Toki (video game)

Lore & Background

The game's protagonist is a muscular, loincloth-wearing tribesman named Toki (known in Japan and some ports as JuJu), who lives a primitive life on a South Seas island. His peaceful existence ends when the witch doctor Vookimedlo kidnaps princess Miho and transforms all human inhabitants into animals. Toki is turned into a Geeshergam, an ape-like minion, but retains his faculties and gains the ability to breathe fire and shoot projectiles from his mouth. He sets out to defeat Vookimedlo, rescue Miho, and undo the curse, traveling through murky lakes, canyons, ice-capped mountains, and volcanoes, battling wild animals and mutants.

Reader's Guide

Toki was ported within two years to home systems including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Lynx, NES, and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. The NES version added a health bar, while the Genesis version, titled Toki: Going Ape Spit, lacked non-spit power-ups but had additional levels and more detailed graphics. Some ports renamed characters: Toki as JuJu, Miho as Wanda, and Vookimedlo as Dr. Stark; in some versions, the final boss is the henchman Bashtar rather than Vookimedlo. The game received generally favorable reception, ranking second in arcade popularity in North America in early 1990 and fifth in Japan. Critics found it difficult but fun and addictive, with Tilt's Alain Huyghues-Lacour stating it would appeal to fans of classic Japanese games like Super Mario Bros. A remake was published by Microids in 2018 for Nintendo Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Luna. An unreleased Jaguar version was in development under the working title Apeshit.

Did You Know?

• Toki was designed by Akira Sakuma and released in arcades in Japan in 1989 by TAD Corporation.
• In some ports, the final boss is the henchman Bashtar instead of Vookimedlo.