Weirdest Game You've Owned?
Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:22 pm
I was just wondering about this, today.
I remember I had this one game for the original NES as a kid. I loved it.
It was called "Kiwi Kraze", and it's kind of undescribable. Even the art style was unusual. Basically, imagine if Kid Icarus vomited over Bubble Bobble. You'd have Kiwi Kraze. Or something close to it.
The story is that a Kiwi living in a zoo in New Zealand has his friends stolen by a walrus who wants to eat them.
It's a charming game, because you can tell the developer really had nothing more than a vauge idea of what exactly these animals were or how the acted. For instance, one doesn't often see the walrus eating birds. Much less being known as the sworn natural enemy of the Kiwi bird.
Second of all, the Kiwis weren't Kiwis at all. Those who have seen the birds know that they are ugly, brown, with gigantic beaks. These "Kiwis" were baby chickens - yellow, tiny beaks, and adorable. No question about that. I would be very suprised if the developers even knew what a Kiwi really was.
A varitey of other freaks attacked the main character. Usually random animals like koala bears and cats.
The most interesting thing about this game was the balloon system. The main Kiwi had nothing but a bow, some arrows, and a pair of hawaiian shorts. For transport, you would kill a balloon-riding enemy and steal their vehicle. Like a strange prototype of Grand Theft Auto on acid.
Anyways, the balloons had various different attributes. Some could be used as weapons, some were invincible. There was much tricky manuevering required to navigate your balloon through the barrage of obstacles and enemy fire.
I also vividly remember this game because it was the first platformer I played in which you were swallowed by a boss and had to kill him by shooting his uvula - that dangly thing in the back of the throat. By the time Yoshi's Story came around, it was a beloved platformer cliche, but at the time, it seemed both fresh and bizarre.
Another thing was New Zealand. As the gameplay progressed, you'd move across the tiny island nation. For many years of my childhood, I was convinced that New Zealand was a magical video game world that didn't exist, akin to the Mushroom Kingdom. Later in life, when I found out there was a New Zealand - I felt a little foolish. Also, I made sure to check the atlas for Dreamland and South Island while I was at it.
I remember I had this one game for the original NES as a kid. I loved it.
It was called "Kiwi Kraze", and it's kind of undescribable. Even the art style was unusual. Basically, imagine if Kid Icarus vomited over Bubble Bobble. You'd have Kiwi Kraze. Or something close to it.
The story is that a Kiwi living in a zoo in New Zealand has his friends stolen by a walrus who wants to eat them.
It's a charming game, because you can tell the developer really had nothing more than a vauge idea of what exactly these animals were or how the acted. For instance, one doesn't often see the walrus eating birds. Much less being known as the sworn natural enemy of the Kiwi bird.
Second of all, the Kiwis weren't Kiwis at all. Those who have seen the birds know that they are ugly, brown, with gigantic beaks. These "Kiwis" were baby chickens - yellow, tiny beaks, and adorable. No question about that. I would be very suprised if the developers even knew what a Kiwi really was.
A varitey of other freaks attacked the main character. Usually random animals like koala bears and cats.
The most interesting thing about this game was the balloon system. The main Kiwi had nothing but a bow, some arrows, and a pair of hawaiian shorts. For transport, you would kill a balloon-riding enemy and steal their vehicle. Like a strange prototype of Grand Theft Auto on acid.
Anyways, the balloons had various different attributes. Some could be used as weapons, some were invincible. There was much tricky manuevering required to navigate your balloon through the barrage of obstacles and enemy fire.
I also vividly remember this game because it was the first platformer I played in which you were swallowed by a boss and had to kill him by shooting his uvula - that dangly thing in the back of the throat. By the time Yoshi's Story came around, it was a beloved platformer cliche, but at the time, it seemed both fresh and bizarre.
Another thing was New Zealand. As the gameplay progressed, you'd move across the tiny island nation. For many years of my childhood, I was convinced that New Zealand was a magical video game world that didn't exist, akin to the Mushroom Kingdom. Later in life, when I found out there was a New Zealand - I felt a little foolish. Also, I made sure to check the atlas for Dreamland and South Island while I was at it.
