The NewZealand Story
| The New Zealand Story | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Taito |
| Publisher(s) | Taito |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Arcade system | CPU: 2x Z80 (@ 6 MHz), I8X41 (@ 400 kHz) Sound Chips: YM2203 (@ 3 MHz) |
The New Zealand Story is a 1988 arcade game by Taito. The player controls a kiwi called Tiki, and the aim of the game is to rescue several friends who have been kiwi-napped by a walrus. At the end of each level, one of these characters is released from a cage. Like Bubble Bobble, letters can be collected to spell out "EXTEND" for a bonus. However, levels scroll rather than being stationary.
The weaponry starts out as arrows, but pickups can change these into bombs, lasers, or bouncing fireballs. These act a little differently, and what is useful depends upon the player's location. A distinctive feature of this game is the ability to ride a variety of flying vehicles, ranging from balloons to a UFO armed with either laser or guided missiles. Vehicles can be found ready for use or can be stolen from any enemy.
Other features include the many secret areas and shortcuts hidden throughout the game, as well as a special "Heaven" round where the player goes after losing their last life, actually having a chance of escaping and continuing the game "on Earth".
The hero of this game, Tiki the kiwi, also appears in other Taito games like Liquid Kids and Bubble Symphony as a guest star, although he never became a popular Taito mascot.
The game has been converted for most game consoles and most 8-bit and 16-bit home computers. The original arcade game was released in 1988, whereas most home computer conversions were done in 1989, with some game console versions coming in 1990 and 1991. The American NES version was released under the name of Kiwi Kraze. The game was also converted for the FM Towns and X68000 systems in Japan as well as being bundled with the Amiga 500 Batman Pack which was launched in September 1989 and sold over 2 million units.
The game had no official sequel, but there were several clones and modified versions, usually called New Zealand Story 2 or New Zealand Story Extra (from which the Megadrive port is based on, although it bears the original game title). The only Taito game which bears a faint resemblance to it, is Liquid Kids or Mizubaku Adventure, released in 1990, which uses the same screen font, reuses some gameplay elements and has a similar plot, although there are important differences between the two.
The New Zealand Story can be played using the emulators MAME, Shark and Raine. It can also be played on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and the PC as it is included in Taito Legends.