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

Taito Milestones 2 Review (Switch)

 

Taito has one of the best catalogues of games in the industry, but the first Taito collection on the Switch was uncommonly stingy in terms of both content and its price point. Even though the days of the massive collections seen in the days of the PS2 are long gone there is still a balance that can be struck between offering players something decent and a company valuing its legacy. With that in mind we are pleased to say that Milestones 2 is much better in terms of the games selected.

Even in this collection of ten titles though there is some filler that will likely serve as little more than a curio to most. Dino Rex is a one-on-one fighting game in the mould of Primal Rage. That game itself isn’t the best and Dino Rex proves to be even more clunky. Solitary Fighter is another that falls into this category. A sort of better looking cross between Street Fighter and Pit Fighter, it’s not something that is strong enough to hold your attention for long.

Aside from these two games though the others all have some real merit. The NewZealand Story remains a classic arcade platformer that it’s worth playing through multiple times. The arcade version is tougher than the home releases, but the bright colours and responsive gameplay mean it’s easy to forgive its difficulty. It’s also full of iconic moments such as needing to be eaten by the whale boss to damage it – something many a gamer will remember fondly.

Metal Black is also on here and is an excellent side scrolling shoot’em up. It uses a unique dual beam power up system with players able to blast it out at set increments on an energy bar. It looks great and has all the mammoth bosses and waves of enemies you could want from the genre. At one point it was going to be an entry in the Darius series but was later turned into its own title.

Speaking of Darius, one of the big selling points of this collection is that the three screen Darius II is included here as an exclusive. It’s an amazing game and if you have access to a big screen, it will blow you away with the scale and the speed of the thing. Inevitably, three screens crammed onto the Switch in handheld mode does make things a bit small, but we still found it playable enough – especially on the OLED screen.

If you are still not convinced, you also get one of Taito’s best platform games on this collection in Liquid Kids. Like some of the others it is available separately but in our view it’s almost worth the asking price on its own. It will please many a Saturn owner who now doesn’t have to pay out the price of a small house to own a copy as well. In the game you control dog thing that chucks bubbles. These trap enemies which can then be bashed off screen. When enough bubbles build up it sends water surging around to clear away enemies and deal with basic puzzles. Imagine a sort of side scrolling Bubble Bobble.

Rounding out the package are four games that we would classify as ones you’ll likely dip into now and again. Kiki Kaikai is first in the Pocky & Rocky series and very tough but fun. In our view it’s probably the weakest of the series and Reshrined is also on the Switch so that would be the one to spend more time with. Gun Frontier is another Shoot’em up with the gimmick of needing to down the end of level boss with a single shot. Again, it’s fun but you’ll be too busy playing Darius II. The fairly well-known Legend of Kage is a platformer that works in short bursts but has no real lasting depth and Ben Nero Beh is a cool little single screen game where a fireman has to reach a damsel in distress avoiding fires and collapsing floors. You may well find yourself addicted to this for a while as once you get used to it there’s a lot of charm here.

Overall, Taito Milestones 2 is a much stronger and better value collection than the first one. There are at least three games here that are major selling points and the majority of the others are good fun and games you’ll likely return to multiple times. There is still room for improvement in terms of options and presentation but it’s all moving in the right direction. Retro fans should find more than enough here to keep them happy.

Overall 8/10