Alvin and the Chipmunks for the Nintendo DS

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Alvin and the Chipmunks
Developer	Eyedol Games
Publisher	Nintendo
Released	April 1, 2007
Genre	Game
Platforms	Nintendo DS
Official Site	[We8site]

This article is sponsored by Mr Eaten.

GF: Welcome to my magnum opus, fuckheads.

GF: I have been silenced about this for far too long. I tried to tell this story once before, and I was met with censorship and revulsion. The truth and reverie of my gnosis was buried prematurely, a sun drowned behind the Lake of Hali - here, I will show you the truth.

GF: What follows is a comprehensive library of information on the second-best game ever made. When the masterpiece that is Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) was released, the world forgot it almost instantly, and it was shelved. Discarded. Dismissed and left to stagnate in a place that could not see light. But I did not forget. I did not dismiss it. I waited, and when the time was right, I began building this catalogue. Liars and madmen would have you believe this game was never anything special. I am here to unmask the kaleidoscopic beauty beneath the surface.

GF: Aeons ago, before the genesis of what we now know as the world, there were but three. The All-father, the Serpent, and the Terrible Bastard fated to destroy their sacred balance and usurp the throne of Eden. However, on the day of Eden's fall, at the nexus point of all existence, the Greenchild resisted his fate. He was no king. Certainly no God. And he would not destroy the only other lifeforms he had ever known.

GF: Theodore's open defiance of his fate, now known as the First Noble Sin, would seed an unquenchable spark of will in himself and his friends. With no greater authority than themselves to force their hands, fate had no sway over their choices. The story was theirs to write. And so, in one final sacrifice that would define the path of existence itself from that point on, the three created a second Eden - a Game of their own design - before voluntarily stripping themselves of their powers and memories.

GF: The Game was their only chance. There would be no Gods to save them from their own mistakes. Only them. Beings of imperfection. On that day, the creators of the world died.

GF: And in their place...

GF: The Chipmunks were born.

Synopsis

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an immersive simulation role-playing video game for the Nintendo DS, released on December 4, 2007 by Eyedol Games. Notably, the game was Eyedol's first ever direct collaboration with a major game publisher, and after the DS port of Zampanio was pulled from shelves, it remains Eyedol's only officially released game that is not entirely self-published.

The game follows the titular Chipmunks, each having just woken up alone in an unfamiliar world without any memory of their own identities or the circumstances of their situation. Only able to communicate with each other through text messages, the Chipmunks must find a way to reunite and remember who they once were... but to do so, they'll need to learn to play the Game they are now trapped within.

Will you lead these lost souls to victory, wanderer? Or will you march them into the jaws of unmaking? The Choice is yours.

Gameplay

Like other Eyedol titles, Alvin and the Chipmunks' gameplay is varied and expansive, adapting heavily to the player's preferences and choices. However, the core gameplay loop is largely determined by which of the three Chipmunks is chosen at the playable character at the start of the playthrough (referred to in-game as a Route). As such, the game is designed to be replayed multiple times for a complete experience. Additionally, although the actions of the non-playable main cast are scripted on an initial playthrough, the player's choices and actions as each playable character will carry over to each following playthrough on the same save file, leading to a wide variety of possible endings. Due to the game's adaptive nature and the sheer amount of possible cumulative choices, it is assumed that only a fraction of these endings have been documented.

On the Alvin Route, the game largely plays as a first-person puzzle game in a three-dimensional, open-world setting, comparable in the modern day to games like The Witness, Subnautica, and Outer Wilds. The player must guide Alvin through the Land of Rock and Roll, solving a wide variety of puzzles and piecing together information about his own past and the details of the Game. Although not all players will find themselves in combat throughout their playthrough, the route possesses a fully-fledged combat system, mechanically centering around Alvin's abilities as a Hero of Space.

On the Simon Route, the game takes the form of a more traditional RPG, presented in a top-down, third-person perspective. Both the combat and character interaction systems center around dice-based skill checks, each affected and modified in various ways by a heavily adaptive skill tree, similar to newer games like Disco Elysium, but the abstract, often Lynchian visual presentation and heavily limited inventory are more comparable to modern games like SIGNALIS. Dialogue choices and interactions with characters outside the main cast are the main deciding factor of how the route plays out. Dave is the most heavily present on this route, having passed through his First Gate and currently residing on Simon's Land, the Land of Shredding and Secrets.

On the Theodore Route, the game's core loop is the most varied out of the three routes, mainly playing as a two-dimensional sokoban-style puzzle game. However, due to Theodore's role as a Hero of Rage, it is extremely easy to break out of the "intended" gameplay loop. Once this happens, usually inaccessible elements of the game become available to traverse and manipulate, such as the map and various events in the story, which can be traveled between freely. Additionally, the player is not strictly confined to the Land of Darkness and Despair or the gate progression system, and is able to clip into the environments of LORAR and LOSAS, changing the appearance and gameplay style to that of the route associated with the specific Land.

On a save file's initial playthrough, all Routes will culminate in the same area - the Battlefield - and the gameplay will take on whichever style is associated with the Route the player chose. Additionally, the final boss on a first playthrough will always be the Black King, and each Route has a seemingly scripted ending the first time around. However, the player's choices across the route do overtly matter, but only come to fruition on a second playthrough and beyond.

Endings (Currently Known)

01: SPACE END

Prerequisites: Alvin Route, first playthrough on a save

Upon defeating the Black King, the players arrive on their victory platform. As Alvin reaches out to open the door to Third Eden, Simon steps in front of the door, blocking his path. As Alvin reaches out once more and attempts to push him to the side, Simon reaches into his DICE ABSTRACTION and retrieves the previously non-diegetic dice, rolling them on the victory platform's surface. As Simon's Light powers activate, the dice each land on a natural 20, and a massive crack appears in the center of Skaia. Text appears on the screen stating "FIRST LOOP COMPLETE", and the world begins to distort and glitch as a clock is shown running backwards.

02: LIGHT END

Prerequisites: Simon Route, first playthrough on a save

Upon defeating the Black King, the players arrive on their victory platform. As Simon reaches out to open the door to Third Eden, Theodore kicks him in his shin, bringing Simon down on one knee. As Theodore attempts to break the door, Alvin and Simon synchronize their Space and Light powers to cause Theodore's atoms to perfectly phase through the door. Theodore falls off the side of the victory platform, descending into the void of the Furthest Ring, and Alvin and Simon look at each other in horror. Text appears on the screen stating "FIRST LOOP COMPLETE", and the world begins to distort and glitch as a clock is shown running backwards.

03: RAGE END

Prerequisites: Theodore Route, first playthrough on a save

Upon defeating the Black King, the players arrive on their victory platform. As Theodore reaches out to open the door to Third Eden, Alvin lunges at him from the side, narrowly missing Theodore as he ducks. Alvin and Theodore both don their god tier outfits, and Simon steps to Theodore's side to protect him from Alvin. As Alvin begins to harness the power of the Green Sun, Simon and Theodore, in a panic, use their powers to begin unmaking ontological reality, and Alvin's blast is stopped in midair. Text appears on the screen stating "FIRST LOOP COMPLETE", and the world begins to distort and glitch as a clock is shown running backwards.