is a shame that you have to get an ability to allow you to focus onto one part of the screen.

After a few try’s you should be able to manage get over the split screen past and future difficulty and will be able to enjoy your 2D adventure. The game starts off with basically a training mode which basically let you get use to the controls. This is a good starting level and gives you an instant feel of what game will be like. Another good thing that I also can take to note that the game just lets you start playing without any onscreen mumbo jumble telling you how to shoot or how to jump its all down to you which is nice having the time to freely get use to controls, also you can’t die! huzzah! After a few minuets you have picked up your control scheme on the WiiMote (or classic controller depending which you prefer). You can switch between the Numchuck controller layout for movement or the D-Pad by pressing 1 & 2 when ever you like throughout levels.  The controls do take some time to master and I recommend using option 1 since it is much easier to use the Numchuck to move around. It is very hard to get use to 2 different fire buttons from the past and future (Top Screen: (A) button in the past) and (Future (B) trigger for the bottom screen)

Once you finish the first level this is where you will encounter the split screen mechanic but as i stated before you will manage to pick it up and continue to enjoy your self battling it out through the 5 different level schemes and about 19 levels. Sadly its a shame that the game isn’t really that long and will only take a few hours to complete on the normal play through but its worth going over the game again on the harder difficulty. 700 points is a far price even though the game is short but since it’s been a long time since the GBA version you will be glad and happy you have paid this to play some classic 2D gaming like this.

Design
The design of the game isn’t ground breaking but does the job fine. Even though the game plays and look’s very similar to the GBA version the WiiWare port’s 3D elements are not really that impressive. If previous players liked the old design scheme it wouldn’t be to much of an issue to previous players but new players may turn it down because of its looks. The intro storyboard cut scenes are not that amazing and don’t really show amazing detail but doesn’t really take away from the gameplay.  This said I would say that its not the design that makes you want to play Chronos Twins DX but it’s the gameplay alone that makes you want to play and you find you become addicted to the adventure.

EnjoyUp’s Chorno Twins DX for the WiiWare is a very enjoyable and unique game which will make you reminisce about the classic days of EnjoyUp’s GBA Chrono Twin title. It is a game that takes a lot of skill to master but is enjoyable while getting through the process. The boss battles are great and the puzzle’s are fun and rewarding from start to finish. The split screen element’s take a lot of time to get use to but doesn’t make you want to stop playing.  Even though it’s short it is still worth picking up and mastering.

Good

• Classic 2D style game play
• Boss battles are great
• Sound track sets the mood well

Bad

• Split Screen (if you can’t focus on two things at once you may have difficulty)
• Some annoying puzzle’s in levels
• Controls (after the first level when you encounter the past and future split screen it becomes difficult to master)