Can a camel try?
Classic game compilations come and go, but some continue to keep things going. I reviewed the first Taito Milestones back in 2022, and here we are four years later reviewing the fourth collection in as many years. Taito made a lot of games back in the day, and I have fond memories of a lot of them. This latest collection has some familiar faces alongside a couple obscure titles that I had not played before. Let’s dive into the latest from Taito and relive the glory days of the company.
This collection has ten games that range in release date from 1983 up to 1990. As with most of these collections, there is no real theme here. We have Water Ski, Field Day, Typhoon Gal, Arkanoid, Bonze Adventure, Kuri Kinton, Syvalion, Don Doko Don, Cameltry, and Ninja Kids. Some of these names may be familiar, they have been in numerous other collections over the years, or if you have happened to watch the AVGN special about the Taito classics on the PS2.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Switch
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
Let’s break down each game with a short synopsis. Water Ski is pretty self-explanatory from a screenshot. It is a simple movement-based game where you are dragged along by a boat and trying to avoid obstacles. It was fun for a few minutes, but I grew tired of it quickly. Field Day was their attempt at a Track and Field style game. The controls are a bit messy, as were most of those kinds of games back in the day, but it is fun once you get used to them. I always enjoy these types of games, and Field Day is no exception.
Typhoon Gal is a beat ‘em up that takes place in various rooms with some simple combat. This was probably my least favorite game in the collection. Arkanoid is a classic. It is the ultimate brick breaking game and I can still lose hours playing this game. Fun fact this collection supports a mouse for games that use the special controllers, which is nice. Bonze Adventure is the first meaty game and is a side scrolling platformer with combat elements. It even has a level up system where you can power up attacks. This is a neat game and was one of Taito’s most popular in Japanese arcades.
Next up is Kuri Kinton, which is a side-scrolling action game not dissimilar to titles like Vendetta and Kung Fu. The action is very fast, but the sound and music are scratchy and rough at times. This is a fun game, just not as polished as the others. Syvalion is a gorgeous rotating control game where players take on the role of a dragon. This game is visually beautiful and I loved the music. Hard to control with a normal controller, but if you have the option for alternate controls, this game is addictive.
Don Doko Don is a single screen arcade game where players can join up as lumberjacks while trying to clear the screen. This was a standard style of game, and while there are other big names, Don Doko Don is just as good as those and fun to play with friends. Cameltry has absolutely nothing to do with camels, and instead is another rotating joystick game where players try to get a ball through a maze. It is surprisingly addictive, but again you need alternate controls. Finally, we have Ninja Kids, which is a beat ‘em up where all the characters look like Muppets. It is good, but man, those visuals are a trip.
Much like past iterations of these collections we have all the normal quality of life functionality such as rewind and save states. There is the option for couch co-op, but sadly no online modes. I wish there were more extras as the arcade history of Taito is rich with content. I do love that I can just play these games on modern consoles, even if a few of them are available separately in other forms.
Taito Milestones continues to be a solid compilation of classic games. I do wish they had more history and were available on more platforms, but if you own a Switch, these are easy recommendations. Looking forward to reviewing Taito Milestones 5 next year when it inevitably drops on Switch.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
