Retro week keeps on giving. Hot on the heels of all that Gamescom noise, a genuine 1988 arcade classic is landing on modern hardware: The NewZealand Story, Taito's adorable-but-brutal platformer about a baby kiwi rescuing his friends, is getting a new release on Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5 this week. Vice has the details, and it's a fun read if you want the full history.

If you never spent quarters on this one, picture Bubble Bobble's DNA crossed with a maze-like single-screen platformer. You play Tiki, waddling through tight enemy-filled stages, grabbing weapons, using balloons to float around. Sounds cozy. It is not cozy. Arcade-era Taito did not mess around, and the difficulty curve is basically a wall with a smiley face painted on it.

Why I care about this release is the same thing I keep banging on about: preservation. I'd rather see these games get proper modern re-releases than watch them exist only as fuzzy YouTube captures or fragile original boards. The Switch 2 and PS5 versions mean a new generation gets an actual, legal, easy entry point to a real slice of late-80s arcade history. And playing an arcade game on the Switch 2 in handheld mode just feels right, like the spirit of the cabinet got a second life in a chunky little tablet.

Taito's arcade catalog has been having a quiet renaissance lately, and The NewZealand Story was always one of the most charming oddballs in the lineup. The pastel look holds up, the music is still stuck in my head, and the whole thing has that instantly readable quality where anyone watching over your shoulder gets it within five seconds. Same reason I love watching Trackmania. Low barrier to understand, monstrous skill ceiling.

No word yet on whether this release bundles extras like scanline filters, save states, or a gallery of original artwork, but those details should surface when it goes live. Given how these Taito re-releases have been handled before, I'd expect at least a few quality-of-life options so newcomers don't bounce off the difficulty in stage three.

Quick question for you all: what's the arcade game you'd most want resurrected for modern consoles? My guild Discord has been running a bracket and it has gotten surprisingly heated. Drop your pick in the comments, and if you grab The NewZealand Story this week, be kind to yourself and start on easy mode if the option's there. Tiki would want that for you.