Arcade Classic Toki Getting a Visual Upgrade, Coming to Nintendo Switch

Back in the 80's, we had a number of great Taito arcade and home games that entertained us. Among these was Toki, a fun little platformer featuring a heroic ape attempting to rescue his bride from a vicious wizard. But instead of using any old weapon, Toki actually inhabits a neat ability – being able to shoot special orbs out of his mouth.

The original arcade game was a hit, and also saw a release on the NES, as well as the Sega Genesis with the inspired sequel Toki Going Ape Spit. But it's been ages since we've seen him since, leaving us wondering if he would return. Well, guess what – he is!

The development team at Microids took to Twitter today to confirm that its long-in-production version of Toki will in fact be coming out this year. In fact, it's making a beeline for the Nintendo Switch system, so players will be able to enjoy his exploits either at home or on the go.

A release date wasn't given for the game just yet, but just seeing that it's finally on its way back to a home system is good news. And, based on the screenshot above, it looks to inhabit a fresh new art style that brings the classic platforming game to incredible life.

"The remake of the famous arcade game #TOKI will be released on #NIntendoSwitch end 2018," the team noted in its announcement. @PhilippeDessoly, the artist for the original Toki game, is taking charge of the artistic direction of the title accompanied by Pierre Adane at development."

It also included a new logo screen for the character, which you can see below, which features the ape holding up what appears to be a large fiery orb of some kind. Oh, and if you pay close attention, you can also see a football helmet in the logo, which Toki can wear to grant him an additional hit.

We'll keep tabs on this game as development goes on, but it's nice to see that Toki is finally getting his due after so much time on the shelf. And with great looking graphics, to boot.

Toki will release for Nintendo Switch later this year.