It is that time of the week again, Lost Gems is here where I cover games that are no longer officially on sale. This week is a special one, where I will be discussing a classic game that received a unique port. The vibrant and challenging platformer, The NewZealand Story, developed by Taito for the SEGA Mega Drive which used an arcade prototype as its base. So let us take a look at this classic that was released exclusively in Japan in 1990.
Disclaimer: while the game discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are ways to obtain the game. This can be either through the second hand market, or via unofficial digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the game being covered.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general game experience, then give my personal thoughts on the title. Please note, the original arcade version of the game is available on modern platforms, but this version is so vastly different that it counts for this feature.
About the game
The NewZeasland Story, is an arcade run and gun style platformer, where the player takes the role of Tiki, a Kiwi chick who must rescue his friends. They have been kidnapped by a Leopard Seel, who has imprisoned them across the island. Now Tiki must travel across the island and rescue his friends, taking down the evil Seel at the same time. /but there are many threats and dangers that populate the islands, trying to stop Tiki.
The objective of each level is to reach the goal, rescuing the Kiwi chick that has been imprisoned in the stage. Each of the levels is rather large, with maze-like layouts that can be challenging to navigate. These are filled with hazardous spikes, enemies and even water hazards. Due to how expansive the levels are, the player can use a vehicles to travel the stages. These are mostly balloons, which will pop if attacked or make contact with spikes.
To help the player get past the hordes of enemies that spawn in, Tiki can rapid fire arrows left and right. But that is not the only weapon available to the player. As the player defeats enemies, they may drop special items like the bomb and wand, which will change the weapon that Tiki uses. But there are other items that players will be able to get, including a stop watch that freezes enemies in place. These are rare, but are very useful in stages.
The platforming is a big challenge, which will require players to try and navigate the various dangers. As the spikes cover the walls, there are precision elements to the movement, which can be challenging when trying to avoid enemy attacks. Then there are the water segments, which are very challenging as the player cannot attack while below the surface. Tiki also has a limited supply of air, which will deplete quickly if players are not careful.
If the player explores the stages, they may come across warp zones, which will send them to different areas. These are discovered by shooting the area they are in and making contact with the warp. At set points during the adventure, the player will encounter powerful boss opponents, who will trap Tiki in an enclosed arena. These are very challenging and can take a few attempts to clear, with the boss attacking them with varied patterns.
Tiki can be killed in a single hit, further increasing the challenge. However, if this does happen the player will immediately respawn where they died, often in a balloon if they are hit in the air. When all lives have been lost, a game over will occur and a credit is needed to continue. These are limited so players may need to restart several times. Players can collect the letters to spell EXTEND in the stages, which will increase the available lives by one.
Personal thoughts
The Mega Drive version of The NewZealand Story, was my first experience with the game, not having played the other ports or original Arcade release. This was due to my father picking up imported games from local game shops. So for many years, I was unaware of how unique this version of the game was. This version was based on an early arcade prototype, with the stage layouts and general experience being different, with significantly altered content.
While the original version of the game and various ports feature 20 stages, this version features a much shorter experience of only 13 stages. There are other alterations made, like the omission of heaven stages, which were secret stages in the arcade version. However, the music for these stages is used as the title screen theme. In general, even though this game is the shortest release, it is possibly the most challenging of all versions.
I have a deep fondness for this game, as it is one of those games that I played a lot as a kid. Sadly, I am not the best at it, so it took me many years and thousands of attempts to get through the game. This was not for lack of trying though, as I find this to be a fun and enjoyable challenge, which sadly never left Japan reducing the spread of the release. The arcade version was released multiple times, with the most recent being through Arcade Archives.
For this release if you want to try and add it to your collection, the game is pretty attainable on the secondary market. The price for just the cartridge is low, but if you want to get your hands on a complete in box, it is higher but not unobtainable. As this is a Japanese exclusive release, the cartridge does have a different shape compared to the PAL Mega Drive or Genesis. So, if players want to play it, they will need a modded or aftermarket system.
This unique version of the game is quite the oddity, with no additional releases in the past 35 years. Although the PC-Engine version was released on Virtual console in 2008, there has not been any other rereleases of the home console ports. It would have been interesting to see this be added to the Nintendo Switch library, even if it is only for the fact it is such an oddity. Sadly, I don’t think that this will ever see a modern port, as the arcade version is out there.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems, Retro Revival where I discuss re-releases and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around.
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