Going Ape Spit.
Toki (original title JuJu Densetsu, "JuJu Legend") was an arcade Platform Game made by TAD Corporation in 1990 that never received any sequels, but was ported to a few systems (including the NES and Sega Genesis) a short time later. It is a simple little game that was well received and still remembered to this day in Retro Gaming circles.The Excuse Plot tells the story of a tribesman, Toki, whose girlfriend Miho was kidnapped by the evil witch doctor Vookimedlo, who also turns Toki into a cartoonish little chimp. Toki then has to fight through five dangerous environments and Vookimedlo's lair to regain his love and humanity. Luckily, the transformation gave him the ability to spit energy globes from his mouth, that are also his main weapon.
A remake of this game has been released in 22 November of 2018 for Nintendo Switch, and for PC through Steam on 7th June, 2019 by Microids after several years of Development Hell. You can see the trailer here
. Meanwhile, the original game can be played in a browser here.
Not to be confused with the 2001 game Toki Tori.
Tropes that can be found in Toki:
- 1-Up: In some versions, these exist.
- Adaptation Name Change: The Genesis port changes the names of most enemies. Most noticeable is Vookimedlo, who is renamed to Stark.
- Animation Bump: The Switch remake has better character animation than the original arcade.
- Anti-Frustration Features: There are not many arcade 2D shooters where you can Goomba Stomp enemies like in this game.
- Big Bad: Vookimedlo, who has Toki's beloved Miho kidnapped, and himself serves as the Final Boss.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: The descriptions of the levels are full of little mistakes, the most amusing example is possibly the one for the third level:MADE BOLD BY HIS RECENT CONQUESTS, TOKI ENTER THE BLAZING HART OF THE CAVERNS OF FIRE IN SEARCH OF MIHO. HERE, HE WILL FACE A DEADLY TEST AGAINST MOGULVOR note THE BEASTLY GUARDIAN OF THIS UNDERGROUND INFERUO.
- Boss Remix: In the remake, all but the first and final boss' themes are eviler-sounding remixes of the theme of the level they are located in.
- Bottomless Pit: There are several of these strewn throughout the game, and falling into one will cost you a life.
- Bowdlerize: None of the ports have Miho explicitly state that she'll be killed during the continue screen. The NES version instead states that Toki will be cursed to remain an ape forever if you don't continue.
- Breath Weapon: Toki's various forms of spit, including a 3-way shot, a charged shot, and an actual fiery breath.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The most common enemies are bouncing apes called Geeshergam.
- Continuing is Painful: While the arcade game resets the high score after using a continue, it was merciful in comparison of the remake, where you're forced to start at the beginning of the level and all your coins are snatched away.
- Cruel Elephant: Zorzamoth, the crystal mammoth, boss of the ice stage.
- Crystalline Creature: Zorzamoth, a crystal mammoth that Toki faces at the end of the Ice stage. Averted in the HD remake, with him being redesigned to being just a regular mammoth with diamond as eyes.
- Cursed with Awesome: How many monkeys can spit out glowing balls of death from their mouths?
- Cutscene Power to the Max: Not really a "cutscene", but in his victory animation after defeating the bosses, Toki jumps really high.
- Damsel in Distress: Miho is taken by the evil witch doctor Vookimedlo, which serves as the impetus for the whole game's plot.
- Death Throws: Toki and a few enemies. Most of them get disintegrated.
- The Dragon: Bashtar serves as this to Vookimedlo, as he helps him kidnap Miho and being the penultimate boss in the game.
- Dub Name Change: Toki was originally named JuJu in the Japanese version.
- Easy-Mode Mockery: The Genesis version has four difficulty levels. Easy mode only allows you to play up to level 8; after you beat that, the game ends with a screen full of hopping apes and the text "Congratulations...but true peace will not come until you play and defeat the harder modes". All other difficulty levels allow you to play the 9th and final level, as well as see the ending and credits.
- Enemy Roll Call: Most versions of the game (but not the Nintendo Entertainment System port) have this, starting with Toki himself and proceeding through the enemies and bosses.
- Every 10,000 Points: Depending on how the game's set up, Toki earns extra lives after reaching certain score intervals. The Genesis port allows the player the option to reward lives at every 7,000 points scored.
- Evil Laugh:
- In the 2019 remake, Vookimedlo's signature vocal effect is a cruel chuckle.
- Starter Villain Boloragog also chuckles at you when he attacks you.
- Evil Uncle: In the remake's comic, it's revealed that Vookimedlo is Miho's uncle
- Faceless Eye: Rambacha can be described as a floating, teleporting Michelin Man with a giant eyeball for a face.
- Fat Bastard: Boloragog, the first boss, is redesigned as a grossly overweight troll in the 2019 remake.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Toki and most enemies have very family friendly death animations, but the two last bosses don't. Instead their hearts lose a lot of blood and then explode. Vookimedlo even leaves a skeleton behind.
- Flame Spewer Obstacle: Stage 3 has places on the ground that emit flames at regular intervals.
- Floating Limbs: Bashtar, the Stage 5 boss. It's two disembodied hands, two disembodied feet, and a beating, disembodied heart.
- Flying Seafood Special: Flying trilobites that give you coins when killed!
- Forced Transformation:
- Vookimedlo transforms Toki into an ape when he tries to save Miho, with the intention to make him less dangerous. Unfortunately for him, he also gave Toki the power of spitting energy balls, which are powerful enough to defeat the wicked wizard.
- In the remake, Vookimedlo leaves Toki completely powerless. It is only thanks to the help of Bishra, a goddess Vookimedlo accidentally released and is against the sorcerer, that Toki gets his powers.
- Gasshole: Mogulvar, the Stage 3 boss, belches and attacks Toki with stones that spell "BURP".
- Giant Spider: Spiders with the size of Toki's head move up and down, stopping to release bullets in 6 directions.
- Goomba Springboard: Sometimes, jumping off of enemies can help you reach powerups.
- Goomba Stomp: Toki's other means to defeat enemies, which also scores more points per hit than spitting at them.
- Guilt-Based Gaming: The "continue?" screen shows Miho's face, appearing on some sort of mystical TV screen, pleading the player not to quit or else she'll be killed.
- Heart Container: In the U.S. NES version.
- Hearts Are Health:
- Improbable Weapon User: Second boss Rambacha uses his endless supply of bouncing giant eyeballs to attack Toki.
- Invincibility Power-Up: Found only in the Genesis version of the game. Makes Toki intangible rather than invincible.
- In the Back: If you wear a helmet, you can still be killed if you are attacked from behind and underneath at once.
- Jungle Japes: Level Five, "Dark Jungle". Amusingly, it's a very hard level for the standards of its category.
- Kill It with Fire: Toki's breath can turn into a flamethrower which is very fast and can trivialize Vookimedlo's first phase.
- Lava Pit: Level 3 has pits of lava all over.
- Law of 100: Toki needs to pick up 50 coins to gain an extra life, or 50 pieces of fruit in the Genesis version (fruit is present in the arcade version too, but there has only the purpose of Scoring Points).
- Lethal Lava Land: Level Three, "Caverns of Fire". It has lava geysers and pools, as well as fiery enemies.
- Logical Weakness: An odd one in the Switch remake, but you can't use the flamethrower power-up in the water, as it's immediately deactivated as Toki makes contact with water. You can still use the rest of the projectiles by the way.
- Magitek: The villains will use both magic and technology, mostly the former, to stop you. It's most visible in the last stage.
- Mammoths Mean Ice Age: Zorzamoth, the boss of the fifth, ice-themed stage, is a prime example of this trope in the game.
- Maniac Monkeys: Many of the enemies that Toki antagonizes during the game are monkeys. They also look far more crazed than he does.
- Mercy Invincibility: In the U.S. NES version.
- Metropolis Level: The final level of the game, the Golden Palace.
- Mutually Exclusive Power-Ups: You can't have both the jumping shoes and football helmet at the same time. Which means getting the former in the minecart section of the final level is a bad idea. Averted in the Switch remake, as you can have both of them.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- In the original arcade, Vookimedlo gives Toki the ability to spit powerful fireballs from his mouth.
- In the remake, Vookimedlo unknowingly releases Bishra, who gives Toki the powers to defeat the evil sorcerer.
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Nintendo Hard:- The remake, for one simple reason: If you lose all your lives, continuing starts you at the beginning of the level, whereas in the arcade, if you lose all your lives, continuing puts you at the last checkpoint you reached.
- The arcade as well. You die in one hit, and is very easy to get hit, especially by bosses. Also, in the final stage, your continues are limited no matter how much credits you have.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Toki, unless he finds the awesome football helmet.note Even with the football helmet on, falling into bottomless pits will instantly kill Toki!
- One-Winged Angel: Vookimedlo turns into some kind of demon as soon as you reach him, and then shows his gross real self.
- Patchwork Map: A Ghosts 'n Goblins-styled one, which, as videogames often do, makes no sense (a tropical jungle right next to a glacier and a volcanic area).
- Piñata Enemy: The chicken in the fifth stage. They take a lot of punishment, don't dish out much and they leave behind a bonus of 3000 points when they die.
- Point of No Continues: Downplayed. No matter how many quarters are in your pockets; instead of immediately disabling the ability to credit-feed, once you reach the final stage the game allows you to continue only up to five (more) times before you are finally given a text-only (but still creepy) bad ending. Averted in the Switch remake.This is your last chance to save MIHO - - - GOOD LUCK - - - you will need it!
- Pun-Based Subtitle: The Sega Genesis edition of the game is titled "Toki - Going Ape Spit". note
- Reformulated Game: The Genesis port of the game has much longer and completely reworked levels, with a bigger emphasis on platformic skills.
- Related in the Adaptation: In the remake, Miho is stated to be Vookimedlo's niece who abandoned him to be with Toki.
- Ruins for Ruins' Sake: "Golden Palace", the final level.
- Save the Princess: Miho is the princess in question, needs to be saved.
- Seesaw Catapult: There are seesaws with 10-ton weights on them. These can be used to launch Toki high in the air.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Level Four, "Ice Palace", will really test your reflexes. Even the moving platforms are slippery, so you'd better be careful about gauging your jumps and making sure you don't fall off.
- Smashing Hallway Traps of Doom: Level Six has crushers that try to stomp on Toki. In the NES port, they're much smaller.
- Spikes of Doom: They come in two flavors, normal spikes and mounds of spiky balls that explode all over the place when destroyed.
- The Spiny: Some of the enemies, like the ghosts, cannot be jumped on.
- Spread Shot: One of the power-ups available makes Toki shoot 3 directions at once.
- Spring Jump: Collecting a rabbit-ears token will give Toki sneakers that will make him jump much higher than usual.
- Steam Vent Obstacle: In stage 3, there are spots where damaging steam periodically emerges from the ground.
- Temporary Platform: The game has a few ledges and platforms which collapse, most notably in level 4. These platforms tend to reappear after a short period of time.
- Timed Mission: There is a relatively lenient time limit in each stage.
- Under the Sea: A big part of Level Two, "Lake Neptune". In the background one can see some Underwater Ruins as well.
- Wacky Sound Effect: The "boing" sound of the bouncing Geeshergam, and other examples.
- Witch Doctor: Vookimedlo and also the first boss Boloragog, which has a very stereotyped appearance.
