NES #10: Toki

For the big 1-0 you would think that I would pick a game that gave me more to talk about. This game is kind of obscure so I don't have too many stories about it from my childhood. I don't recall ever seeing it at a rental store either. I actually remember this being a Lynx game. Both people I knew who had Lynxes had this game, so I thought of it as the Mario for that system. Back then every system needed a side scrolling mascot. I have no idea if this game was popular for the Lynx though. Back then it could be hard to tell.

This is the first game on the list so far that I haven't previously beat. Although considering the difficulty level I probably shoulda. In this game you play as a Tarzan type jungle man who gets transformed into an ape and has to win his girlfriend back. It's a familiar story. The instruction manual describes Toki's attack as a weapon, but really he's just spitting little red balls at everything. Of course who wouldn't want to be an ape that goes around spitting on everything till it dies. The Genesis version of the game even goes so far as to call this game Toki: Going Ape Spit. This shows you that not only do the developers have a hilarious sense of humor, but that they're really into the whole spitting theme. I also think it's a little odd that you can shoot enemies with your weapon and jump on them to kill them. Usually when you have a weapon all contact with enemies hurts you. At first I tried to avoid them all, but then I found out that the only way to get a lot of the 1ups and other special items is to jump off of an enemy. I hate it when games are confusing like that.

So there are only six levels in this game, and none of them are particularly difficult. They all have typical themes. I like how even in a game that takes place in the jungle they manage to sneak in an ice level. Why does every game have to have an ice level!? I guess they already had caves, lava, and water. What else were they going to make a level out of? Anyway, if you feel like playing through this game it shouldn't take you very long to complete. I only played it for an hour or two and it didn't give me much trouble. At least it doesn't have unlimited continues. Some games really need them, but I do think it can add to the challenge when you've only got a few to work with.

Well that's enough for Toki I suppose. It's just about average in every way. It's a little bit quirky, but not really enough to make it worth talking about. It's a little bit rare, but it's still pretty cheap. I guess on NES you pay more for quality than quantity.