The NewZealand Story is one of the best platform games of all time. Boom. Wait: we’re not done here, as this is a review of The NewZealand Story: Untold Adventure – it’s not the same game! Well, it is to some degree, though the emphasis is on this being a remaster, and while fans of the original will note some obvious changes with the visuals, it does handle differently, too.
I received a code for this game after the release date and have seen some comments that this is a bad version of the game, with some suggesting playing the original. For the record, Your Honour, I have very fond memories of the game, which was one of the first games I got on the Amiga 500. This was 35 years ago. For me, it was one of the best platform games, but I haven’t played it since then. We’re now in 2026. If you don’t like remakes/remasters/reboots, stick to this source material. This is based (mostly) on the game from Bitobit.
The NewZealand Story: Untold Adventure is the tale of a kiwi named Tiki who is the only kiwi that manages to escape the clutches of an evil walrus, whose name escapes me, so he’ll be named Daryl. The fiend literally scoops up all of Tiki’s pals in a sack, and if it weren’t for our hero falling out the top, there’d be no game at all. Cue the music, and off we go for an adventure.
That’s all there is to the story side of things, as you’re predominantly storming your way through worlds and their subsequent stages, rescuing your pals who have been enslaved in a cage. Numerous enemies will be out to stop you and will unleash an unhealthy amount of projectiles at you. This isn’t a bullet hell game, but based on the way our kiwi handles, it does feel like a lot of bum-clenching to avoid being hit. At least you have a fair amount of health to begin with.
The issue I found with The NewZealand Story: Untold Adventure is the aftertouch from jumping. Regrettably, I’m going to recall the old game in that it was pretty much black and white, where you’d land; the challenge for me was always the enemies. In this iteration, I found that the handling of the jumps and subsequent hijacking of flying devices was quite troublesome and ended up dying more so to do with the gameplay than my abilities. Ahem.
Tiki certainly takes a hit from these enemies, but gives it back just as hard with a good array of weapons from the very start. Like Kirby, he’ll morph into various characters (i.e., wear a hat), and will shoot magic, lob bombs and shoot laser beams all for the juicy fruit enemies drop that can add to your score. Alas, I was hesitant to bring up the old game again, but there was something a bit more raw about the original. The bombs were always my favourite due to the mayhem they brought, and this real gutsy feel each time this cute lil’ bird threw one. Though sharp looking, it doesn’t have that same nostalgic feel and is somewhat clinical.
This is relevant to new gamers as the style of play is dated. This is almost 40 years old, and while it wasn’t cutting edge at the time, the original game was a great addition for home computers like the Amiga (with cheats). Why you would play this in the arcade is beyond me, as you either had an unlimited supply of coins or were actually not half bad. With The NewZealand Story: Untold Adventure, though the movement makes the game much harder, there are some olive branches with extra health, checkpoints and even a new biome. Is it enough for fans? No. As a standalone? It’s alright.
So, a summary, as should be expected. The NewZealand Story: Untold Adventure isn’t for fans of the original who are looking for improvements or to be able to successfully relive a game from their youth. It features the same designs, but it plays differently, and from my honest perspective, without the cheats, it’s even more challenging than the original, though for the wrong reasons. For those new to it, it’s fine. As a standalone without any reference to the original Taito game, it’s a quick pick-up-and-play platformer that’s pleasant on the eye, has a catchy soundtrack and offers a fair amount of challenge, and that’s about it. Again, this is not for existing fans – you’ll never be happy with it. Perhaps it could be said about the Toki remake, too.
