THE NEWZEALAND STORY: Untold Adventure

*this review has been updated to add more details and correct the mistakes of other reviews here* this is a terrible remake of a classic arcade game, with almost no understanding of what made the original good in the first place. speaking as someone who can 1cc the original arcade game and *mapped every single stage in the original arcade game by hand with screenshots*, what follows are some scattered thoughts of the most egregious problems: * the maps were transplanted almost one to one (although there are things like 3-1 missing a hole in the wall and 3-4 missing the blocks that make up the 'bridge' across the lake) but with no consideration for the new jumping physics (tiki moves and drops from jumps a lot faster making precision platforming much more difficult) or collision detection (spikes that would not hurt you in the original, like the ones hanging above a shortcut in 4-4, now hurt you) and so they now feel much less fun to play through. if they'd changed the stages to compensate, they may have had something here but moving them over (mostly) one to one just makes the game feel horrible. * visibility on hazards like spikes in some stages is very poor, you'll walk right into them because they blend into the background, and it barely registers that you even got hit at the animation is so brief it lacks impact. * multiple stage and game mechanics are broken (moving platforms sometimes 'warp' you down the map or you'll sometimes fall through them, collapsing platforms only collapse when they want to) or are missing entirely (ice floors no longer send you slipping and sliding, the bouncy floors in 5-4 are missing, the multi-hit balloons are inconsistent in the amount of hits they can take as it seems they take a hit for every frame rather than having invincibility frames). this kind of detail missing is acceptable for a contemporary home computer port, but not for something claiming to be 'faithful' to the source game. * enemies now spawn items at the place where they were killed rather than waiting for their body to hit the ground and spawn from there. this causes problems because now you will often pick up power-ups you don't want rather than being able to wait it out and see what part of the item cycle you're in. * the new 'content' is barely that, honestly- as pointed out by a friend (hi, kak) **the first three of these 'new' stages are just edited versions of stage that already appeared in the prototype arcade version**. whatever it is, it's shoehorned in before the final world and it's just four levels plus a drill weapon to burrow through walls, one (1) new enemy and one (1) new boss. aside from that, all the bosses also have second forms and 'escape' sequences that will absolutely kill you on your first try, bad idea terribly executed. newzealand story revolution on the ds wasn't exactly great but at least it tried new things, this doesn't even commit to really adding much new stuff. * contrary to what another reivew says here, **there are no checkpoints aside from bosses and the ship area of 4-4**. this was only true of world 5 in the original game but now if you die at any point outside of those exceptions you must restart the entire stage. so much for making the game easier for new players! * many of the cute touches and details of the original are gone- enemies in heaven no longer have halos and touching the goddess kills you rather than displaying the original game's haunting message, signs like the AMIDA MEIRO sign in 3-2 and STOP in the ice maze dead ends of 5-4 are removed, you can no longer hang onto the string balloons used by the lizards, much of the charm of the original game has been stripped out to make things more generic and lifeless. * the graphics appear to be divisive- some people love them but others compare it unfavourably to a flash game from the 2010s. i feel it's the animation that lets it down the most, the movements are so stiff and feel like 'tweening' in a flash animation that they just have no life or charm to them. many custom animations like when tiki gets swallowed by sea anemones or burnt to a crisp are completely gone, replaced with the generic hurt animation. the backgrounds are also very generic and, as mentioned, remove much of the signage and detail that gave the game character. i would instead urge anyone interested in playing the newzealand story to get the arcade archives version on ps4 or switch, not this. this is not a case of 'oh, they changed a thing so it's bad now', this is just a case of not understanding the original game (who knows, maybe they haven't played the original in 30+ years) in any way and putting together a completely soulless, joyless remake. i slapped together some comparison screenshots on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/tepidsnake.bsky.social/post/3mfvydxyo522j stream of the game from start to finish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfOolfzLRJk an article all about the arcade original and why it's great https://www.gaminghell.co.uk/TheNewZealandStory.html

[後半に日本語レビューあり] [h1] A legendary arcade game refined with modern accessibility and additional features [/h1] The legendary 1988 arcade action hit that took the world by storm has been revived for the modern era under an official license. This is not a mere emulation, but a refined version featuring updated HD resolution and restructured game systems. While preserving the heartwarming world where you adventure to rescue your friends, the stages, characters, and stills—redrawn with vibrant yet soft colors—warmly welcome the player. The biggest change is the removal of the harsh "one-hit death" system from the original arcade version, replaced by a hit-point system and checkpoints. This significantly lowers the barrier to entry as an action game, reducing the frustration caused by "no-win" traps and enemy placements. The ability to restart from right before a mistake should allow even those who were frustrated by the high difficulty back then (including myself... lol) to comfortably play through the adventure to the end... or so I'd like to say, but I must add that the "intensity" of the action remains largely the same, so personally, I didn't feel much relief in that regard. Notable is the inclusion of the exclusive 5th world, the "Kaikoura district." Appearing after clearing all four original worlds, this area respects the existing structure while introducing modern gimmicks and a powerful new boss. Combined with the smoothness of the HD animations, the fact that there is plenty of room even for long-time fans to enjoy an "unknown adventure" is something I highly value as an officially supervised remake. Regarding the controls, it is important to note that they differ slightly from the original. Because the weight has increased and the falling speed has become faster, getting used to controlling the character without that unique "floaty" feel of the original will likely take some practice. Furthermore, there are spots where the terrain's hitboxes feel a bit loose, making parts of the game feel slightly unpolished for a modern action title. Even so, I personally felt that the officially supervised BGM arrangements and the lively animations of the adorable characters are more than charming enough to outweigh those issues. HHF-chan’s comment: "The cute but brutal game is back! Tiki is as adorable as ever, and I'm so happy the HP system lets us play through to the end without worry. Even those traumatized by the difficulty back then should be able to reach the goal in this modern version... (probably...)" [h1] 伝説のアーケードゲームが現代的な優しさをまとってリファイン＋αされた一作 [/h1] 1988年にアーケードを席巻した伝説のアクションが、公式ライセンスを得て現代へと蘇った。本作は単なるエミュレーションではなく、HD解像度への刷新とシステム面の再構築が行われたリファイン版だ。仲間を救うために冒険する心温まる世界観はそのままに、鮮やかかつ柔らかなな色彩で描き直されたステージ/キャラクター/スチルがプレイヤーを温かく迎えてくれる。 最大の変化は、かつてのアーケード版における「一発死」の厳しさを撤廃し、ヒットポイント制とチェックポイントを導入した点だ。これにより、初見殺しのトラップや敵の配置に悩まされることが少なくなり、アクションゲームとしての敷居が大幅に下がっている。ミスをしても直前から再開できる仕様は、当時の高難易度に挫折した層（筆者含む…ｗ）でも、気楽に冒険を最後までプレイできるだろう…と言いたいところだが、アクション部分の「激しさ」は割とそのまんまなので、そこの緩和は個人的には感じられなかったことを書き添えておく。 注目すべきは、独自要素である第5ワールド「カイコウラ地区」（Kaikoura district）の存在だ。原作の全4ワールドをクリアした後に現れるこのエリアは、既存の構成をリスペクトしつつも、現代的なギミックや強力な新ボスが待ち受けている。HD化されたアニメーションの滑らかさと相まって、古参ファンにとっても「未知の冒険」を楽しむ余地がしっかりと用意されている点は、公式監修リメイクとして評価したい。 操作感に関しては、オリジナルとは少し異なる点に注意が必要だ。重量感が増し、落下速度が速まったため、オリジナルのような独特の浮遊感を活かした制御には慣れが必要となるだろう。また、地形の当たり判定が甘い箇所もあり、現代的なアクションゲームとしては、やや粗削りな部分も感じられる。それでも、公式監修によるBGMのアレンジや、愛らしいキャラクターの躍動感は、それら以上の魅力があると個人的には感じた。 HHFちゃんコメント: 「かわよい鬼畜ゲーふたたび！ティキくんの可愛さはそのままに、HP制のおかげで最後まで安心して遊べるのが嬉しいね。当時の難しさがトラウマになってる人も、この現代版ならきっとゴールできるはずだよー（…きっと…）」 [quote][b]Check out our Steam curator ([url=store.steampowered.com/curator/36364102-Horny-Hentai-Festival/]link[/url]) , YouTube channel ([url=www.youtube.com/curatorhhf/]link[/url]), and X(Twitter) ([url=x.com/hhfcurator]link[/url])![/b][/quote]

I'm sorry, I'm not a fan of this game either and I have a bloody Ptolemy (real Taito fans know) profile picture. I don't think I've ever seen a remake of an older game miss the point this much. TepidSnake breaks down why the game is so bad compared to the original TNLZS so I won't bore you all with the details, but even on its own its a mess of a game with a lot of technical problems and misguided game design that just isn't worth your time. Just buy the original on Arcade Archives (PlayStation 4/5 and Switch 1/2) instead. Also, it runs like ♥♥♥♥ on the Steam Deck despite being a game that should theoretically have ZERO problems.

Very much styled on the box art of the original. It's not quite as difficult as the original as you get health. Also it took me a while to realise it supports ultrawide! Had a few issues. I fell through a lift and got stuck, the hitbox vanished and i was invincible throughout the wntire game, when enemies shoot the same time it multiplies the amplitude and I'd like more control options such as swapping buttons. More levels would have been nice as it is a very short game. Even quicker to beat than the original. Gives me happy vibes..

Oh boy, this is a tough one... If your´re like me, a big fan of the Original and always wanted a good remake of this classic or a re-polished rerelease- well, you´re gonna get disapointed. This remake isn´t a bad game - it tries to recapture the Original... but it just feels inferior in almost every way. The artstyle looks cheap, kind of like a falsh-game. Why would I still recommend it? Well it isn´t a bad game - but it`s a bad New Zealandstory or let`s put it this way "It`s not the remake that this gem deserves" and by supporting this, maybe we get another remake or even a sequel. the trailer is a bit misleading, because there isn´t an option to switch betweend old & new artsytle. And btw. Pac-Man Championship Edition is a great example how you remake such classics

This is a really fun take on the original game with a lot of quality of life improvements! ^^ I really enjoyed how this game keeps the difficulty, while also changing around some things and keeping it fresh! The upgraded bosses were also a huge highlight of this game!

Short and sweet game! A couple minor issues, but nothing game breaking. A couple features feel like they could be added, such as the heaven theme and ending sequence from the original arcade version. But for what it is, I'm just happy to see this series make a return! Well done! I truly feel like a kiwi

Per gli amanti come me dell originale the newzealand story questa e' stata una bella scoperta! Pur esssendo io molto legata alla versione C64, questa nuova veste (remake) mi e' piaciuta molto, grafica colorata, nuovi personaggi ma sempre con quell occhio all originale TAITO del 1988. E' un gioco secondo me che e' portato piu a piacere ai nostalgici dei vecchi retrogame, ma puo' anche divertire i ragazzi di oggi anche se non hanno mai visto l originale. Quindi io lo consiglio dato che e' una pietra miliare nel mondo dei platform, e in questa nuova veste devo dire, accessibile anche alle nuove generazioni.

This game is ragebait, it is poorly made, it could have done better when it comes with being licensed by big company. It has no accurate hitbox as original game.

Malísimo.