For the past couple of years Taito, along with ININ Games, have been bringing classic arcade offerings back into the light for fans new and old to experience. Be in the form of a remaster/remake or compilation collection, Taito has really been digging deep into their library. It’s been a couple console generations since there was a compilation of Taito games in one package (Taito Legends 2 for PS2 and Xbox and Taito Legends Power-Up for PSP both released in 2007) and now another compilation has been released for the Nintendo Switch called Taito Milestones. What makes this collection of ten classic Taito games is that each of the games in this collection “represents a specific breakthrough in development and gaming history, spanning a variety of genres”. Are these games really that important, or is Taito running out of games to re-release? Let’s take a look.
Presentation wise, Taito Milestones is very minimalistic, plain and a bit boring. Unlike other previous arcade compilations that have some sort of visual ie arcade cabinets, Taito Milestones’ game menu consists of title screen shots of the games around the main title logo. Being that these games are being touted as some of the most influential games in Taito’s arcade history, you would think that the game section menu would be more celebrative. More on the presentation in a bit, so let’s get straight to the games.
As mentioned at the start, Taito Milestones is a compilation/collection of 10 early Taito arcade games that, as the press kit stats, “represents a specific breakthrough in development and gaming history, spanning a variety of genres”. These games include the following:
- QUIX (1981) Puzzle Game: Draw lines as the “Marker” and capture areas by encircling them. Watch out for enemies while moving around!
- SPACE SEEKER (1981) Shooter: Check the map screen for steadily approaching enemies, intercept the air force strategically, and strike the mobile fortress!
- ALPINE SKI (1982) Sports Game: Enter the stage of the world of snow and take part in three competitions: Downhill ski, slalom and ski jump!
- FRONT LINE (1982) Run-and-Gun: Push forward to the enemy camp as a foot soldier! Drive tanks and armored vehicles!
- WILD WESTERN (1982) Wild West Shooter: Defeat the gangs attacking from all directions with your trusty rifle! You are the law!
- Chack’n Pop (1983) Platformer: Hang in there, Chack’n! Get back the hearts from the thieving Monsta.
- ELEVATOR ACTION(1983) Spy Platform-Shooter Action: Infiltrate a building as a spy on a solo mission, get all secret documents and make your escape!
- The FairyLand Story (1985) Platformer: As the witch Ptolemy, you have to defeat the monsters deep inside the castle!
- HALLEY’S COMET (1986) Vertical Space Shooter: Halley’s comet is headed for the planets of our solar system. Destroy the computer at its center!
- THE NINJAWARRIORS (1987) Side-scrolling Beat ’Em Up Action: Advance into enemy territory as an android ninja to crush the evil Banglar’s ambitions!
Each of the games in the Taito Milestones collection are arcade perfect ports, which are powered by Arcade Archives. While this is great as Arcade Archives has ported hundreds of classic arcade games, eight of the games in the Taito Milestones collection (Qix, Elevator Action, The Ninja Warriors, Front Line, The Fairyland Story, Halley’s Comet, Wild Western, and Alpine Ski) are already on the eShop. Now you could just buy the games individually and wait for the final two to get released (Chack’n Pop and Space Seeker are not on the eShop as of yet) but at $7.99 a game that would come out to be a bit over $60+, where as the collection is only $39.99. So in hindsight this is actually a pretty good deal.
Since the games in the Taito Milestones collection are powered by Arcade Archives, extra offerings/content is very slim. Now this would make sense with individual releases, but this is a collection of games that are being touted as being influential. It would make sense for there to be a gallery or some kind of extra content telling the history behind each of the games. In that case I would recommend checking out the limited physical edition of the game by Strickly Limited games, as it has a ton of extra goodies such as pins, mini posters, stickers, a coin collection, art book and so much more. That edition of the game is about $90. And before everyone brings it up, Space Invaders isn’t included in the collection as it already has its own compilation release with Space Invaders Invincible Collection (which I also reviewed).
Taito Milestones is a pretty decent collection of games from the golden age of arcades. Those who long for those days will really enjoy the games that Taito has curated for this collection. I just wish there was more to this collection, such as a brief history of each game, why they are important, and maybe some stock photos of what each of the arcade cabinets looked like. While most of the games are on the eShop individually it’s much better to buy the collection. If you’re looking for a blast of Taito’s arcade past, then Taito Milestones is just for you. The game is out now both digitally on the eShop and physically through Strictly Limited games.
