176: Toki

Number 176
(13 points)
Toki
1992: 58 (8.6)
1993: 90 (4.4)

Time to go ape in this obscure coin op, faithfully recreated for the 16-bit home computers.

A wizard has kidnapped your girlfriend, and turned you into an ape. Not to worry, though, as you can spit seeds at your enemies while traversing six levels of platforming action. You can collect various power-ups such as better firepower, or an American football helmet to defend yourself. Using one button can be tricky, since you need to push the joystick up for both jumping and for shooting above you, but with practice it becomes second nature. The game shows that with attention to detail, developers could deliver extremely accurate ports of some contemporary arcade games for home users.

Whether or not Toki is a good game in and of itself, what is undeniable is that this is a stunningly accurate port of the original coin op. No surprise that it appeared twice in the list, as a great example of when the Amiga could deliver an arcade experience. Personally, I think it's not bad, and certainly no worse than a lot of other platformers we've seen thus far in the list.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Toki (1991)(Ocean)[cr Flashtro][t +12 Flashtro]