Taito Collection 3 Review (Switch)

 

The first two Taito Milestones collection were a bit of a mixed bag. The first collection had ten games on it but lacked for the price that was being asked. The second collection fared better, having The New Zealand Story and a unique version of Darius 2 on it. While still limited to ten games, the third collection is arguably the strongest set of games so far.

Before we get into what’s on here it’s important to say that you now get all the expected game-based bells and whistles retro collections have started to accumulate. Save states, display settings, the ability to tweak in game options and online rankings are all here along with in game manuals. There isn’t much in the way of museum or archive material though.

Headlining this collection are the classics of Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands. Both are highly regarded arcade games that you’ll no doubt have heard of. They both play as excellently as you remember as well with their different takes on platforming still feeling fresh and fun, while also influencing so much that came after them. 

The Rastan games are also here.  The impressive Conan the Barbarian inspired sprites still hold up and the arcade style hack and slash will keep you playing longer than most arcade games have a right to. The second game is even more visually impressive with some excellent set pieces and huge graphics, but it lacks in terms of how it plays and will likely be skipped over after the initial wow factor has warn off.

The rare, third game in the Rastan Saga has also been included. Warrior Blade is Taito’s attempt at producing something like Golden Axe. It’s not been the easiest game to get hold of so it’s nice to see it here and it does a good job at creating a swords and sorcery hack and slash game. It has a pretty wide range of moves as well and three different characters to pick from so if you get tired of just hammering the attack button there are options to mix things up.

Championship Wrestling is an interesting choice, it’s a relatively fun take on the sport which looks great but lacks a few moves. It runs at a decent speed and all the different characters are visually different. They also have a few unique moves between them. As there’s a real lack of decent wrestling games on the Switch it could gain a bit of a cult following. It’s certainly fun in small bursts.

RPG/ Hack and Slash crossover Cadash has made the cut as well. You start by picking from one of four characters and then must press on against the clock in a side on adventure. Occasionally you’ll level up and have to continually find gold. It’s not a game that has aged massively well and will likely just become a curio as players look for something a bit easier to deal with. The same can be said for Runark (otherwise known as Growl), which is a fairly average belt fighter with a few cool elements and an interesting theme.

Luckily, Thunder Fox is much more interesting. It plays like a sort of cross between an updated version of Rush ‘n’ Attack and the arcade version of Shinobi. Levels are varied and it’s responsive and good fun. It has the basic structure of walking through levels and hitting enemies but the bosses are decent and occasionally you get to drive vehicles and blast things in jets. As an arcade experience it works well.

The collection is rounded off with Dead Connection a cool action game set across a single screen where you break into gangsters’ dens and shoot everyone. Levels are set up like a club or a restaurant and you must eliminate a certain number of targets to progress. Much of the environment is destructible and interactive as well which adds to the chaos. It’s a continual good time and a much-welcomed addition.

Overall, The third Taito collection is the strongest in terms of overall selection of games yet. There’s a good mix of well recognised titles and curios and most of them are at least fun to play in small amounts. There are of course always things we would have liked to see added. In this instance we would have loved to have more of the Bubble Bobble games on here, Bubble Symphony seems to never want to come out on anything again. The price may still be too much for some but in terms of quality you can’t really argue.

Overall 8/10

Irem Collection Volume 2 Review (Switch)

Irem’s rollout of it’s older Ip is certainly taking its time. The Switch is now home to a huge array of retro games and compilations but much of it has been released on other platforms before. Irem seems to be taking a different approach, and while their collections are small, they are also games that haven’t been released as often. They are also seemingly trying to avoid an overlap with their Evercade releases so there’s a focus on more original content.

As a result, we haven’t seen collections of games such as R-Type or Midnight Resistance but more obscure arcade releases. The original collection contained Image Fight, Image Fight 2 and X Multiply, and now we have Air Duel, GunForce and GunForce II. Like before, different versions of the games have been included. The SNES and Arcade versions of Gunforce are here (along with regional variants), GunForce II has it’s Geo Storm variant and the Japanese version of Air Duel rounds out the collection.

Air Duel is a vertical scrolling shooter in the same sort of vein as Capcom’s 1940 series. You control a plane or a helicopter and take on a variety of futuristic military enemies. There’s a fairly standard power up system which increases the power of your main gun, and you also have your smart bombs. The helicopter handles slightly differently, allowing the player to pivot their fire from side to side which is a nice touch. In general, this is a great fun classic example of the genre, even if it lacks some of the innovation of modern releases.

You get both the console and arcade versions of GunForce. Unfortunately, the SNES/Famicom version of the game isn’t a patch on the arcade. It’s nice to have it here for completionist sake but it merely tries to mimic the arcade experience without adding anything new to the mix. As a result, you are much better sticking with the arcade experience. The game is a side scrolling shooter which sits somewhere between Conta and Metal Slug. It’s a tiny bit slow but the action is fun and frenetic and there’s a wide range of powerups and vehicles to play around with and huge bosses to take down.

GunForce 2 ramps up the speed and firepower considerably. It makes the game have much more of a full-on Metal Slug feel than the original. It’s also much more over the top with your character carrying two guns and a faster, more streamlined approach to the sprite work and level design. It’s an excellent game and one any fans of scrolling shooters should go out of their way to play.

As is standard now, all the games come with save states, rewind features and options to remap and change the controls. There’s also auto fire options and you can play the games in casual or classic mode which limits certain options or allows access to online leaderboards. It is a shame though that the games don’t have any real sort of archive or museum material.

Overall, Irem Collection Volume 2 has three excellent games on it that are all individually worth playing. There’s still an issue regarding the price, and of course there could and probably should be more games in each volume, especially compared to what’s out there from other companies. But what’s here is good and presented well. If that’s enough then you shouldn’t hesitate to dive in.

Overall 8/10

Voidwrought Review (Switch)

This will shock you, but Voidwrought is an indie Metroidvania game on the Switch. It’s fair to say that Nintendo’s hybrid has no shortages of games in the genre (including Metroid and Castlevania), so anything new must really do something to standout.

It’s a good thing then that Voidwrought really does try to do things a little bit differently. The first thing you’ll notice is that the game looks incredible. Everything from cutscenes to the general level design is presented in a gorgeous dark comic book style. To match this, the flow of movement is as smooth as the visuals with the games trademark being that it’s a fast-paced take on the genre. In these respects, it really does stand out in a positive way.

The general look of the design is a sort of comic book inspired mashup of Deadcells, Blasphemy and Dark Souls with a mixture of both technological and biological terrors inhabiting the environments. It definitely has a continually brooding and menacing tone to it that works well with the general bleakness of the game’s difficulty.

The steep learning curve may put some gamers off, the environment is harsh to navigate, and most enemies take a considerable amount of damage before they go down. This is all fine until you end up repeating sections multiple times. There are save points of course but they aren’t that prevalent. One concession to this is that any major object collected, or event triggered, will still have happened when you die and respawn at your last save point.

In a game which is generally difficult the bosses are, perhaps surprisingly, quite well balanced. There are certainly sticking points but once you have learned how they behave they don’t take crazy amount so damage before going down which helps to keep the game flowing.

There are a few issues though. First of all, the plot doesn’t really carry much of an impact. We would struggle to tell you what you are doing and why beyond the obvious Metroidvania exploration. We had no real idea what the overall goal was. Perhaps more concerning, the game also isn’t very good at giving you clear feedback regarding things like getting or damage.

The cartoon style is beautiful, but it does give things a lack of weight and impact, so it can be difficult to know if you are being hit or how hard you are hitting yourself. The health bar is also an issue. There is one of course but it doesn’t stand out that well and there is little other visual feedback to give an indication you are about to die. This led to a fair few deaths when healing was otherwise available.

Overall, Voidwrought succeeds in bringing something slightly different to the Metroidvania template. This is impressive enough when you consider how many games there are out there in the genre. It never fully clicked with us though in the way some of the other games have. That moment when you are just zooming around feeling like a super being never really came and, in the end, the few flaws did start to wear away at us. It’s a beautifully crafted game that runs amazingly well, but it is also perhaps one for gamers out there looking for a more hardcore experience. If you are into the genre though, this is well worth checking out as it’s somewhat unique in a crowded market.

Overall 7/10

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel Review (Switch)

As you’ll likely know by now, we are a fan of obscure sixteen-bit games being released on the Switch. We’ve covered the first two games in the Aero the Acrobat series and now the third has arrived. Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, focuses on one of the bosses from the previous games who is now the main character, much in the same way Knuckles broke out of the Sonic series. It’s also a crazily expensive Megadrive game, so we are more than happy to see it more readily available.

Zero, is a late life platformer and as a result is among the best looking Megadrive games. It’s bold colours and large sprites hold up remarkably well on the Switch and the levels and backgrounds are well drawn and different enough visually to keep things interesting throughout.

Along with the impressive graphics, Zero also plays like a dream. The platforming is precise and once you have got used to the inertia that every Megadrive platformer seems to have its genuinely fun to play. Zero has a fair few moves as well with him being able to throw ninja stars and swoop for short distances in the air. There are a few too many leaps of faith in the level design, but the rewind feature eliminates any major frustration in that respect.

In terms of content, the game has some nice additions. There’s the save state and rewind option that most retro games now have but you can also choose which regional version of the game to play. And if it’s all too much there’s also a host of cheats that can be activated. There’s also a selection of music options, a gallery and sprite sheets. It’s nothing amazing on its own but all together it shows that some care and attention has been put in to try and create a well-rounded package.

Overall, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is a bit of a forgotten gem. It was largely overlooked on release but it’s well worth playing now. It’s a fun and solid platformer and could easily have been released today and fit in with the indie crowd. You may not have heard of it but it’s well worth checking out.

Overall 8/10