Developer: Tad Corporation Publisher: Sega Release: 1991 Genre: Platformer
I’ve always had a soft spot for Toki. In the days before the internet the only video game footage you got to see came from commercials or the occasional TV show. Ever since I saw it on Nick Arcade Toki captured my interest. As much as I like the NES version it is the Sega Genesis “port” that I like the best. Calling it a port is selling it short, this is almost a full blown sequel in everything but name. Toki: Going Ape Spit is a solid platformer and good adaptation of the arcade game.
Toki: Going Ape Spit for the most part is a port of the arcade game but features new content. The simple story from the arcade game has given way to a far more complex tale that is too wacky for me to go in to. Needless to say Toki still gets transformed into an ape and must save the girl.
In many ways Toki resembles Karnov crossed with Joe & Mac. The comparison makes sense as the developers broke off from Data East. Toki breathes fire like the Russian strongman and has a lackadaisical pace to his walk. You won’t carry an inventory of items but there are a variety of secondary items such as sneakers for speed, extra lives, and invincibility. Like most platformers you collect coins for extra lives; you only need fifty in this case. This version also adds fruit but these are only for points which an also grant an extra life.
The various breath power-ups are what make Toki unique. You can jump on enemy heads which grants more points for the extra danger but most will stick to long range attacks. There are six breath attacks that range from a three-way shot to a flamethrower. These power-ups are extremely cool but unfortunately they only last a brief time. Initially items are plentiful. But soon enough they become less frequent with only three or four per stage. I really wish they lasted longer or were permanent. It is not as though they are game breaking but I digress.
This is a heavily expansive version of the arcade game that improves on it in some ways and is a regression in other ways. There are nine levels compared to the arcade’s six. The new levels fit in perfectly and take you to even more diverse environments. The new bosses are also pretty cool such as Boomer, a massive living submarine. The levels are split into multiple sections though and as a result the layouts are less interesting. Each section feels more like short vignettes with some being more interesting than others. I would have preferred more consistency but the game is still enjoyable though not as good as it could have been.
A single hit equals death in Toki which makes the game a bit challenging at times. Going Ape Spit lacks the football helmet power-up that let you absorb one hit which makes it rougher. Death sends you back to the beginning of the current area which can be rough. For the most part the difficulty is not above most other platformers. The game is very generous with power-ups even though they are temporary. It only becomes a problem during the boss battles. Later bosses have extremely long life bars and the finite breath weapons would have done wonders to make them tolerable. As is it is pretty rough to have start over if you die during a particularly grueling boss fight.
The Sega version of Toki, despite featuring nearly all of the arcade content, redraws most of the graphics. For the most part the art direction is darker and more realistic in tone than its cartoony big brother. This was a deliberate choice and not one born out of hardware limitations. I can see what they were going for but the game loses a lot of its character as a result. It comes across as slightly generic and some elements clash. Toki and many of the bosses look out of place among these realistic environments. I don’t know why they chose this style but it hurts the game somewhat but luckily the gameplay makes up for it.
In Closing
Toki: Going Ape Spit is an underrated gem in the Genesis library. It won’t blow you away with its graphics but has solid gameplay and is entertaining throughout. That being said there are other titles I would recommend first. That is not a knock against it, just the reality of the system’s strong library.
