I like Chiki Chiki Boys. But once upon a time that wasn’t the case. I thought the name was incredibly stupid and the childish box art did it no favors. The Genesis also had a stellar lineup in 1993 and I’m sure most would rather play Streets of Rage 2, Shinobi III, Rocket Knight Adventures or Gunstar Heroes than a no name sensation. Never judge a book by its cover. A chance rental changed my mind about Chiki Chiki Boys completely. Often underrated and with a low profile Chiki Chiki Boys is a hidden gem in the Genesis library like Blades of Vengeance and Trouble Shooter. Don’t pass this one up.
The peaceful land of Alurea is attacked by monsters and its population decimated. The only survivors are the twin sons of the King who grow up ignorant of their homeland. When they are finally told of what happened to their kingdom the brothers set out to rid Alurea of evil. Released in the arcade under the name Mega Twins this was not one of Capcom’s higher profile releases. Despite its low profile it still saw a wide variety of ports. The Genesis version published by Sega is a solid edition of a forgotten arcade game and worth tracking down for a few bucks.
Chiki Chiki Boys in many ways is similar to the on foot sections of Legendary Wings. Enemies spawn endlessly and drop gold used to buy upgrades in between levels. Unlike Legendary Wings you can’t fly freely outside of designated levels. The brothers are quite agile though, able to grab and climb walls to find hidden treasure chests everywhere. Speaking of treasure to see the true ending will require some exploration. Two dragon eye stones are required to fight the real final boss. One is earned normally but the other is well hidden. It’s a feat that the stone is so well hidden; the levels are short by genre standards even though Chiki Chiki Boys covers a lot of ground. Next to the two playable characters the multiple endings give the game replay value.
The differences between the twins are slight but pronounced. The blue twin has a stronger sword attack. Blue only needs six slashes to perform a strong attack versus red’s seven. Red is better with magic; he can hold five spells versus blue’s three. Depending on you approach the game each has their benefit. To make the most of blue you need to spend huge amounts of gold upgrading his sword and shield. On the other hand magic costs a pittance in comparison. Magic is strong but is still limited. Meanwhile every equipment upgrade increases your life bar and attack power. With the final super sword every attack blue performs is a strong slash, making him the clear favorite.
Most arcade games waste no time stealing your money with their aggressive difficulty. Chiki Chiki Boys feels more like a console game in comparison. Even though enemies almost never stop spawning they go down easily. I would imagine that is to help accrue gold as half the items are very expensive. Health pills are spaced out evenly and are cheap to buy between levels. Although the bosses are large their patterns are easily recognizable within seconds. They are damage sponges annoyingly are easy to deal with. So long as you up with new gear the difficulty spikes are kept in check. The game certainly tries to be difficult; your life is not replenished between levels and you only have a single life and must buy credits. But I found it tame compared to most arcade ports.
My one gripe is the lack of multiplayer. The absence of any multiplayer is completely egregious. I don’t understand why it was excised either; maybe technical reasons? Toward the end of the game there is rampant slowdown as groups of enemies and rows of coins spawn. With two players I can imagine it would be a slideshow. But I still think it would have been worth including. The game would be insanely easy but that’s nothing a bump in difficulty couldn’t fix. It’s a missed opportunity for sure but far from a deal breaker.
All things considered Sega have done a relatively good job converting the arcade to the home. Mega Twins featured large sprites against cute backdrops. In many ways it would look right at home on the PC Engine/Turbo Grafx. For the most part it is intact with some sacrifices. The range of colors has taken a hit but the biggest comes in the backgrounds. A large portion of the environmental detail has either been cut or made smaller. Some stages have also been redesigned, and sadly not for the better. While disappointing it is still a good looking game overall.
In Closing
Chiki Chiki Boys is a great arcade port and an excellent action game. Sega have done a great job porting the arcade game and while it is often forgotten that doesn’t make it any less great. This is the definition of a hidden gem and with its price is worth tracking down.
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