DS Critic Reviews

It's not greatly better than any of the other versions of it, but it's certainly welcome on the DS. [Mar 2007, p.71]

Perhaps a bit redundant to release what's essentially a two decade old game, but dammit, it still has a place in our hearts. [Mar 2007, p.81]

The classic debuts on the DS with a lot of what was to be expected. That is to say: nice graphics, sound, and very classic gameplay. A Continue option would be welcome; unfortunately it’s not present and it will be necessary to repeat the game from scratch if Tiki runs out of lives, meaning it tends to become a bit repetitive. It’s not perfect, but it’s still fun and should please those who appreciate this genre. [Feb 2008]

New Zealand Story Revolution makes no concessions to the 20 years that have passed since the original hit arcades. It’s tough as nails, but the game’s fan base wouldn’t have it any other way.

There are a few unnecessary tweaks but they don't ruin the challenging old-school platform action. We'd wait to see if the NES version arrives on the Virtual Console though. [Mar 2007, p.88]

Retro gamers might not be able to resist the lure of a jazzed-up version of such a revered title but I'd recommend the average DS owner sticks to the more user-friendly thrills of New Super Mario Bros and lets this old bird rest its tired wings.

In small doses, it's a game that finds its own old-school groove, and an enjoyable one for the most part. The touch-screen nonsense does it little favours, though, but luckily doesn't completely ruin the fun.

New Zealand Story Revolution is still an enjoyable game, but the touch screen controls drag the quality down severely, if you just want to play the original game then it may be worth hunting down Taito Legends.

I'm on board with New Zealand's graphics and sound, but there are too many games available these days to waste time dealing with enemy re-spawns and clunky platform controls.

Questions over what the remake is ultimately trying to achieve and the failure to capture the very essence of the original (beyond the cute and chirpy presentation), along with the limited use of the DS and the pathetic length, make this one to leave on the shop shelf, even if you do fondly recall the original.