He looks like a cross between a gothic undertaker and a nightmare. Double-wielding swords, wearing a hat that would make a Victorian stage magician jealous, and possessing an eternal life that’s more of a curse than a superpower. We’re talking about Chakan: The Forever Man. Specifically, the 1992 release on the Sega Mega Drive (and Genesis for those in North America). If you played this back in the day, you probably remember two things: the incredible atmosphere and the fact that it was absolutely, brutally punishing.
Most games from that era wanted you to win eventually. Not Chakan. It felt like the game actually hated you.
It’s weirdly beautiful in its nihilism. Based on the independent comic book by Robert A. Kraus, the premise is simple but grim. Chakan is a warrior so arrogant that he challenges Death to a duel. He wins, but because Death is a sore loser with a sense of irony, Chakan is granted eternal life—but only as long as supernatural evil exists. He’s essentially trapped in a loop of endless monster-slaying until every last demon is purged from the universe.
Why the Sega Mega Drive Version Hits Different
When people talk about 16-bit classics, they usually bring up Sonic or Streets of Rage. But Chakan occupies this strange, dark corner of the library. It wasn't developed by Sega’s internal teams but by Extended Play Productions. It has this gritty, Western-comic-book aesthetic that stood out against the bright, anime-inspired palettes of other Mega Drive titles.
The color depth—or lack thereof—actually works in its favor. The Sega Mega Drive was often criticized for its limited color palette compared to the Super Nintendo, but for a game set in literal hell-dimensions, the grainy, high-contrast look was perfect. It felt "adult" before we really knew what that meant in gaming.
The Mechanics of Frustration
You have four main elemental planes to conquer: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. You can tackle them in any order, which was pretty progressive for 1992. But here’s the kicker: the controls.
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Chakan doesn't move like Mario. He’s stiff. He has this floaty, spinning jump that is notoriously difficult to aim. In a game where one missed platform often means falling into a pit of instant-death spikes or acidic goop, that’s a problem. Honestly, if you can beat the first level of the Air plane without throwing your controller, you’re basically a gaming god.
Then there’s the alchemy. This was arguably the coolest part of the game. By collecting different colored potions, you could combine them to create buffs.
- Double jump? There’s a recipe for that.
- Fire swords? Mix some potions.
- Healing? Better hope you memorized the combo.
There was no in-game menu telling you what the recipes were. You either had to experiment blindly, losing precious resources, or you had to have the physical manual sitting in your lap. In the pre-internet era, losing that manual was a death sentence for your playthrough. It added a layer of tactical depth that most side-scrollers ignored, but it also contributed to the game's reputation for being inaccessible.
The Lore is Genuinely Disturbing
Robert A. Kraus created something special with the character. Chakan isn't a hero. He’s a guy who messed up and is now paying the price for eternity. The Sega Mega Drive version captures this through the inter-level screens. Between stages, you see Chakan in a dark void, resting or contemplating his misery.
The bosses are equally grotesque. We're talking about things like the Dragonfly Queen or the Elken, creatures that felt way more "heavy metal" than the typical Nintendo bosses of the time. The sound design helped too. The Mega Drive’s FM synthesis chip (the YM2612) was known for producing "metallic" or "gritty" sounds, which a lot of developers struggled with. But for Chakan, it was a feature, not a bug. The soundtrack is haunting, dissonant, and completely stressful.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s a persistent myth that the game is "broken" or that the ending is a glitch. If you actually manage to beat all the bosses—a feat that involves navigating some of the most confusing level designs in 16-bit history—you meet Death again.
Spoilers for a thirty-four-year-old game: you don't get a "Congratulations" screen.
Instead, Death shows you a vast starry sky. He tells you that while you’ve cleared this world of evil, there are countless other worlds in the universe. And as long as evil exists anywhere, Chakan will never rest. You’re then dumped back into a single, impossible-to-beat stage that goes on forever. It’s the ultimate "troll" ending. It’s brilliant. It’s thematic. And it made a lot of kids cry in the early 90s.
The Legacy of the Forever Man
Why do we still care about a game that’s famously too hard and has a depressing ending?
Because it had an identity. In a sea of mascot platformers, Chakan was an outlier. It was the Dark Souls of the Mega Drive before that comparison became a tired cliché. It required patience, resource management, and a high tolerance for failure.
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There was actually a sequel in development for the Sega Dreamcast. Screenshots of it exist online, showing a much grimmer, 3D world that looked way ahead of its time. Unfortunately, it was cancelled when the Dreamcast folded, and the assets were eventually repurposed into other projects. It’s one of the great "what ifs" of the 128-bit era.
Tips for Playing Chakan in 2026
If you're firing this up on an emulator or a MiSTer FPGA setup today, do yourself a favor:
Don't play it like a platformer. Treat it like a survival horror game. You need to move slowly. You need to farm potions. If you rush, you die.
- Memorize the Potion Combos: Blue + Blue is usually your best friend (healing). Green + Green gives you the high jump. Without these, the game is literally impossible.
- Abuse the Sword Spin: You can attack in 360 degrees while jumping. This is your primary defense against the infinite respawning enemies.
- Save States are Not Cheating: Honestly, the original hardware didn't have a save system or passwords for the individual levels. Completing this in one sitting on an original console is a task for masochists. Use save states to learn the patterns.
Chakan: The Forever Man is a testament to a time when developers weren't afraid to make a game that felt genuinely hostile to the player. It’s a mood. It’s an aesthetic. It’s a frustrating, jagged piece of software that stays with you long after you’ve turned off the console.
Practical Next Steps for Fans
- Track down the comics: Robert A. Kraus is still active, and the original Chakan comics offer way more context than the game ever could.
- Check the ROM hack scene: There are several "Quality of Life" hacks for the Mega Drive ROM that fix some of the more egregious hit-detection issues and add a password system.
- Listen to the OST: Search for the high-quality recordings of the Mega Drive soundtrack. It’s a masterclass in using the Sega sound chip to create atmospheric dread.