Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Switch
Tested on: Switch
Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers – Review
Our childhood is something in the far past, for some longer gone than for other, but one thing we all had in common was playing with toys. The favourite toys of most kids are most probably tiny cars with which they can build endless scenarios, races, meetings etc only limited by their fantasy. Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers sounds like a brand come to life allowing you to play with those trinkets without having to imagine anything.
Story
Essentially an Arcade game, there wasn’t put a lot of work in developing a storyline for Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers. It can easily be compared with other racing games in which the player just selects a race and goes for gold. In the wake of the events riling up to the championship, the person controlling the vehicle must prove his worth by winning the normal races to work their way up. The absence of the story isn’t that annoying since we never heard anyone complain about Mario Kart being purely about racing.
Graphics
Old-school, this word perfectly describes the graphics. In its core everything is boxy (yes pun intended) and the pixilated visuals like the cars and tracks take you back to the hot summer days of the ‘90s when you were playing Nintendo or enjoying the local Arcade. Furthermore the overall look of Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers is really colourful with colours splashing from the screen to bring joy to the racing. Point of view is isometric, just like in the first racing games. Some will need to adjust a bit but thanks to the available controls this won’t take long.
Sound
With the visuals being old-school you would think that the music would be retro-ish, but it’s actually quite modern. The game’s soundtrack consists of an instrumental symphony in the menu that turns into that well-known Mario Kart rhythm during races. Combined with the colourful graphics and pixel artwork this makes for a fun enjoyable experience throughout. The sound effects of the cars, track and items are very firm and clearly hearable to enhance player immersion.
Gameplay
Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers is an Arcade racing game that is viewed from the top-down. The goal is to win each race to finally unlock the championship for the course. A handful of locations are available and they all have a unique setting, from the city to the jungle and beach. While this limits backdrops there are plenty of tracks ranging from straight simple roads to curvy slopes that will ask each bit of skill and concentration in order to be victorious. The course of the main events is quite simple: you select the scenery and will need to complete the races in succession. When they are all won the championship becomes available, which needs to be won to complete the series.
If the races become a drag you can find a few mini games to be enjoyed either single or multiplayer. From colouring the road to soccer and collecting coins, each can be a high-score run if you are alone or you can gather some friends on- or offline for a party. A great racing game always has a nice variety of vehicles with unique handling capabilities and Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers is no exception. There are many different types of vehicles to choose from including rally, buggy, track, limousine, tractor and F1 types, all with different stats to accommodate the tracks and challenges that you face. Controlling can be done in two ways: the first is stick which means where you point is where you go, the second is handle, this is like any normal game.
Earlier we mentioned that this little gem resembled many things from a popular racing franchise. Many of these games use a weaver of items to help you get to first place. In Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers however there are only two. A boost that will propel you forward and an invulnerability shield that repels opponents and won’t slow you down when you hit obstacles.
Conclusion
Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers is a fun little title on the Nintendo Switch, that while having a short campaign with a limited number of tracks, it does offer a wide variety of vehicles and the ability to have local and online races. Its controls have both options for arcade and more realistic handling. The retro feel of the graphics is a cool nod to the older days but the game also respectfully uses modern elements.
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