Arcade Archives Kiki Kaikai

Genre: Top-Down Action

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

(Note: A version of this game is available in Taito Milestones 2, along with Dinorex, The NewZealand Story, Darius II, Metal Black, Gun Frontier, Ben Bero Beh, Solitary Fighter, The Legend of Kage, and Liquid Kids.)

Kiki Kaikai is a Top-Down Action Game released in Arcades in 1986, and while it has been ported and re-released multiple times since then in Japan, this Arcade Archives re-release on PlayStation 4 in 2016 and Nintendo Switch in 2020 is the first time since that original Arcade release that this game has returned to the West. This game stars a Shinto shrine maiden fighting mythological Japanese spirits and monsters, and despite Kiki Kaikai rarely being released in the West it may still seem familiar to some here, and that is because this is the first game in the cult classic Pocky & Rocky franchise.

However, the main problem (or feature, depending on who you ask) that is present in the sequels is also fully on display here: this game is absurdly difficult. It’s not merely a matter of plentiful enemies, either – your movement speed is agonizingly slow, your melee weapon’s reach is pathetic and your projectile attacks only reach roughly halfway across the screen too, and when an enemy hits you, instantly taking a life, you restart back a little distance. What’s more, when you lose all of your lives, there are no continues and you must restart from the beginning.

This release of the game includes a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to get as far as they can in one run. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes. In addition, this release includes both English and Japanese versions, and gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

At $8, the Arcade Archives release of Kiki Kaikai is absurdly pricey given its age, especially with this game also appearing in the Taito Milestones 2 bundle. Plus, only the most skilled or most masochistic players are going to enjoy this game. As a result, I can’t really recommend this release.

tl;dr – Kiki Kaikai is a Top-Down Action game that puts players in the role of a Shinto shrine maiden fighting Japanese spirits and monsters. This is the first game in the Pocky & Rocky franchise, and much like its sequels it is punishingly difficult. Plus, with this game appearing in the much better-priced Taito Milestones 2, it’s difficult to recommend this game to anyone. Unless you’re a huge fan of this series, skip this one.

Grade: D

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