Taito Milestones (Switch)

Taito Milestones is the latest compilation title from Inin Games and covers some significant games in the early days of Arcade Legends Taito.

Taito Milestones complies the following games into one wallet friendly package 

• Quix (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 Ninjawarriors (1987)

What we have here is a selection of the best titles from Taito’s early years without relying on bigger named titles like 1986’s release Bubble Bobble or 1987’s Shmup powerhouse Darius.

While it’s refreshing for a company not to just put out the usual suspects I do feel they could have squoze in maybe New Zealand Story, Rastan or Kiki Kaikai which would have been a great lead in to the upcoming “Pocky and Rocky: Reshrined”.

Let’s not lament what we don’t have, let’s talk about what we do shall we?.

Quix.

Basic arcade action where you need to fill the screen with colour by drawing lines, if you get touched by one of the enemy lines it’s game over. 

Brief, simple and pick up and play fun, it’s nothing that is going to change your life but is an arcade gold standard. 

Space Seeker. 

This is a Shmup of sorts where you have a world map, you have to attack aliens that are waging war on you either in the air or at their bases. 

The game flips between a standard horizontal shooter and a first person cockpit view, feels a little ancient now but a brilliant idea for the time. 

Alpine Ski.

A ski game involving some wonky controls, insane difficulty and limited fun, not one that inspired multiple credit dumps sadly. 

Front Line.

Front Line is a Run and Gun game in the style of Commando & Ikari Warriors, top down view with plenty of bullets to dodge and enemies to kill.

While not quite as graphically strong as the titles I mentioned it’s still quite a fun little game. 

Wild Western.

This interesting western title has you trying to aim bullets. Bounce them off the side of a train and stop robbers in fun but condensed arcade action.

Wonky controls aside still worth a credit or two and some of you time as a curiosity.

Chack’n’pop

Chack’n’pop is a maze game with shades of Bomberman, it features some creatures from Bubble Bobble and has charming but basic visuals, didn’t really grab me much.

Elevator Action

A legendary title involving a spy, secret documents, a building and lots of elevator action. 

One of the high points of this collection it sees you shooting down enemies as you work through the building, finding the secret documents until you reach the basement and drive off. 

Some of the most fun you’ll have on this collection and shows you why we still get Elevator Action games today.

The Fairyland Story

This game feels like the blueprint for Bubble Bobble, you play as a Witch and can turn your foes into cake in which you must crush either by pushing off the side or landing on. 

Not quite as fun or charming as the more famous Bubble Bobble and visually very basic but is worth a curiosity play.

Halley’s Comet

Another Shmup but this time in the vertical side of the spectrum.

Shoot down aliens and bits of the aforementioned comet to avoid the earth’s destruction which is shown in a handy little metre on the screen. 

The Ninjawarriors 

My favourite title of the package, a basic side scrolling title in the vein of beat em ups. 

You play a female ninja who mows down the army with a combo of shurikens and melee attacks.

A banging soundtrack and timeless gameplay meant I spent the most time on this title and it also helped that it’s the original Ninjawarriors title and I do love the sequel that was released on SNES then later re-released on modern consoles. 

In terms of the whole package, yes it’s a bargain in terms of price but the titles do kind of lean more to hardcore retro enthusiasts. 

There are no extras and all versions are just repackaged Arcade Archive releases meaning if you already own any of these previously you’re not getting anything extra.

It’s a shame Inin seem to insist on these barebones compilations with no extra features as it would make them alot more appealing than they currently are. As it stands it’s a decent title but mileage certainly will vary.