Hardcore gamers rejoice as Oxygen Games released Chronos Twins, the answer to those longing for the next Megaman or classic Metroid on a portable system. Resurrecting the classic side-scrolling action theme with a mix of new elements such as the dual screens on the Nintendo DS, this game ultimately becomes a challenge because of the extraordinary difficulty and the minor issues that disrupt the overall experience.

Players will take on the role of Nec, a human-like creature bent on seeking revenge for the lost of his brother due to the undeniable catastrophe caused by an unknown horror of time. It becomes apparent that Nec must travel back in time and thwart the evil intentions of this creature, stop the murderous onslaught of his world and save his brother from meeting his ungodly demise. All of this is revealed before the game starts, so players can be relived to set forth on an uninterrupted quest of timely debacles and dangerous encounters.

Chronos Twins can best be described as classic Metroid on steroids. The game is played through both screens simulation in which the top screen represents the present time and the bottom represents the past time. From here, Nec will appear in both screens and players have the ability to control them at the same time. People with terrible hand-eye coordination beware because it requires you to pay attention to both as some actions and movements will intervene with one another. For example, if you come across a ledge in the present day but there is a platform available in the past, the player is entitled to continue on without the worries of dying. This can be represented by the “danger indicator” which flashes whenever something lethal is present, whether on the top screen or bottom.

Another main aspect if the ability to freeze time in order to accomplish puzzles. If there happens to be a blockade in the present day, with the simple press of the L trigger and the D-pad of your direction (up or down), that will stop immediately and it’ll be up to your past to find some means for your present to continue forth. Many of these events will come to you in the form of trial-and-error when you realize how illogical the level design is and then how you misinterpreted it so easily. It’ll come as a surprise to most players, but nevertheless, it actually takes advantage of the dual screens on the Nintendo DS and I must praise it for the originality.

Make no joke as Chronos Twins is extremely challenging and mind-numbing at times. Because action takes place through both screens simulation, the player will often become distracted if their attention falls to one over the other. Probably the best way to approach the game is to position yourself away from the handheld in order to view everything. But even that tends to diminish focus. Time to play Flash Focus for the DS! The game has left a callous taste in my mouth, but I do feel accomplished when beating a section after retrying it verbatim 20 times (no hyperbole).

Reasons to justify the difficulty include some awkward gameplay issues such as collision detection and potential lag. Every time Nec is damaged, whether that being caused by a deadly creature or environmental phenomenons, the game will consistently chug and the gameplay will fidget a bit. Players want to learn from their mistakes in milliseconds and continue with the action, not to indulge the slow motion captured injury and death sequences. Questioning the safe distance from a dangerous object is a bit tricky as well. In some cases, I could instantaneously die from sliding across a platform into lava or remain undetected while leaning behind a spike block. Speaking of dying, the game provides very little hope in completing an entire level with the set of health and lives (which comes in packs of three). There are some checkpoints scattered all and about and losing all your lives means you’ll start the entire section of the level all over.

And since Chronos Twins can best be regarded as the traditional old school game with new teachers, it suffers from archaic visuals and music. The game simply doesn’t take advantage of the DS hardware in respects to graphics, but some players will rarely care since the action is furious and C-rated visuals are put behind as insignificant gripes.

Chronos Twins is definitely one of the most mind-boggling games to date. With the extreme level of difficulty and old school style that’ll cater to hardcore gamers, casuals will most likely want to ease away even though Oxygen Game encourages a gradual leaning curve. That being said, some issues regarding frustrating predicaments are not reasons to put down a purchase. If you want a game that truly takes advantage of the dual screens in a much different fashion other than touching, Chronos Twins is the way to go.

Overall Score: 7.5/10