For the avid retro gamer, the Arcade Archives series has been one of the Switch’s greatest boons. Hamster Corporation has, to date, released 280 titles, and another 108 specific to the Neo Geo hardware, all with a commitment to emulating arcade originals at affordable prices. Taito Milestones 2 is a collection featuring 10 Taito-specific titles, following on from the first Taito Milestones released in April 2022. While highlights of the original included Elevator Action (1983) and The Ninja Warriors (1987), this follow-up’s library is altogether more attractive, featuring bigger, more desirable titles, and a nicely balanced set of genres.
First up, The NewZealand Story (1988), one of Taito’s most beloved action platform games, remains as delightful as ever. You must navigate Tiki the Kiwi through four zones and 16 stages, using weapon power-ups to thwart cute enemies and locate exits in a maze-like layout. Despite being ported to almost everything during the '90s, the original still remains the neatest and most compelling version.
Gun Frontier’s (1990) graphical style, a grainy, almost colourless vertical vista, went on to inform several of Taito’s games in the early '90s. A shoot 'em up with a rank that cranks up hard depending on performance, it’s far from friendly; but its Western sci-fi theming and otherworldly feel lend it curious appeal. Its final boss, requiring a single, perfectly timed bullet to bypass obstacles and destroy its core, is the stuff of video game infamy.
Metal Black (1991) is one of three major shoot 'em ups to feature in the collection, making it a huge draw for fans of the genre and Taito’s work. Metal Black’s history is unique, in that it was intended to be a third Darius title but eventually released as an original game. It bears several Darius hallmarks and went on to introduce a beam-duelling feature that would be adopted by later Darius entries. It’s an unusual, but incredibly entertaining game, if somewhat divisive. Featuring softer conditions than Darius, you power up your laser gun through two phases, with a choice to expend it as a powerful beam at set increments. Beam duels can be initiated at precise moments during boss fights, and, using the same sepia, newspapery graphical style featured in Gun Frontier and Dino Rex, it has a uniquely bleak sci-fi feel. Metal Black is a bonafide black sheep game, and we love it.
You may recognise Kiki Kaikai (1986) as Pocky & Rocky. This, the beginning of the series, is a multi-directional vertical shooting game in the same format as its Super Nintendo and Switch sequels. You play as Sayo, a shrine maiden on a mission, marching up screen and shooting incoming ghouls with holy scrolls or shielding herself with a wave of her magical rod. And, despite its brevity, damn, is it hard. This is old-school arcade gaming at its most aggressive, so knuckle down and don’t let the cute imagery lull you into a false sense of security.
Solitary Fighter (1991) is one of the collection’s exclusive titles, in that it hasn’t been released by ACA as of yet. A fighting game rolled out just a few months after the release of Street Fighter II, its large sprites are able to roam about the screen in 360 degrees. Think Pit-Fighter, but with superior graphics and gameplay, and you're on the right lines. It’s colourful and nice-looking, but so limited and cumbersome that only the most dedicated gamers will want to commit to learning its ins and outs. There are a few surprises to be had if you decide to work through each of its bouts, however.
More cute platforming action joins the collection in the form of Liquid Kids (1990), where you control a bubble-shooting dog working through brief stages with mild puzzle elements. You freeze enemies in splashes and then knock them off-screen, in chain combos if possible, while attempting to reach the exit. It’s no NewZealand Story, but it is, arguably, underrated as an arcade platform action adventure, with nice stage design and fun mechanics.
Ben Bero Beh (1984) is the oldest title in this collection, yet boasts wonderful animation. It’s a simple single-screen affair where you, the superhero fireman, must reach a damsel in distress by putting out the infernos rapidly engulfing each floor. It’s slow and a tad cumbersome to start, but once you get a feel for the controls and its shortcuts, it’s a very enjoyable title that opens up with bigger stages, flaming fireballs, and multiple victims to save.
Another collection exclusive, Dino Rex (1992) is a fighting game that again bears the imprint of Gun Frontier’s graphics team, making for a gritty, 2000AD aesthetic in a Jurassic world. Here, you take on the role of dinosaur handlers who are pitting their digitised prehistoric beasts in battle. A side-on 2D fighting game in the traditional style, it’s clunkier and more limited than any Primal Rage, and with far less variety to the action. briefly fun for a two-player mess around, but not much more.
One that’s slightly more famous is The Legend of Kage (1985), having made an appearance on Nintendo’s NES and various home computers. It’s a simple action game, having you run either left or right, navigating forests, oceans, and temples, using shrunken to dispatch a quota of incoming ninja foes. It’s tough but short with it, and, while speedy and frantic, an enjoyable game to attempt to master.
Finally, Darius II (1989) is probably the collection’s highlight, being exclusive and appearing in its full, three-screen format. This does of course make it nigh on impossible to play in a handheld format, even with screen adjustments, but quite the fanfare on any large TV. Darius II, in case you never knew you wanted a thing called Tuna Sashimi, is an utterly fabulous game, bringing the world of Darius to life by building on the themes of the original with a graphical tour de force. Work your way through the stars from planet to planet, dispatching giant mechanised aquatic bosses, building your weaponry into a blazing offensive, and emerging victorious on the other side. And, in case it wasn’t already obvious, the Zuntata soundtrack is sublime.
Hamster's releases are fairly straightforward in presentation, and Taito Milestones 2 is no exception. There aren't any visual fireworks in its overview, and the menus are functionally simplistic. But, like the vast majority of Arcade Archives entries to date, the games collected here are excellently emulated, with necessities provided in the form of configurable scanline filters, screen adjustments, interrupt save states, user manuals, online rankings, and various other in-game options. The lineup in Taito Milestones 2 is altogether excellent: a broadly balanced set of titles and genres that will appeal to a larger audience than the previous collection. The only obvious issue is, that since the majority of these titles have already been released standalone, fans may own several already.
Conclusion
Dino Rex and Solitary Fighter aren't exactly high points, and considering they're two of three exclusives, much of the appeal of this collection depends on how many titles you may already own, and how much you want Darius II. That said, for those who are yet to dabble in Hamster's series, it's a superb slice of Taito arcade gaming that outdoes its predecessor in terms of quality and appeal, and comes through with solid emulation. There are hundreds of hours of fun to be had here with some of Taito's most deservedly celebrated works.
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Comments 35
You know, collections like this usually includes some kind of information about the titles, developers, development process, gallery, and etc...
Seems like Taito don't know about it or forgot about it.
didn't darius ii was alsop in a big screen version on the darius collection?
Elevator Action was my favorite coin-op game growing up. My little brother and I used to run around hotels playing Elevator Action (essentially a multi-level tag) when we were wee lads.
GD we must have been so annoying - and ripe for kidnapping. I guess we weren't cute enough.
The New Zealand Story is AWESOME!!!! This is a nice compilation.
From what I remember from reading all the magazine reviews back in the day, the Sega Megadrive version of the New Zealand Story is considered even better than the Arcade version.
I may pick this and the first collection as a physical bundle someday if the price is right. Already got some of these as digital download.
@species8472 That's the main issue of why the arcade scene was dying back then cause sooner or later home console games are starting to get better so people stopped going to the arcade eventually. I stopped going to play Turtles in Time, Sunset Riders, U.N. Squadron, Mortal Kombat II, and Street Fighter II Turbo at the arcade when I realize the Super NES versions trump those altogether and I don't have to keep throwing quarters at them to get a better experience.
@species8472 the mega drive version is a great port. same with the rainbow islands release. but I lean towards the arcade version best. I really like the character design.
@Serpenterror yet the social experience playing with other random people trumps the console versions in my opinion for every game you listed, especially 4 player games. but I grew up around busy arcades well into the late 90s.
Interesting to see positive remarks on The Legend of Kage. Personally, I think the game is fine, like 6/10 fine, but it’s made its way to various “worst of NES” lists over time.
@Serpenterror I went to arcades well injto the late 90s because of Pinball. Today, I still go to pinball arcades. Video pinball will never be like Pinball.
Pinball Forever.
I'll wait for a sale, because I do own most of them on the Egret II Mini and the lack of Hi-Score and Caravan modes certainly hurts.
Darius II isn't an exclusive though?
Also yeah, Egret II Mini has a lot of these already, and is definitely my favourite way to play because it's such a good little machine.
@Beefcakeyamato Never played the arcade version to be honest but had the Japanese Megadrive cart and loved the game despite the difficulty.
Traded it in along with a ton of other Megadrive games and a UK Megadrive for a US Super NES.
I have no regrets about getting a SNES but regret to this day about getting rid of my Megadrive and all the games.
@romanista only the two screen version. The 3 screen is incredibly rare.
@KingOhger This is the incredibly rare Darius II 3-screen version, never before released in any way, shape or form.
Only two cabinets are known to exist.
@species8472 Apparently the same was true of Shadow Dancer — although to this day I've never played either of 'em...
I don't understand why Taito insists on breaking up these arcade archive releases into multiple compilations.
I mean, I know why they do it, so they can potentially wring out more profit. But I don't understand it.
It seems to me they'd foster more goodwill (and therefore sales) among fans by releasing one cartridge with all their arcade classics, and selling it for $40 or $50.
But what do I know. I'm just a customer willing to spend money on a reasonable product.
Are these the same as the Arcade Archives version?
So... I did buy the New Zealand Story standalone, but it's not right. The World 1 and world 2 bosses both die way too quickly, the music is off in numerous places, there are missing enemies, weird warping enemies when you pick up "fake" extend letters.
Sorry but your review is a bit lazy here. You say this isn't worth it if you bought the standalone... Well, is that actually true. Or not? Is this version actually the New Zealand Story done properly? Because the standalone ain't!
Please label the screenshots. thanx
@nocdaes
I'd love to see some proof of this. Hamster's emulation is usually top-tier, and none of the places I frequent have picked up on these issues.
@SpringDivorce I downloaded the game yesterday, so it's definitely the latest version. I beat the Whale boss with 5 arrow shots - I only had to dodge one Water drop from the roof of its mouth.
Level 2-1 not long after the start you have 3 routes to jump up. If you pick the furthest right you have a couple.of star enemies jumping above you that you need to get past. Once you reach the top there should be one of the coolest enemies in the game - this UFO spacecraft thing that you can get in and it shoots the laser weapon. This enemy is missing.
The second boss, the black rocky Octopus thing, I jumped up to the top on the right hand side as it was forming it's octopus shape at the very start of the battle and fired ONE arrow and it was defeated...
The music is off throughout, especially versus the Amiga 500 version.
@gojiguy I'm aware of the cab, I just mean does the 3-screen version of Darius II not already exist as a rom that's playable on the Switch through the Darius Cozmic Collection or a standalone Hamster release?
Or are those the twin-screen versions?
@Tom-Massey Liquid Kids/Mizubaku Daibouken’s main character is no dog. He’s called Hipopo and is officially a Hippopotamus.
I believe you owe Hipopo an apology.
@nocdaes I had to go and check this as I wasn’t sure if I was misremembering! Playing the Arcade Archives version on Switch which I think is the same as you’re talking about?
I think the empty spaceship has always been there in 2-1! If you go out of that area and then back towards it the spaceship guys will also appear.
Equally I didn’t have the same whale experience as you, took plenty of hits (and a good few drips) to despatch it.
I actually played a proper arcade cabinet of this a few months ago and the Switch version seemed pretty true to that experience!
Overall NZ story is a funny one… I’ve played so many different ports of it that have totally different level designs I can never totally remember how it all goes on the specific one I’m playing… was playing it on the PSP Taito Legends pack recently and it was once again different compared to Arcade and other versions (such as, indeed, the excellent Amiga version you mentioned, which I expect actually had a bit more processing power behind it than the original arcade machine, though I may be wrong here)
@mr_benn Very jealous you found and played a cabinet!
@nocdaes it was at a place called the Pixel Bunker in Milton Keynes - the CRT was a bit knackered so the whole thing had a bit of an orange hue but otherwise running fine. Whilst there's something nostalgic - almost romantic - about playing games on the original cabinets, there's a LOT to be said about how comfortable my sofa is and how nice my tv looks
@Sinton Mostly. But the high score and caravan modes are removed alongside version selection, as they only come with the Japanese versions.
@species8472
It's a softer game owing to its home console friendliness, but I prefer the arcade original.
@somnambulance
Certainly not the best the console had, but with practice it's a quite compelling Ninja-em-up.
@nocdaes
Didn't play ACA's standalone of Newzealand Story myself. The point wasn't about one particular game, but that the more of these you already own as standalone releases obviously reduces the appeal of the collection. I'm surprised to hear about your noted emulation discrepancies with NZ Story, however, as while Hamster's track record isn't perfect, their ports are generally ok. It sounds as though you more experience with this particular game than me, but I didn't notice those issues on first play or just now on repeat. My experience is the same as @mr_benn , it seems to operate well.
@Sinton They are, yes. Released and collected by the same company.
@Tom-Massey Yep, fair play.
I think as others have said, NZS has had so many ports and versions down the years it's difficult to remember what's what.
(One thing is for sure though... the second boss should not go down in one hit!)
Cool package of retro games. However, doesn't tug at the noastalgic nerve strings quite as much as other previous releases on the ol'Switch. May wait for a sale therefore. Cheers for the review.
@species8472 Ah I understand. I regret selling a lot of my collection too. it would have been killer by now haha.
A usa Snes would have been rare in the uk I bet back then. when if you wanted to import it was through magazines etc. and they hosed everyone on the price haha.
A bit of a rip-off, and I wasn't aware that it really was just a repackaging of previously-released Arcade Archives emulations, but I'm nevertheless glad to own a physical copy of New Zealand Story. And no software updates! Huzzah!
Liquid Kids is also quite fun, and there are a few other potential gems in here too. I have no interest in the space and/or schmup games though.
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