The New Zealand Story

The New Zealand Story is a 1988 arcade game developed and published by Taito. The player controls Tiki, a kiwi who must save his lover Phee Phee and several of his other kiwi chick friends who have been kiwi-napped by a large blue leopard seal.

The goal of each level is to safely get Tiki through the level, avoiding enemy fire and spikes (Tiki dies in one hit), and rescue one of his kiwi friends at the end. The weaponry starts out as an endless supply of arrows, but pickups can change these into bombs, lasers or bouncing fireballs. These act a little differently, and what is useful depends upon the player's location. A distinctive feature of this game is the ability to ride a variety of flying vehicles, including balloons, blimps and UFOs. Vehicles can be found ready for use or can be stolen from an enemy.

The game features four main zones, each with four rounds, the fourth round featuring a boss fight at the end. Other features include the many secret areas and shortcuts hidden throughout the game, accessed using special hidden "warp" portals. On certain later levels, if the player loses their last life due to being killed by a projectile weapon, they will be sent up to a special "Heaven" round. Here, they can either receive a special ending or find the secret route out of Heaven and continue playing the game.