Go apes in this classic platformer that has been remade with hand drawn graphics and updated music. Toki a remake of the action-platformer released in the arcades from 30 years ago that is a cult classic in which you play as Toki the warrior that is going to rescue Miho from the evil sorcerer Vookimedlo and the demon Bashtar which turn Toki into a chimpanzee. Toki offers an online leaderboard, multiple levels from the original game and multiple difficulties including an easy mode for new gamers.
General Gameplay
As Toki is an action-platformer from the classic days of the arcade, it is redesigned from the game graphics and music from the ground up. The core game is still there but with an updated package. The Game Visuals are outstanding. The game offers a hand drawn style of the game in which the main characters, enemies, and backgrounds are all very sharp and detailed. The developer and animator took a great deal of time to make everything very detailed and you can see it in the game visuals which do fantastic job of showcasing the game. Everything on the screen is very easy to see weather you are playing on a mobile or SMART TV. The game does not offer a colorblind mode and that is ok as everything is easy to see. In our playtesting we did not see anything offensive for any younger gamers. The game is very family friendly with only showing cartoon violence in the game itself. The Audio for Toki is also done very well. The game in game music, background sounds, characters are all remastered and sound fantastic in the game. Everything in the game is very clear and easy to hear what is going on. The background music is very well done and matches the action. Every level has a theme specific music that matches the level design and the game background action noises are also well done. As the game does not have any active audio dialog, there is nothing offensive for younger gamers to hear. The game is in 5.1 surround sound and sounds great when being playing through a surround sound system, however the game is also great heading it in stereo mode as well. Controls for Toki are very easy to play and get into the game. With the directional stick used to move and aim, a jump button and a button to shoot, the game is designed to be very user friendly. The controls are aimed to be very friendly and aimed to work well for a game that is designed to be a action-platformer where the controls must be tight and spot on for the game to be played properly. The game controls allow all types of gamers to be able to just pick up and play the game without any issues. In our playtesting we did not encounter any issues with the game controls when playing on the Nintendo Switch. As always, we recommend using a Nintendo Pro controller but the standard Joy-Conns are fine to play with. The game does not need any type of special controller so the default one is fine.
“The remake of Toki brings back memories of playing this quarter eater back in full form. The fantastic redesign of the graphics and audio makes this a true must have for any action-platformers gamers out there.”
Family Friendly
I have to say that when we were reviewing the game, a lot of our older gamers recognized the game and loved how the developer did a very well-done remake of the game. The redrawing of the graphics by hand by Philippe Dessoly and music redone by composer Raphael Gesqua make this a great remake to have for your digital library. The game moves very fluently and is well done for the current generation consoles. Most of our older testers remember how much fun this game is, and they had a blast playing it. Now with that all being said about Toki, when it came to younger gamers that do not remember the game it may be a little more than they are used to. First off as most modern game there is a health bar for the main character but in Toki outside of timed power ups, the character is downed just by one hit. Now as this is mostly common with more older games, newer gamers and younger gamers may be turned off by this, especially in boss battles where the boss will need multiple hits and you can be taken down with only one hit. As we were testing this with younger gamers, they were getting frustrated with the higher level of difficulty of this concept, however once they got used to how the game was designed and played, they became more a custom to the game style and gameplay. Overall Toki is a great action-platformer that will appeal mostly to platformer or older gamers that remember the original game from the arcades. So, if you have someone that gets really frustrated with games then this may not be the title to get them but for other gamers that enjoy a challenge and a action and/or platformer game then Toki is the game for them. In our special needs game testing, we did not run into any issues with the game graphics, sound, controls or even overall difficulty. Outside of the “one hit, death” that is the game design the game is very friendly to any special need’s gamer.
Closing
Toki is a great remake that keeps the same gameplay style that made this a cult classic. Any fans of the game series will love this game. Even thought the one hit death may deter some gamers but still a fan game to have in your digital library.
