Toki is getting new physical ports for classic 8-bit and 16-bit hardware

French development studio New Old Pixels has signed a licensing agreement with Microids to port the 1989 arcade game Toki to vintage hardware. The project will bring the run-and-gun platformer to classic consoles and computers that never received an official arcade conversion back in the day. These won't be emulated re-releases. They are physical editions built specifically to run on original hardware.

Right now, the team is evaluating platforms powered by Motorola 68000 and Zilog Z80 processors. That covers a massive chunk of the late 1980s and early 1990s gaming ecosystem.

Filling the gaps in the original release schedule

TAD Corporation released the original coin-op in 1989. The Japanese developer, formed by former Data East employees who had already found success with the gallery shooter Cabal, designed a game that stood out in crowded arcades by leaning into weird, memorable character designs. You play as an enchanted human transformed into an ape who spits energy balls at monsters to rescue Princess Miho from a sorcerer named Vookimedlo. It was a massive hit. It received a flood of home ports shortly after. The Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, NES, Atari Lynx, and Sega Genesis all got versions of the game.

However, several major platforms missed out. Planned conversions for systems like the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum never materialized, leaving a gap in the European microcomputer market. New Old Pixels founder Benjamin Yoris noted that giving retro machines the conversions they never got is the exact reason he created the studio. The goal is to stay as faithful as possible to the original arcade game's graphics, animation, audio, and gameplay.

I want to see how they handle the arcade graphics on Z80 chips

Microids already owns the publishing rights to the property. They actually released a high-definition remake back in 2018 with completely redrawn 2D art by Philippe Dessoly. That version catered to modern platforms like the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. It was a solid update, but it didn't scratch the itch for hardware purists.

This new initiative is doing the exact opposite. Instead of modernizing the game for current hardware, New Old Pixels is writing native code for legacy microprocessors. It is a low-level programming effort to squeeze the arcade original onto vintage silicon. I am genuinely curious to see which specific platforms make the final cut, especially since the performance gap between a Z80 and a 68000 is massive. A port for a 16-bit system will look very different from an 8-bit computer version.

Arcade boards from 1989 were custom-built powerhouses. The original Toki arcade hardware ran on a Motorola 68000 CPU clocked at 10 MHz, paired with a Z80 for audio. Squeezing that experience onto a home console that runs at half that speed requires serious optimization. Doing it for an 8-bit system requires a complete rewrite.

The studio plans to reveal more information in the coming months. Until then, we just know that authentic physical cartridges and media are in the works. It's a fascinating approach to retro publishing. Instead of just reprinting an old ROM, they're building brand new ports for old hardware.

Pick up Toki on Humble Bundle.

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