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Taito Milestones – Nintendo Switch Review

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ININ Games has been quite prolific of late in teaming up with iconic arcade brand, TAITO – they keep giving us a jolt of nostalgia with their TAITO classics remastered for a new generation of systems (and gamers) to enjoy. Taito Milestones is the latest output of this collaboration, bringing a compilation of 80s classic Taito arcade games to the masses.

This special retro compilation may not be for everyone, but for those gamers of a certain age that played these arcade games ‘back in the day’, these games represent a new way of playing them on their contemporary consoles. Let’s get straight to the point, this Taito Milestones compilation is for those that seek a hit nostalgia, which is always welcome. For those that have no nostalgic pull to any of the games in Milestones, don’t be fooled by the simple graphics, as these games were designed to pull the player in and extract as many coins from their pockets.

There are 10 classic Taito arcade games which you may have heard of or even better, played them in the 80s! For western gamers, there may be a few titles that you may have not gotten to play as they were either exclusive to Japan or not widely available to play in arcade centres. There are the obvious classic titles like Elevator Action, Qix, Alpine Ski and The Ninja Warriors. That doesn’t mean that the other six titles are unheard of or not playable, they were just lesser known by western audiences back in the 1980s. We love platform and shooter/shoot’em up games, so Space Seeker, The FairyLand Story and Halley’s Comet are welcome additions – we have to say, we loved Halley’s Comet as it is a super fast paced vertical shmup with great enemies and power-ups. The emulation for all ten titles is absolutely spot on, so there is nothing to be concerned about on that front – just play and enjoy!

If you are a retro fan and don’t already own some of these games on the Switch, and want to dive into a nostalgic gaming experience by playing ten classic Taito arcade games, then Taito Milestones is for you. There is definitely something in this collection for every retro gamer. Is it worth the A$58 (digital) – only if you don’t already have some of these.

The physical edition (starting at €39.99/A$58.00) and the digital download version of TAITO MILESTONES for Nintendo Switch launches on April 15th, 2022.

QIX (1981)

Space Seeker (1981)

Alpine Ski (1982)

Front Line (1982)

Wild Western (1982)

Chack’n Pop (1983)

Elevator Action (1983)

The FairyLand Story (1985)

Halley’s Comet (1986)

The Ninja Warriors (1987)
image source: ININ Games



Disclaimer: The Nintendo Switch review code for Taito Milestones was provided by PR Hound.

1/12 Retro Upright Arcade Cabinet TAITO Set

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We are suckers for anything that gives us a hit of nostalgia. This officially licensed 1/12 Retro Upright Cabinet TAITO Set has certainly hit our nostalgic spot! These 1/12 scale arcade cabinets definitely bring back that familiarity in playing these machines back in the day.

The awesome bit of kit comes complete with wooden cutouts for the arcade cabinets, cabinet colour artwork, game screens and control panel cards for three of TAITO’s arcade games; KiKi KaiKai, Bubble Bobble and Elevator Action. These are so darn cute!

Product: 1/12 Retro Upright Cabinet TAITO Set
Store: Play Asia
Price: US$17.99 / AU$28.34

image source: Play Asia

 

Elevator Action: For Old Times’ Sake

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How many times have you walked in an elevator and starting thinking you were in the 1983 Taito game, Eleveator Action? Never! Really? It must be me, I am strange like that.

Since Elevator Action is turning 30 this year, I thought it was a good opportunity to have a game, for old times’ sake. So, how does it stack up after all these years – is it still fun to play? Read on.

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For those that have never laid eyes on this game, the protagonist is Otto, or Agent 17. Otto is tasked with collecting secret documents from rooms (behind red doors) within the 30-floor building. He makes his way between floors via the elevator (hence the title – d’oh) and on certain floors, he can use the escalators. To make things interesting, enemies appear at the most inopportune time to get Otto and derail his whole secret mission.

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Otto is no slouch when it comes to defending himself. As a secret agent, he is armed and dangerous. His trusty gun can fire three bullets per shot. If that doesn’t work, the enemies can be kicked. By far the most satisfying way to eliminate the bad guys, is by shooting a light on the ceiling while in the elevator, dropping the light onto the baddies. The byproduct of a dropped light is that the hallways become temporarily dark which makes the enemies harder to see – makes the heart rate go up a notch too. Another way to get kills on the board is to crush the bad dudes with the elevator – gee I’m a sadist.

After Otto collects all documents, he has to make his way down to the basement where he can escape via his getaway car. For some inexplicable reason, Otto proceeds to another building for more secret document hunting instead of driving off in the sunset. Ah, once an agent, always an agent.

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The controls are four-way (up, down, left, right) with two buttons, one for firing, the other for jumping/kicking – Taito catered for right and left-handed players by having these buttons on either side of the centred joystick. The game can become hectic, with the timer ticking down and enemy spies that pop-up just when you don’t want them to. Even though the action may seem limited, the game is still as much fun to play now, as it was 30 years ago. The graphics and sound could do with a spruce up, but back then, it was all about instant playability – which Elevator Action has in abundance.

Graphics Very basic in this department – enemies wear the traditional black suit with top-hat to match. Documents are hidden behind red doors, and the elevator is cool to watch go up and down.

76%
Sound Run of the mill bleeps and blops. Nothing to tune your ears into.

65%
Playability Taito plonged the joystick in the middle, with buttons on either side – catering for both right and left-handed players. Pick your buttons, and away you go being a secret agent.

80%
Lastability The gameplay may feel limited, but this is not a game to play for hours on end. It is great to play in short bursts from time to time.

78%
Overall Up, Down, Left, Right, Jump, Fire. No, not the Konami code, just the control mechanisms for a secret agent. Great game to kill 10 minutes of your time.

81%

 

elevator_action_machine_ausretrogamerManufacturer: Taito
Year: 1983
Genre: Platform
Number of Simultaneous Players: 1
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Alternating
Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls:
– Joystick: 4-way [up, down, left, right]
– Buttons: 2 [Fire and Jump]
Sound: Amplified Mono (single channel)