Developed by TAITO and published for Nintendo Switch by ININ Games, TAITO Milestones is the second release by TAITO in this series. After the first collection, TAITO Milestones 2 brings yet another ten best arcade releases by TAITO on the Nintendo Switch. Filled to the brim with content and tons of modern features, this is one of the best ways for new and modern players to enjoy these timeless classics from the comfort of their homes and without the worry of running out of coins to put in the arcade machines. This is our review of the Nintendo Switch release of TAITO Milestones 2 in which we fight some dinosaurs and kill some enemies with water bubbles.
Starting with the very first one, Ben Bero Beh is a side-scrolling title where you control the superhero called Dami-Chan. As Dami-Chan, you will explore plenty of apartment complexes that are on fire and you must avoid fires, different types of enemies, and other hazards to safely rescue Nao-Chan, Dami-Chan’s girlfriend. This is a classic damsel-in-distress type of situation and it looks inspired by the likes of the classic Donkey Kong. The original title was released by TAITO back in 1984 for arcade machines. This is one solid title in TAITO Milestones 2 that really captures the essence of games released for arcade machines back in the 80s. Fans of side-scrolling titles with platforming are surely to enjoy this amazing title.
Next, we have The Legend of Kage which is a sidescrolling action game in which you step into the shoes of a ninja called Kage and set on an adventure to save the princess Kirihime. You have two unique attacks including your sword for melee attacks and shuriken for ranged attacks to defeat incoming evil ninjas. Your ultimate goal in the game is to fight and defeat the evil leader Yoshiro Yukikusa and his right-hand man Yukinosuke. The game features cool features such as five-directional attacks and a world inspired by Japanese culture. The Legend of Kage was originally released by TAITO in 1985.
KiKi KaiKai is a shoot ‘em up title in which you get to control Sayo-chan who is a young Shinto shrine maiden. Using your special Talisman scrolls and the Purification Rod, you will defeat the goblins and save the Seven Lucky Gods kidnapped by them. KiKi KaiKai features some advanced gameplay mechanics such as finding keys for unlocking doors and exorcizing demons if they possess you. You can also use special Crystal Ball items in different scenarios and each level concludes with a challenging boss fight. This excellent shoot ‘em up was released by TAITO in 1986 and is one of the best games in the collection.
In The NewZealand Story, the evil Leopard Seal has kidnapped all of your friends and you must free them while playing as Tiki the KiWi. The NewZealand Story features levels that offer both on-ground and underwater areas and you will need to use different items to defeat enemies and survive in the game. It offers a lot of fun mechanics such as stealing balloons from your enemies and using them to float around the level. You can also use different offensive and support items like bombs, bow and arrow, magic staff, turbo, and joystick in the game to defeat enemies in style. The NewZealand Story features a really cool art style as well which resembles the early Nintendo RPGs like The Legend of the Zelda. It was released originally in 1988.
DARIUS is one of the most iconic franchises by TAITO and no collection would be complete without one of these titles in it. TAITO Milestones 2 features DARIUS II which is the direct sequel of the first title released back in 1989. It features the same branching gameplay that was introduced in the first game and sees you battling giant fish monsters in classic side-scrolling shooting gameplay. There are many noticeable features in DARIUS II such as the three-color weapon system, unique enemy design, and the true arcade feel with a two-button combat system. If you are a fan of this franchise, then you already have something to look forward to in this collection.
Another one of my favorite and probably the cutest game in the collection, Liquid Kids was released in 1990 and is one of the best platformers of its time. In Liquid Kids, you play as the cute little hippo called Hipopo and you use water bubbles to defeat your enemies while navigating different platforming levels of the land called Woody-Lake. You can defeat enemies and pick up different items to alter the gameplay such as making your water bubbles even bigger to kill even more enemies with a single bubble. The story leads you through a beautiful world to save Tamasun from the Fire Demon. You will clear different levels and eliminate everything that stands in your way to free your love.
Gun Frontier sounds a little deceptive from its name because what you would expect is an RDR2-style gun-slinging game set in the Wild West but this is actually a top-down vertical shooter where you fly your own fighter plane and take out tons of enemies. Your fighter jet is controlled by heroes Jay Liberty and Freedom Keneddy who are leading a counterattack against the invading alien space pirates on the planet Gloria which is rich with metal reserves. This game is a classic and if you love top-down vertical shooters, you are going to have a blast with its solid gameplay mechanics and tough-as-nails enemies. It was originally released by TAITO in 1990.
If you are a fan of fighting games like Street Fighter or Tekken, then this next game is for you. Solitary Fighter is a one-on-one fighting game and probably one the few ones in the collection with a three-button control layout as well because you have three buttons assigned to each move in the game. In Solitary Fighter, you will kick, punch, and jump your way to climb to the top of the fighting scene. You have six distinct fighters at your disposal and you will fight others for money. You can also increase the strength of your fighters to increase the efficiency of their punches or kicks. This is a typical fighting game where two players will fight and the winner is the one who survives until the end. It also supports drop-in 2-player gameplay which is great for you to take on your friends and family on the same system. It was released back in 1989 on the arcade machines.
Another great side-scrolling shooter, Metal Black allows you to fly the ship called Black Fly and shoot down tons of enemies in order to complete different levels. The game features NEWALONE items that can be picked up in order to increase your main blaster’s power and the more you kill, the higher level your secondary beam can reach. Reach enough higher levels and you can unleash a deadly attack that wipes out everything on the screen. Clearing certain stages will allow you to tackle Special Stages where you will be required to survive for as long as possible. The quicker you wipe out the enemies, the more points you will be rewarded in these bonus levels. This title is great for players who love side-scrolling shooters.
Finally, we have my favorite title in the entire collection, Dinorex. Dinorex is a one-on-one fighting game with dinosaurs. After choosing the dino you want to fight with, you begin in a ladder-like sequence where defeating one dino leads to another fight and this way, you fight and defeat all of the opposing dinos. Once you have defeated all of the opposing dinos in a fight, you are deemed worthy of the title DINO REX, bestowed upon you by the Amazon queen. You have jump, kick, and punch at your disposal and if you manage to fill up your power bar, you can unleash a special attack by pressing the ZL key. This makes Dinorex the only game in the collection with a four-button configuration. The visuals are pretty cool but you need to be very good at fighting games to win here because this game is really tough. It was originally released by TAITO in 1992.
One of the things that all ten games in TAITO Milestones 2 share with each other is that these games are really hard and not that easy to complete. Even with modern features like custom save points and different custom settings for each title to make them easy, you will still need to properly understand the mechanics and get better at the games to really beat them. TAITO Milestones 2 is a brilliant collection of retro arcade games that really allow you to experience different genres of that time in one collection. The modern features are excellent and having the manuals in each game really makes it easier for modern players to understand each game and enjoy them to their fullest.
Similar to the first TAITO Milestones, the second release also features a custom emulator to run all of the games. You get tons of options to play around here to customize your gameplay. Each of the ten games has its own manual which details everything that you need to know about that particular title including the controls, the game’s story, and much more. You will also find different game settings that will allow you to tinker with the gameplay along with the option to create manual save points from where you can resume your game at a later time. These are unique for each title. Since all of these are arcade games designed to run when a coin is inserted into the machine, you can press ‘L’ to ‘insert’ a coin to begin each game. This is perhaps the best feeling in the world because as a kid, we never used to have more than 1 or 2 coins at a single time. I am glad that the developers decided to keep this cool feature in the new releases as well.
Final Verdict:
It is amazing to see companies like TAITO preserving their classic titles and not only preserving them in some closed archives somewhere but actually making them accessible and playable for modern players on modern consoles is just brilliant. TAITO Milestones 2 is the second collection released by TAITO for modern consoles and it brings ten of the best releases by TAITO back in the arcade machine era. Once again TAITO has shown that video game preservation is not only a necessity but giving new players a chance to experience these games is equally important and collections like TAITO Milestones 2 still hold a large value in today’s market. If you love playing classic titles, TAITO Milestones 2 will offer a bit of everything from sidescrolling to epic dinosaur battles to aerial battles. Highly recommended for retro collectors.
Final Score: 9.0/10
