Review: Taito Milestones 2

Last year I reviewed Taito Milestones. Looking back at my review, whilst I appreciated having the opportunity to play some fairly obscure Taito games, overall, it was difficult to recommend a package where there were only a couple of standout titles and everything else was average. I was also critical of the lack of presentation for each game, where there was no information about the game itself, and it seemed a bare-bones package. I’ve now been given the opportunity to review Taito Milestones 2 which has recently been released.

I love retro video games so I’m hopeful that this selection of games addresses some of the issues that I had with the first collection. As was the case with my review of Taito Milestones, I’ll review each game individually give my impressions, and then conclude with my final thoughts at the end of this review. As with the first collection, there are a few games in Taito Milestones 2 that I’ve never heard of before, so I’m looking forward to checking them out.

In terms of the presentation, nothing has changed from the first collection. When you select a game, the controls are presented to you and then it’s straight into it. Again, it feels like a missed opportunity because I’d imagine that this collection is aimed at retro gaming fans like me, so it’s a shame that we don’t get to learn a little bit about how the games were made and various other facts about them. That being said, let’s dive into Taito Milestones 2.

Ben Bero Beh – 1984

Ben Bero Beh is a platform game where superhero Dami-Chan is armed with a hose pipe and must spray his fluid everywhere to save the girl! Innuendos aside Dami-Chan must put out fires and avoid obstacles in his quest to save “Niigata NAO-Chan. The action starts at the top of the screen where fires must be extinguished so you can reach the basement. Imagine the original Donkey Kong, but starting at the top of the screen instead of the bottom and you’ll understand what I mean. The controls are fine, and Dami-Chan is responsive. The graphics are simple albeit very bright and colourful. The accompanying music is also suitably jaunty. I enjoyed Ben Bero Beh despite the difficulty ramping up very quickly. I’ve never played this game before and I’m glad to say it was a fun experience. 3/5

The Legend of Kage – 1985

Take control of the ninja Kage as he attempts to rescue Princess Krihime from the forces of evil. The Legend of Kage starts in a forest as enemies attack from all sides. You are armed with unlimited shuriken and a sword for short-range attacks. Ninjas are known for their acrobatic skills, but The Legend of Kage is ridiculous as Kage can jump as high as tall trees! I wanted to enjoy The Legend of Kage, but I found it a bit dull. I enjoy Ninja games such as Shinobi and the Revenge of Shinobi but, The Legend of Kage pales in comparison to these titles. The jumping is too floaty, and your methods of attacking are lacklustre. The graphics aren’t anything special and I lost interest quickly. 2/5

Kiki Kaikai – 1986

Kiki Kaikai is another game that I’ve never played before, but now thanks to Taito Milestones 2, I’ve had the chance to sample what this game has to offer. Kiki Kaikai is a vertical shooter very similar to the Capcom arcade classic Commando. Instead of controlling a soldier, you control a Shinto Shrine Maiden who is fighting ghosts and monsters. Kiki Kaikai is an interesting title and something I don’t believe I’ve experienced in this genre as they tend to focus on war with games like MERCS, Ikari Warriors, and the aforementioned Commando. That being said, Kiki Kaikai didn’t grab me like these games, and I switched off fairly quickly. 2.5/5

The New Zealand Story – 1988

Released in 1988, The NewZealand Story went on to huge success with home conversions, particularly on the Commodore Amiga which had an excellent port of the arcade game. Many will remember it fondly for being part of the Amiga 500 Batman Pack which naturally included Batman The Movie, F/A-18 Interceptor, Deluxe Paint 2, and The NewZealand Story. The excellent Amiga cover art for The NewZealand Story was drawn by the legendary and sadly missed Bob Wakelin. For anyone who hasn’t played The NewZealand Story, you take control of Tiki the Kiwi who must save his girlfriend Phee Phee, as well as his fellow Kiwis who have been kidnapped by a naughty Leopard Seal. The NewZealand Story is a platform game where Tiki is armed with a bow and arrow. Tiki must reach the end of the level whilst fighting enemies and avoiding traps. There are different weapons to collect including bombs and lasers which help Tiki in his quest. The NewZealand Story is a simple game, but the graphics, excellent music, and damn good playability make it a joy to play. The NewZealand Story is the shining star in this collection and worth revisiting if you haven’t played it for a while. 5/5

Darius 2 (3-screen arcade version) – 1989

There are 3 shoot-em-ups (shmups) in this collection. One vertical and two horizontal. Which one will be crowned king of the shmups? First up is Darius 2.

Darius 2 is a horizontal scrolling shmup where you control a spaceship and face off against hordes of enemies. If you’ve played one of these games before you know how they work. Destroy certain enemies and you are rewarded with different power-ups that make your ship faster and with more advanced weaponry. However, if you are blown up everything is lost, and you start with the basic arsenal. Darius 2 is a fun game albeit I’m completely useless at this style of game as I approach my 50s. The game is presented in an ultra-widescreen view where the top and bottom sections of the screen are black. It did make me squint a bit but wasn’t too detrimental to the game. 3/5

Gun Frontier – 1990

Gun Frontier has a very strange opening. Despite being set in the future, you’d think it had something to do with the Old West. However, it turns out that instead of using a Colt-45 in the traditional style, your spaceship is shaped like a revolver. It doesn’t really matter to be honest with you, and despite these references, Gun Frontier is a vertical scrolling shmup in the style of 1942. Playing Gun Frontier felt like a proper bullet hell-style game as I could barely get off the first level. Gun Frontier plays well enough, but the punishing difficulty will potentially put off some players. 3/5

Liquid Kids (Mizubaku Adventure) – 1990

Fancy a platformer that is so cute it will either brighten your day or make you want to vomit rainbows!? Then check out Liquid Kids. You take control of a Hipopo who is (you guessed it) a hippo that must save his clan from a fire demon. Hipopo is armed with water bombs which can be used to freeze enemies, which then can be knocked into other enemies. The movement is slower than your traditional platformer and has more in common with the Kirby series rather than Mario or Sonic. The graphics are bright and colourful which matches the tone of the game. I quite enjoyed Liquid Kids. It reminded me of Rod Land and Rainbow Islands. It’s a nice gentle game aimed at a younger audience and wasn’t too difficult. My only real criticism is that the text was in Japanese so I couldn’t make out the story. 4/5

Solitary Fighter – 1991

The attract screen for Solitary Fighter aka Violence Fight goes like this:

VIOLENCE FIGHT: IN THE EARLY PART OF 1950’S IN THE USA, A GAME CALLED “VIOLENCE FIGHT” WAS IN VOGUE AMONG MAFIA, RECKLESS DRIVERS AND GENERAL BUSINESSMEN. THE “VIOLENCE FIGHT” WAS THE GAME TO STRUGGLE FOR “NO. 1 QUARRELER” WITH FIGHTERS WHO GATHERED FROM ALL PARTS OF THE USA SPEAKING BOASTINGLY OF THEIR STRENGTH. AND OF COURSE A LOT OF WINNING MONEY AS WELL AS THE HONOR WERE GIVEN TO THE “WINNER”. HERE IN A DOWNTOWN IN L.A., A YOUNG FIGHTER “BAT” AND HIS MANAGER “BLINKS” SEEK FOR THE WINNING MONEY EAGERLY. AS A MATTER OF FACT, CAN BAT TAKE THE NO. 1 PLACE OF THE USA?

Makes perfect sense right!? Despite some slightly dodgy language localisation, I was intrigued by Solitary Fighter. The graphics are decent with the fighters being large and filling a large amount of the screen. The characters can move around the arena rather than simply just facing each other. There are no light, medium, and hard attacks as you may expect in this type of game, but more simply just punch, kick, and jump. There are no special move combinations either, so it resorts to being a bit of a button-mashing fest. As you can probably tell I’m doing my best to avoid comparisons with Street Fighter 2, but it’s almost impossible because it set the bar for one-on-one fighters so high. Perhaps a fairer comparison should be the original Street Fighter which wasn’t great. In truth, Solitary Fighter reminded me of Pit Fighter (which was also a bit crap) where the fighters can move around the arena and pick up objects and use them against their opponent. The crowd also gets involved in the action and a knife-wielding woman attacks you randomly. Solitary Fighter is very simple and despite the bold graphics, it isn’t much fun to play.

There are several fighters to choose from, but they play almost identically and offer no real individuality. There is an amusing bonus section where you fight against a bear, but this can’t save the game from being a bit rubbish.  2/5

Metal Black – 1991

As I played the final shmup in this collection, I was immediately impressed with Metal Black. This is again a futuristic shooter, but I loved the style and aesthetic of the post-apocalyptic setting. It reminded me of two of my favourite SNES games mixed together, Super Probotector and U.N. Squadron. Metal Black is also slightly different from other shooters where there are power-ups constantly flying around the screen for you to collect. These power up your special attack which can range from a weak laser beam to a high-powered attack that destroys everything in its path. There is also a fun bonus level where the perspective changes and you must target enemy ships with fire rockets. I loved Metal Black! It’s a very fun and playable game that kept me going back for more. 5/5

Dino Rex – 1992

Dinosaurs are cool! I still remember from a very early age after a successful swimming lesson (success is defined by not drowning) my mom would take me into town and buy me a toy dinosaur. Playing with toy dinosaurs is all well and good, but playing with stop-motion dinosaurs that kick the living crap out of each other sounds like a dream come true, or so you’d think. Much like Solitary Fighter, I was hoping for good things based on the large dinosaurs which looked impressive on the screen. But it was like Deja vu when I started to play Dino Rex. Once you’ve selected your prehistoric beast you discover they can jump, punch/bite, kick, and/or swing their tail depending on what type of dinosaur you choose. This all sounds great, but the controls are very basic, and it becomes another button masher where there is very little skill required. Dino Rex has curiosity value, especially as the only dinosaur fighting game I recall playing is Primal Rage, but if I’m honest (much like Primal Rage) it’s not very good and won’t keep you occupied for very long. Don’t let the awesome cover art fool you, the fun in Dino Rex is as extinct as the creatures that feature in it. 2/5

Overall

There are some obscure games included in this collection that I’d never played. This was the case with Taito Milestones Collection released last year. Like a lot of compilation titles, there are some classics, some mediocre titles, and some absolute duds. That being said, I preferred Taito Milestones 2 more than the first Taito Milestones. As much as I appreciate the chance to play games I’ve never heard of before, surely it would be better to release a collection of stone-cold classics, and let’s be honest, Taito has had its fair share of them. Maybe the inevitable Taito Milestones Collection 3 will feature titles such as Space Invaders, Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Renegade, Slap Fight, Rainbow Islands, Chase H.Q., and Puzzle Bobble. Probably not, but I can always dream.

Taito Milestones 2 is available now for Nintendo Switch.

Review by Chris.