- Taito Milestones
- Taito Milestones 2
- Taito Milestones 3
The third Taito Milestones release continues the tradition of ten Taito arcade ports, compiled together into one package. These all use the same emulation as the Arcade Archives release, so they’re all high quality, though they’re missing regional variations and the bonus modes sometimes added to these releases. The theme of this compilation can roughly be described as “games influenced by Western pop culture, plus Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands“. Many of these titles also received Genesis ports, though obviously in all cases, the arcade versions here are superior.
Bubble Bobble is one of Taito’s most popular retro properties so it’s a little baffling that it took so long to appear on one of these Taito Milestones collections. Better late than never, though. In this single screen platformer, you control mini dinos Bub and/or Bob as they use their bubble breath to trap and destroy all of the enemies, then grab the score-giving fruit they produce. There are plenty of newer sequels, and it would’ve been nice to see later, rarer games like Bubble Memories, which look a little nicer. But it’s hard to argue with a classic.
Rainbow Islands
This follow-up to Bubble Bobble features the same dinosaurs but now in human form, as they scale vertically-scrolling stages and destroy enemies using rainbows. Like its predecessor, it’s also filled with obscure scoring strategies and secrets, with the in-game manual listing all of the items and secret commands, along with various quality-of-life improvements to help things along. The original theme song was a little too close to “Over the Rainbow”, and most later versions cut all or parts of it out. This release takes the revised version composed for the American NES port and converts to the same FM synth as the arcade hardware, for a more consistent sound. However, the Arcade Archives release has both the initial ROM set and the Extra revision, which has some different levels, while this Taito Milestones version only has the original.
Taito does Conan the Barbarian in this fantasy side-scroller. It looks great, sounds great, has plenty of unique enemies and weapons, plus your health meter is a heart that explodes when you die. A tough but decent side-scroller.
This Rastan sequel is somehow much worse than the original – the graphics have been downgraded despite the larger sprites, the expansive stages have been reduced to linear, side-scrolling stages, and it’s just a really slapdash game overall. The high points include two-player simultaneous play and a dramatic score that shows off Zuntata’s talent.
The third Rastan game switches genres to a beat-em-up, utilizing the multi-monitor widescreen setup as seen in the Darius games and The Ninja Warriors. In addition to Rastan, you can also play as amazon Sophia and thief Dewey. The levels are short but there are branching paths through the game, giving it some replayability. It’s a decent alternative to Golden Axe.
Champion Wrestler
An early 1990s wrestling game that features several wrestlers, including one based on Rastan. Those with an affinity for these types of non-licensed wrestling games will find something to like, but it’s not a patch on Konami’s efforts.
This side-scrolling action game adds in some RPG elements, offering four playable characters that gain experience and level up as you destroy enemies, plus purchasable items. Better in concept than in practice due to the high difficulty and timed levels, but still an interesting hybrid genre experiment. Added to the Arcade Archives release is an onscreen EXP display so you don’t need to stop in your tracks for the stat screen to show up.
Taito’s take on a Rolling Thunder / Shinobi-style action game, themed like an American action movie. Beyond your basic knife attack, you can also equip a variety of weapons, and can even hop in tanks for more destruction. You’ll also commandeer a hovercraft for some shoot-em-up action. Not one of Taito’s more well-known titles but pretty fun.
Also known as Growl, this four-player beat-em-up lets you ply as one of four heroes as they take down a poaching ring by murdering each and every one of them. It’s a little ropey when it comes to fighting action, but the over-the-top antics are plenty of fun, especially when you use bazookas to blow enemies to bits, and the story gets even more bizarre as you go along.
This is the real gem of this collection, since it’s never been released before in any other Taito collection. Taking place in 1930s America, this arena shoot-em-up puts you in the role of a gangster as you shoot other Prohibition-era goons. Each level is only a single screen, and while the sprites may be small, they’re well animated and filled with detail, similar to Elevator Action Returns. This version also lets you enable a display that keeps track of your remaining bullets for ammo-limited weapons.
The first Taito Milestones offered many early titles, but few that were noteworthy. The second one was overflowing with absolute classics. This third one still has plenty of decent titles, though overall it’s not exactly the cream of the crop. It still feels like they’re holding out with some bigger titles, but perhaps because they have (or had) different plans for them – titles like Night Striker (which is seeing a different re-release as well as a sequel/remake), Elevator Action Returns, Cleopatra Fortune (both of which also got S-Tribute re-releases by City Connection), the fighting game Kaiser Knuckle or the many Arkanoid titles. Maybe some day!
