PlayStation 2 User Reviews

A rather good selection of games designed by Taito. I am familiar with some releases (Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Sapve Invaders and New Zealand Story) though the rest of these I have never heard of (although I did play the LCD version of Plotting when I was younger, though at the time I hadnt heard of Plotting or its equivalents). Some in the collection are rather cringe-worthy (e.g the pointless Electric Yoyo and the vomit-inducing The Ninja Kids, and migraine-initiating Elevator Action, that looks more like a 1970s comedy of errors in my opinion) but some are very addictive and really enjoyable (Battle Shark and New Zealand Story to name but a few). You can tell that the majority of these were era-defining arcade classics, with outstanding graphics, gameplay and music elements, that were very lush compared to home console versions of each game. Another thing that stands out is the fact that games of these eras were quite difficult and tricky to play, compared with games that came out years later. But this factor did not get rid of the fun back then(although in real arcades, the players would have given up a lot of coins!), nor has it done so now. With extras that are already unlocked with each game (such as interviews and posters) it would have been nice if there were some more unlockables e.g. upon completing one game, or getting a certain high score. I havent played the sequel to this, but I reckon this is the best out of the two. I will even go as far as saying that I have had far more fun playing this than Rare Replay, which is 10 years younger than this. I would have given a much higher score if more titles such as Hang On or Puzzle Bobble were included, and the shoddy ones such as The Ninja Kids were never ever revealed upon the unsuspecting gamer (we have enough headaches to deal with in life, so none of this gibberish should ever be allowed to rear its head)!

Mediocre collection of old school arcade games, most of which have been long forgotten. Bubble Bobble, Continental Circus, New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands are the pick of the bunch but the others won't hold your attention for more than a few minutes.

The game is more than worth 20$ which was it's initial retail price. Even adjusted for inflation. This contains about 30 taito arcade games. My favorites are rainbow islands and jungle hunt. There are plenty of others like space invaders, rastan, bubble bobble etc. Basically this is the total package along with it's sequel taito legends 2. There is also an Xbox version.