Chronos Twins (Nintendo DS) - Review by Dennis

Introduction

Back in 2004, developer EnjoyUp announced a brand new puzzling title for the Game Boy Advance: Chronos Twin. After 2 years, the project was moved on to the Nintendo DS on which the title was finally released one year afterwards. The game promised to offer a brand new concept in single-player gaming, namely splitscreen action. In the game, players assume the role of a time travelling hero (Nasx) existing in two time periods of the same location simultaneously. Splitscreen, two time period, you get the point.

The story behind the game is of lesser importance. Alien entity entered your world and slaughtered just about everyone. Your task is to go back in time and prevent the entity from entering your world, which is slightly paradoxal as him entering your world was the point of you going back in time to stop him so basically stopping him would mean you'd never go back in time to stop him and hence him entering your world anyhow. Enough brain training for one day I'd say.

Gameplay

The whole dual screen usage in Chronos Twin makes the game one of a kind. While this concept sounds like a great idea, this is also a huge problem for the game. If the game was still on Game Boy Advance using a single screen, it would still be tough. Add the second screen and you've got the perfect recipe for utter frustration. EnjoyUp did try to help out the gamer with a small warning sound and signal, but mankind simply wasn't designed to take notice of two games at the same time.

Controls

The entire is touch-screen-free, all controls are limited to the D-pad: three out of four buttons and the L and R triggers. The game has, control-wise, an easy learning curve, although the game itself is pretty hard. At first, the gamer gets used to walking and jumping around with little action, which allows him to get a little bit used to the dual screen approach and the basic controls (D-pad and A). After a few levels, the gamer will receive a nice gun (adding to buttons to shoot in present and past times) and a time-controlling ability (performed by using the L and R triggers)

Graphics

Chronos Twin has a very retro look and feel. Not very strange, as the game did not change all that much graphically during its change from the Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo DS. The graphics look crisp and add to the whole experience: more slick graphics would easier distract you from all the action going on, not a recommendation in this particular game.

Sound

The background music isn't the best out there. However, the bland tunes repeating over and over again sometimes ease the mind. The only real sound one should fear in this game, is the "alert" sound. When one of the two Nasx's is in grave danger, a short buzz comes from the DS's speakers. Trust me on this one, you'll eventually start panicking and hate this warning sound upon hearing it.

Dual screen

For years Nintendo DS gamers have been asking developers to make proper use of the second screen. In Chronos Twin developer EnjoyUp does so. The Game Boy Advance version tried to show two timeperiods on one screen and thus presented a rather small visible area, which would make the game very hard to play. On the Nintendo DS both screens are used for the timeperiods, one each.

Final comments

Chronos Twin is a great game, but you have to learn to enjoy it. The difficulty of the game could set off the average apprentice gamer (and perhaps even the veterans among you). Apart from the nostalgic feeling the game brings in for the older gamers, Chronos Twin is an asset for all gamers. Chronos Twin is simply one of those hidden gems just waiting to be discovered on the shelves: get it, or regret it.

Pro: Insanely hard, retro feel
Con: Insanely hard, bad translation from Spanish
Final score: 7

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