Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Kiwi Kraze: A Bird-Brained Adventure! was developed by Software Creations and published by Taito for the NES in 1991. Known outside North America as The NewZealand Story, it is a strong conversion of Taito’s 1988 arcade platformer, combining maze-like exploration, shooting, vehicle stealing, and deceptively difficult platforming. Rating: 8/10.
You play as Tiki, a small yellow kiwi whose friends, including his girlfriend Phee-Phee, have been kidnapped by the villainous Wally and imprisoned across New Zealand. The adventure is divided into five worlds containing 20 stages, with the goal of reaching and freeing a caged kiwi at the end of each level. Boss battles appear regularly and include several imaginative encounters.
Although it looks like a simple mascot platformer, Kiwi Kraze is much more complex than its cheerful presentation suggests. Levels scroll in several directions and are built like compact mazes filled with narrow passages, ladders, spikes, water, hidden routes, and enemies attacking from different angles. Pausing displays a basic map showing Tiki’s position in relation to the exit, which helps when navigating the larger stages.
Tiki begins with an unlimited supply of arrows but can collect alternative weapons such as bombs and lasers. Arrows are dependable and easy to use, while bombs follow a curved trajectory that makes them more situational. Other power-ups can freeze enemies, clear the screen, provide temporary invincibility, or improve the handling of flying vehicles.
The game’s defining feature is the ability to steal balloons and other airborne vehicles from enemies. Since Tiki cannot fly normally, these are essential for reaching high platforms and crossing dangerous gaps. Different vehicles move at different speeds and have their own handling characteristics. Hijacking one and floating through the maze-like stages is satisfying, although the physics can feel loose until you become accustomed to them.
Water sections add further variety. Tiki equips a snorkel, gains a limited air supply, and can spit water at enemies. These areas are entertaining but also increase the tension, especially when combined with tight passages and aggressive enemy placement.
Each stage also contains a hidden time limit. Taking too long causes an invincible enemy to appear and chase Tiki, discouraging players from exploring forever. This creates a good balance between careful navigation and constant forward movement. Secret doors, hidden warps, bonus rooms, and extra lives reward players who experiment by shooting suspicious parts of the scenery.
The controls are generally responsive, but Tiki’s movement has a slightly floaty quality. Precision jumps onto small ledges can feel unreliable, and flying vehicles occasionally have awkward hitboxes. These issues become more noticeable later, when spikes, projectiles, and enemies leave little room for error.
Difficulty rises sharply during the second half. Tiki dies from a single hit, continues are limited, and some later stages return you to the beginning after death. Success requires memorizing routes, learning enemy patterns, and choosing the correct weapon or vehicle. The challenge is usually fair, but a few late sections can become frustrating.
Visually, Kiwi Kraze is colorful and charming, with expressive sprites and detailed environments. The NES palette is more limited than the arcade original, and some early stages rely heavily on yellows, oranges, and blues. This can cause hazards to blend into the scenery, although later water and ice areas provide more visual variety.
The soundtrack by Tim and Geoff Follin is one of the game’s strongest features. The music is lively, catchy, and technically impressive for the NES, giving the adventure much of its personality. There are not many tracks, so repetition becomes noticeable during longer sessions, but the overall quality remains excellent.
Kiwi Kraze is one of the more distinctive platformers on the NES. Its mixture of maze exploration, weapon upgrades, balloon hijacking, water mechanics, secrets, and demanding arcade-style difficulty gives it far more depth than its cute appearance suggests. Minor control issues and a punishing final stretch prevent it from being a true classic, but it remains an inventive, polished, and underrated game.
Kiwi Kraze: A Bird-Brained Adventure! was developed by Software Creations and published by Taito for the NES in 1991. Known outside North America as The NewZealand Story, it is a strong conversion of Taito’s 1988 arcade platformer, combining maze-like exploration, shooting, vehicle stealing, and deceptively difficult platforming. Rating: 8/10.
You play as Tiki, a small yellow kiwi whose friends, including his girlfriend Phee-Phee, have been kidnapped by the villainous Wally and imprisoned across New Zealand. The adventure is divided into five worlds containing 20 stages, with the goal of reaching and freeing a caged kiwi at the end of each level. Boss battles appear regularly and include several imaginative encounters.
Although it looks like a simple mascot platformer, Kiwi Kraze is much more complex than its cheerful presentation suggests. Levels scroll in several directions and are built like compact mazes filled with narrow passages, ladders, spikes, water, hidden routes, and enemies attacking from different angles. Pausing displays a basic map showing Tiki’s position in relation to the exit, which helps when navigating the larger stages.
Tiki begins with an unlimited supply of arrows but can collect alternative weapons such as bombs and lasers. Arrows are dependable and easy to use, while bombs follow a curved trajectory that makes them more situational. Other power-ups can freeze enemies, clear the screen, provide temporary invincibility, or improve the handling of flying vehicles.
The game’s defining feature is the ability to steal balloons and other airborne vehicles from enemies. Since Tiki cannot fly normally, these are essential for reaching high platforms and crossing dangerous gaps. Different vehicles move at different speeds and have their own handling characteristics. Hijacking one and floating through the maze-like stages is satisfying, although the physics can feel loose until you become accustomed to them.
Water sections add further variety. Tiki equips a snorkel, gains a limited air supply, and can spit water at enemies. These areas are entertaining but also increase the tension, especially when combined with tight passages and aggressive enemy placement.
Each stage also contains a hidden time limit. Taking too long causes an invincible enemy to appear and chase Tiki, discouraging players from exploring forever. This creates a good balance between careful navigation and constant forward movement. Secret doors, hidden warps, bonus rooms, and extra lives reward players who experiment by shooting suspicious parts of the scenery.
The controls are generally responsive, but Tiki’s movement has a slightly floaty quality. Precision jumps onto small ledges can feel unreliable, and flying vehicles occasionally have awkward hitboxes. These issues become more noticeable later, when spikes, projectiles, and enemies leave little room for error.
Difficulty rises sharply during the second half. Tiki dies from a single hit, continues are limited, and some later stages return you to the beginning after death. Success requires memorizing routes, learning enemy patterns, and choosing the correct weapon or vehicle. The challenge is usually fair, but a few late sections can become frustrating.
Visually, Kiwi Kraze is colorful and charming, with expressive sprites and detailed environments. The NES palette is more limited than the arcade original, and some early stages rely heavily on yellows, oranges, and blues. This can cause hazards to blend into the scenery, although later water and ice areas provide more visual variety.
The soundtrack by Tim and Geoff Follin is one of the game’s strongest features. The music is lively, catchy, and technically impressive for the NES, giving the adventure much of its personality. There are not many tracks, so repetition becomes noticeable during longer sessions, but the overall quality remains excellent.
Kiwi Kraze is one of the more distinctive platformers on the NES. Its mixture of maze exploration, weapon upgrades, balloon hijacking, water mechanics, secrets, and demanding arcade-style difficulty gives it far more depth than its cute appearance suggests. Minor control issues and a punishing final stretch prevent it from being a true classic, but it remains an inventive, polished, and underrated game.
