Review: TAITO Milestones 2 – Basic Retro Relic

The name TAITO comes with a lot of history in the games industry. The company is one of the older pillars of the golden days of gaming, where many aspects of the medium were in their infancy. But many things have changed, with a large number of games fading into obscurity. This is why retro game collections that compile various titles from companies like TAITO are great to have. They give a new generation an opportunity to see what came before their time. But while TAITO Milestones 2 does this for 10 games from the company’s past, it’s a very shallow execution that underwhelming for everyone.

TAITO Milestones 2 is the second bundle of the Arcade Archives games from the late 1980s and early 1990s that were published by TAITO. Unless you’re a big fan of the company, chances are you’ve probably never heard of any of the games included in this collection. And what you see is exactly what you’re getting here, just the games. No bonus content related to any of them. If you managed to come across any of these titles back in the day, then you might have some nostalgia for being able to play them once again. But beyond that, this bundle is incredibly meager.

The important part of a retro game collection such as this is that it gives everyone a chance to revisit these games and allow others to discover them for the first time. Having extra content that gives insight into the history of the games, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at them, adds value that newer players can be intrigued by. Without that, you just have a very underwhelming package that will only speak to those who know what these games are.

But are the games included here fun to play? That depends on whether you’re accustomed to playing primitive arcade games that were released during the era. The controls are basic for every game included, with little to no complexity in getting into any game. This is good because most arcade games of the era want you to get in and get out fast. The visuals and sounds are exactly how they were from back then, which is as authentic as you can get to the original arcade machines these games were on. The titles that are included in the collection are as follows…

• New Zealand Story (1988)
• Kiki Kaikai (1986)
• Darius II (3 Screen Arcade Version) (1989)
• Gun Frontier (1990)
• Ben Bero Beh (1984)
• The Legend of Kage (1985)
• Liquid Kids (Mizubaku Adventure) (1990)
• Solitary Fighter (1991)
• Dinorex (1992)
• Metal Black (1991)

At their core, they are all very simple arcade games that are designed to be somewhat difficult and eat up quarters. Luckily, you’re able to continue an infinite amount of times and keep playing to the end. So it doesn’t matter if you lose a bunch of times. But at the same time, you’re only getting the bare bone experiences from each games. Both the good and bad parts in full, nothing more or less.

The collection doesn’t have any bonuses to unlock for playing through any game. The few new features in this collection that add a layer of value are the online ranking leaderboards and interrupt save data. Every game allows you to submit your scores to the online ranking, which you can compare to others who have played the collection online. Interrupt save data lets you continue a game from just about any point you left off after booting it up. These are good features, but not enough to add more value to the overall package. Those hoping for something interesting to showcase why these games were so important will be incredibly disappointed.

For retro gaming fans and arcade enthusiasts, TAITO Milestones 2 will have some fun to experience. But everyone else who doesn’t have prior knowledge about any of these games will struggle to enjoy this collection. It’s very basic and shallow as a package, with little to no extra value beyond playing any of the ten games included. With such an important company to the games industry as TAITO, one would hope to see a better celebration of their legacy. For now, it still remains faded into the obscurity of video game history.

What do you think about TAITO? Did you grow up playing any of their arcade games from back in the late 80s or early 90s? Let us know your thoughts about TAITO Milestones 2 in the comment section down below!