Taito Legends

"A must have for '80s arcade fans"

I spent much of my formative years in the '90s hanging out in arcades, and while almost everything in this collection was released in the '80s, I came across most of them during the course of my youth. The titles in this collection don't offer incredible graphics or anything that could be described as "state of the art", but I found it very enjoyable nonetheless. I haven't played every single game in the collection yet, but I'll try to give some descriptions of the selections I've spent the most time with.

Bubble Bobble: There's a good chance that you've played this already, as it's been released for about 10 systems since the late '80s. The Xbox port retains all the classic gameplay elements: blow bubbles, trap enemies in said bubbles, pop them, and then eat the delicious food items they leave behind. Later on, you'll have to master jumping on your bubbles ever so lightly as you use them as stairs to reach greater heights or escape crevasses. You'll also find that getting a chain of multiple enemies together in bubbles before you pop them all will yield increased goodies and a higher point total. There's literally hundreds of stages and there's not too much variation, but the game is so strangely addicting that you probably won't have many complaints.

Elevator Action: Kind of like a reverse Donkey Kong. You're dropped off on the top floor of a building full of angry black-hatted hoodlums with guns, and you have to make it to the bottom floor without dying. Timing is essential, as both you and your enemies bullets move as if they're underwater. You'll want to check out the numerous doors in the building, as some of them yield power-ups while others hold hostile gunmen for you to get rid of. As you get closer to the bottom, you'll have to deal with new additions like elevators and invisible doors that complicate things, but like Bubble Bobble the game is quite simple and I think almost any gamer will pick it up with no trouble.

Space Gun: A light gun game released in 1990 that strongly mirrors the plot of the movie Aliens, only with bad Engrish added. You start out on a spaceship infested with hostile alien creatures and scared, hiding crew members. You're part of a two man team on a mission to rescue the ship's crew. Just like in other light gun games such as Lethal Enforcers or Area 51, these innocents will run into the middle of the action and you're penalized if you end up shooting them instead of the aliens. After liberating the ship, you find out that the alien infestation has spread to a settlement on the surface of the planet, and you must head down there to kill more aliens and rescue more hostages.

Operation Wolf: Another light-gun shooter, but instead of taking on aliens you're dealing with some crazed dictator and his minions. This game was everywhere in the late '80s/early '90s, and the collection also includes it's improved (IMO) but much less ubiquitous sequel Operation Thunderbolt. Both these games and Space Gun work very well with the standard Xbox controller, I really didn't feel disadvantaged by not having a light gun.

Rastan: A side-scrolling beat 'em up set in a fantasy world that shares a lot of similarities with Golden Axe. You play as a Conan-looking guy who starts out battling hordes of mythological creatures in the wilderness, then you progress to several castle stages where you must battle through corridors until you reach "throne room" areas which hold a boss. The music in this one actually holds up pretty good considering it came out over 20 years ago.

Space Invaders 1&2: A top-down shooter where you must defend the Earth from numerous space bugs and the occasional UFO. Honestly, unless you live in a cave I'm sure you've played this one before.

Zoo Keeper: One of the more challenging games in the collection. You're a zoo keeper, and apparently all the denizens of your zoo are completely berserk. Each stage is a big pen containing animals who are constantly trying to escape. They ram into walls so you've got to spend time constantly repairing those, but inevitably some animals will get out and pose a threat to you. If they touch you, it's an instant death! Your only means of protection is a net, which you can find lying outside the pen. Once you get one of those, you can capture an escaped animal and return it to the pen. Not much variation, but like Bubble Bobble you'll get pulled in and waste an hour or two before you even realize it.

The collection includes 29 titles total, but these are the ones I've spent the most time with. The disc also includes a bunch of videos and interviews relating to these historic games, so if you've ever wondered about the origins of the two dinos in Bubble Bobble you're in luck. I think most of the games here will even provide entertainment for younger gamers who've grown up in the current era where arcades are on life support, but it's target audience is obviously those in their Twenties and Thirties who grew up with these games.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/09

Game Release: Taito Legends (US, 10/25/05)