Toki Tori Review - The Puzzles Get Harder After Every Level

Everybody seems to love Toki Tori, from gamers to critics. Whatever in this classic Nintendo Gameboy Color game that made people fall inlove with it, I guess we can boil it down to a number of reasons. With the recent release of Toki Tori on the Nintendo eShop, check out today's Retro Gameboy Mondays with N-Handhelds' Toki Tori Review

Story

Toki Tori follows a simplistic story of a farm where a number of eggs, all but one of them, got swept away by a gushing wind. The remaining egg hatched into a chicken (yes, that was fast!) and quickly tries to chase the eggs.

But alas, this chicken, Toki Tori, is not fast enough to catch up with them. What our hero did was to go to a cliff and looked at where the eggs went to - a castle. Toki Tori will now begin his adventure to save its fellow unhatched brothers and sisters.

Gameplay

Toki Tori for the Gameboy Color is a puzzle and platformer game wherein you are presented with a world with different levels. In each level, you have to save a number of eggs in a limited amount of time by using different sets of tools. At the start, the game will let you learn the basics of jumping and navigating through the level. Little by little, you will be introduced to the tools that you will be using to navigate through the level and get all the eggs.

At this point, each level is like a puzzle wherein you have to use your tools intelligently. Why? The tools are sometimes not unlimited. For example, there is this tool that allows you to teleport to a parallel space but you can use it only once. Hence, you have to use it at the right moment, or else the puzzle becomes unbeatable and you have to restart the level. This is where Toki Tori shines. The player has to think through the level to figure out a way to solve it. Sometimes, there is only one way of solving it, so when you use your tool at the wrong moment, then its over for you.

It's intelligent to the point that I was never disappointed when I found out I cannot beat the level because of my stupid use of a tool, but instead, it was challenging to beat the level. Sure you can say, it is a Gameboy Color game, and it might be simplistic. I challenge you to try the game and see for yourself if it is fun, addicting, or not. There are 4 worlds in Toki Tori. Navigate through them and tell me if they are all good. :)

Sound

Chirpy Gameboy Color sounds? You bet! But the background music is fun, catchy, and almost always fitting to the World. For example, in the 2nd World called the Creepy Castle, the background music is uhm, creepy, but it is as if it is a tone-downed version of a guitar solo, with the point of encouraging you to navigate through the creepy castle, solve the puzzle, and save the eggs. In short, the music is entertaining (check out the video above.) For a Gameboy Color game, I was surprised.

Visuals

I read somewhere that Toki Tori was among the last games that came out of the Gameboy Color. You know what, apart from Pokemon Crystal, I find myself not entertained with the library of Gameboy Color RPG. But of course, Toki Tori is not an RPG.

Anyway, since it's one of the last games in the GBC, the graphics are in top form, enough to even warrant a comparison with earlier Gameboy Advance games. Meaning, it pushed the GBC in its limits with regards to the handheld's graphical capabilities. Indeed, just by looking at the opening cinematics and of course, the story premise, you can tell that Toki Tori is a hidden gem for the system.

Final Comments

I personally like this initial boxart

Toki Tori was Netherlands-based Two Tribes Studio's first game, and according to them, it also marked the birth of their company. In this awesome blog post from Two Tribes, they reminisced the things that happened at Toki Tori's development, such as the change of name, the boxart, the hilarious name suggestions from Capcom (the publisher,) and the sperm-and-egg cell logo (which would have immediately banned the game has it been released in the Gameboy Color, of all consoles. Yikes!)

Playing through the game again, it is still a challenging experience and will definitely unleash the creative in you. The puzzles get harder after every level, and I encourage you guys to check it out at the eShop, or perhaps at Steam or your iPhone, and experience the magic that was Toki Tori, again.

Final Score: 4/5

Things to take note: Replay value is awesome. Toki Tori has no lifebar. If you touched a monster, you're dead. :)

Image Sources: 1,

This is Retro Gameboy Mondays - Classic Nintendo portable gaming happens every Monday to start the week in retro style! Let's take a look at portable gaming where it all started - the Nintendo Gameboy.