Niz Chicoloco (video game)

***Niz Chicoloco*** (released in Japan as ***CharmingBoy: The Hero Master***) is a Platform Video Game developed by DreamWorks Interactive and Reimagined Quest Studios and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation. It was first released in North America in August 1997, followed by Europe a month later and Japan in December. It stars the title character, a young heroic boy named Niz, and is the first game in the *Niz Chicoloco* series.

*Niz Chicoloco* received positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics and soundtrack, although some derided it for its similarities to other platformers. The game was a commercial success, selling over two million copies worldwide, and spawned a sequel, a television series, and a reboot for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Ports of the original game for the Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, and Microsoft Windows were originally announced to be developed by Silicon Knights and Climax, but were ultimately cancelled. Though Reimagined Quest alongside Electronic Arts finally released the following version which is developed by other developers, except for Virtual Boy and Nintendo 64.

## Gameplay

*Niz Chicoloco* is a platform game in which the player controls the titular character Niz Chicoloco, a twelve-year-old boy whose goal is to save his planet and rescue his love interest Kelly. Niz has several moves including running, jumping, attacking, picking up objects (such as gears), swinging, and sliding.

In the game, the player must do several tasks for other characters, and when players do the max tasks for that species, they become their companions, and let players throw them at enemies as well. When players beat the game, they can play the minigames.

## Development

In 1994, Jerry Sho came up with the idea of an original mascot video game in a similar vein to *Mario* and *Sonic the Hedgehog*. In 1995, he started developing the idea into a video game called *Niz Chicoloco*. While continuing his business investment with Michael Wildshill, Sho chose to pitch the game's protagonist to the newly-formed DreamWorks due to the company's lack of an existing mascot character that could compete with Disney's Mickey Mouse. Sho submit his pitched idea to freelance producer and another investor to Sho, Olivier Druckermann, who offered for the following pitch for publishing with DreamWorks co-founders Jeffrey Katzenberg accepted this offer, and the game officially began development.

DreamWorks Interactive was brought in to develop the game for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, and Microsoft Windows, although they made the game a PlayStation exclusive. however in 1998, Reimagined Quest released the following versions made by another developers such as Visual Concepts and Rage Software, while Electronic Arts released a PC version, with the exceptional of Virtual Boy (due to the commercial failure of its console) and Nintendo 64. The Game Boy version was released in 1999 by Natsume, though it was exclusively available to Japan and North America only. The game's soundtrack was composed entirely by Bill Brown. Sho directed and designed the game, with art direction by Sho and Craig Kellman, the latter being the art director for the animated series.

*Niz Chicoloco* was announced by Sony in May 1996, and was first shown off at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo in June 1996. The game was released in North America on August 30, 1997 for the Sony PlayStation, and later on in Europe on September 5, 1997. The game was released in Japan on December 11, 1997 as *CharmingBoy: The Hero Master*.

## Pre-Release and Unused Content

*Main article: List of Niz Chicoloco (1997 video game) pre-release and unused content*
## Regional Differences

*Main article: List of Niz Chicoloco (1997 video game) regional differences*

## Gallery

Original PlayStation CoverGame Boy Version CoverEuropean Sega Saturn Alternate Version CoverPC Version CoverNorth American Sega Saturn Version CoverEuropean Original Sega Saturn Version Cover.