Nico Adventures: Cloned

***Nico Adventures: Cloned*** is an action-adventure video game developed and published by J-Games for the J-Revolution. It released internationally in October 2019 and is the fourteenth and penultimate entry in the *Nico Adventures* series, serving as the successor to *Nico Adventures: Something About Us*. It has since been released on every subsequent J-Games console.

*Nico Adventures: Cloned* follows Nico and Pico who discover that the Gecko Mafia has been making clones of the pair in order to frame them for a number of crimes, all whilst being able to operate without being discovered as the majority of the mafia died in *Nico Adventures: Contact*. The game also involves Michael and Alistair as playable characters, as the duo confront the Gecko Mafia on numerous occasions in order to avoid the mafia obtaining more genetic information about Nico and Pico. Gameplay sees the player take control of Nico and Pico on different occasions, as they navigate both open-world and linear levels, complete platforming and stealth missions, find collectibles, fight numerous enemies and solve puzzles. The game's hub world once again returns to Nico's mansion, albeit this time the mansion has been re-designed and changes as the game goes on. The game lacks the role-playing features found in multiple previous *Nico Adventures* games, and there is a greater focus on platforming and combat. It is the first game in the series to not feature Alistair in any capacity, after his departure from the franchise in the previous game.

Development of the game began in summer 2016, alongside three other *Nico Adventures* games. The title was intended to be a return to the classic formula the series introduced back in 2006. After the commercial success of the J-Revolution and J-Games' new series, the development team wanted to ensure *Nico Adventures* could stand on its own. Remi Gazel was planned to have composed for the game, but became ill and had to pull out, later dying in that same year of cancer. Shiro Sagisu, who had composed the series' soundtracks until departing in 2011, returned to the series on a two-year-contract and produced the soundtrack for the game. The game's main theme was recorded by Garbage.

*Nico Adventures: Cloned* received positive reviews upon release. Critics praised the game's controls, gameplay, visuals, soundtrack and level design were all the subjects of praise, whilst certain elements of the game's story were criticised. The fourth appearance of the Gecko Mafia in the series was met with lukewarm response: whilst some felt it set up the final game well by eliminating the Gecko Mafia once and for all, others felt it was a lazy choice and actively served to further ruin the characterization of the organisation. The viewpoint many held was that, as the last two games featuring the mafia involved highly advanced technology, the Gecko Mafia felt more like a group of evil scientists and less like an actual threatening group of mobsters, which critics noted the first two appearances of the group managed very well. The game's controls were praised as highly fluid and suitable for the amount of platforming in the game. The gameplay was said to have been consistent and well managed, and a return to form for the game. Shiro Sagisu's soundtrack was praised as nostalgic and highly complex and dynamic. The game was nominated for a variety of awards at the 2019 Video Game Awards, including Game of the Year, Best Graphics and Best Soundtrack, winning the latter.

Commercially, *Nico Adventures: Cloned* was successful. In its first three months, the game had sold over 5 million copies. On the J-Revolution, the game has sold nearly 40 million copies, the most of any *Nico Adventures* game on a single platform since 2010. Across all platforms, the game has sold nearly 60 million copies. After the game's release, J-Games announced that the game's successor would be the last entry in the series. A feature film adaptation was released the following year. The final game in the series, *Nico Adventures: The Final Chapter*, released in 2020.