“Eyes On Me” – The New Zealand Story (1988) [NES]

Eyes On Me is a series of brief articles remembering the obscure, the underappreciated, and the unknown.

You are a kiwi named Tiki who is on a quest to save his girlfriend Phee Phee from an angry walrus named Wally… This is The New Zealand Story.

Developed by Taito and originally released in 1988 for arcades, New Zealand Story is a colorful platformer that is as challenging as it is cute. Over the next several years it got ported to a variety of systems until finally getting a port on the NES in 1991. For North American audiences, however, the title received a name change and became known as I personally know it, Kiwi Kraze. 

I owned many NES games as a kid, from Super Mario Bros. to Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!. But for whatever reason my earliest video gaming memory isn’t any of those, it’s of Kiwi Kraze. It could be because of the colorful graphics, super cute characters or the annoyingly catchy music. One thing I know for certain is that I can clearly remember 5-year-old me sitting inside a small apartment playing Kiwi Kraze on the old TV box in front of me (I hope I didn’t just reveal my age).

This game is also quite a solid platformer, and that’s not just the nostalgia talking. The controls are tight enough that if you die, you’ll know it’s your fault. And you’ll definitely be dying a lot as it progressively gets harder and harder. Tiki is able to shoot arrows at enemies but every once in a while you’ll come across a ray gun power up. There are also floating platforms that you can ride to fly around the level, but spikes and enemies can pop them like balloons. 

The gameplay here is impressively varied and the maze-like levels are very well-paced as you float, swim, shoot, and fight bosses. But you better make sure that you don’t dilly-dally too long or the devil himself will come chasing after you to take your life. This mechanic adds a unique tension when you’re reaching the end of the level. The music will change and you’ll suddenly see the devil slowly inch his way ever closer as you make one final push to reach the goal before he gets to you. 

If you want to play it today it might be a bit of a challenge (legally). It might be much easier to find a copy in Europe as it received ports to the Mega Drive, PC Engine, ZX Spectrum, etc. The best port is on the NES as it’s the closest to the original arcade experience. The game can also be found on the Taito Legends collection for PS2 where it retains its original title. There was also a Nintendo DS remake titled New Zealand Story Revolution but it did not review as well and seeing videos for it is clear that the original is just better.

According to Wikipedia, the game was inspired by a trip to New Zealand one of the developers took but I was not able to verify this or find any other information. What I do know is that it is an excellent platformer that still holds up today and is very much worth seeking.

The One-Winged Mage, aka Kalas, may have been born with only one wing, but fear not for he has found a wonderful community of friends to share his love of games through Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider becoming a Warrior of Light and join us in promoting honesty and quality to games writing through thoughtful, long-form critiques. We’re building a future for games writers to get paid and find a fairer and happier alternative to mainstream coverage and culture. See our Patreon page for more info!