Double trouble for one player? Hmm...

U.S. Game Box Front

PAL Game Box Front

Japanese Game Box Front

As You Can See, the U.S. Amiga
Version Of CCB Once Called Mega
Twins Looks Nothing Like Its More
Modern Incarnation.

Double The Freshness, Double
The Fun!

SPLASH!!! You're fighting the oceans' wrath! WHOOSH!!! You soar past a sea of clouds! CLANK!!! You deflect blows from a swordsman who could be your equal! CRASH!!! You narrowly escape being crushed by a two-headed dragon! With the incredible technology present in modern day video games, a lot of the imagination in a video game can sometimes be easily overlooked and taken for granted because people expect it to be front and center throughout all facets of the games. Sights, sounds, you name it, and the developers have to bend over backwards to satisfy the great discriminating tastes of modern day gamers. While gamers still had high expectations from game developers back in the early days of video games, they were willing to make more sacrifices in the face of limited technologies. A gamers' imagination could play just as big a role as the simpler games themselves, and sometimes the player likes to role-play while they role-play. It's part of what makes classics more fun. How else could Pong be perceived as a game of ping-pong?

When you think of the loads of games Capcom has developed over the years, Chiki Chiki Boys isn't one of those games that immediately come to mind. While it's a pretty popular game overall, it's overshadowed by most other Capcom games, which is ironic because it's been given more exposure than a fair deal of Capcom games. This game was originally made in 1990 under the name of Mega Twins and was released on several platforms such as the Amiga, Atari ST, and in the Arcades. Even more, Mega Twins was even planned for platforms like the Spectrum, Amstrad and Commodore 64 but were eventually scrapped. Even still, the game was popular enough to gain ports to the Turbo Grafx and Sega Genesis where they changed the name to the sillier moniker, Chiki Chiki Boys. This minor little history lesson pales in comparison to the significance of this article, because you came here to learn a little about how the game is played, correct? Ah, I digress.

Chiki Chiki Boys, aka Mega Twins, is a colorful romp through a world of mythical beasts, magic, and heroic swordplay. The promised land of Alurea is prosperous and peaceful until a horde of evil monsters plundered and pillaged the land. The helpless people of this land once called paradise were slain and the only known survivors of Alurea were two twin boys who happened to be sons of the King of Alurea. Time passed and the two brothers eventually grow up, learn of their tragic past, and realize that evil must be stopped, but they are the only ones with the strength and courage to do so. Their mission is to find the ringleader behind all the evil and track down two legendary treasures, the dragon eye stones. Rumor has it that the dragon eyes have incredible magic powers that can right wrongs and create miracles when joined together in the right hands. Do you have what it takes? Is Alurea even worth saving?

Sega's "reprogrammed" version of Capcom's classic dons some great visuals and a quirky Japanese style with a dash of Greek and Roman mythology. While the heroes themselves look pretty silly and relatively harmless, they embody the classic traits of your average hero. The characters are large and very vivid, the cutscenes are cute, and the backdrops and occasional foreground elements are easily distinguishable and great looking. From fire breathing dragons and bean pods with an attitude to crystal caverns and battles in the clouds with shadowy figures showing themselves in the distance whenever lightning strikes, the game looks splendid, though it shows its age a little when you pit it against other games of the time. Still, any game that lets you fight a guy who looks like Inspector Gadget in a bat costume deserves a few brownie points. The audio is pretty adventurous in its entirety, with great clarity and crisp sounds. The lofty tune of the sky and the slightly more subtle nuances to the music when under the sea help to move the game along.

Through the course of the game, you'll be trying to locate the two dragon eye stones. You're already setup to find the first one by default. You'll find it by completing the first three stages, which you can go to in any order you choose. The first stage sends you to the Earth itself, where you'll meet the Goddess of the Earth, Callia, who no doubt draws inspiration from Gaia of Greek culture or Terra of Roman culture. The second level thrusts you upwards into the heavens to find Meius high above the clouds. Should you make it to his tower marked with the Japanese kanji symbolizing heaven, you'll see he has loose ties to Zeus, the Greek god of the sky and heavens. Characteristically speaking though, he is a little closer to Aether and the Roman god Caelus...but with that goofy charm you'd come to love if you've played as many Japanese-style games as I have. Last but not least, you go to the ocean depths in round three to meet Poseidon, the one most gamers will immediately identify with when it comes to where he stands.

The larger portion of the game has you looking for the second dragon eye stone, where you'll fight tougher enemies and get tips from fairies in dresses. The one thing to look out for is a hidden key that will allow you to ultimately get the second stone. You can choose either twin to get the job done, and there isn't much of a distinction between the two when it comes to fighting. One is a little stronger physically and can throw sword waves sooner (in six slashes), the other can wield two more magic bombs but isn't as good with the sword (he can throw a wave with seven slashes). The one big downer of this game is that there is no co-op play. I can't even play this game with my own mega twin! In any event, the brothers can upgrade their abilities after each round, restore their health, purchase continues should you need them, and replenish their magic stock. Each twin has access to different spells depending on the level or settings in the options, and the game is pure, simple fun. I have to ask though; Why do they carry shields if they can't USE them??? Bah...humbug...

When all is said and done, it's no small wonder why Capcom wanted to reach out to so many audiences with this game. Chiki Chiki Boys is good clean fun and Sega was smart to get a port for their great Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. There are a few small issues and a couple of downers, but at the end of the day, this game deserves a place in every hardcore Sega fans' collection. Besides, being a twin myself, I gotta look out for all my look-a-like brothers and sisters out there, but we gotta show tough love when necessary too.

- Originally written by Vyse the determined -
- Revamped by Bel Cain The Eternal -