Many of the games here hold up well, a solid value, and good presentation.
Presentation wise (menu wise), this one is the better of the two Taito collections. Aside from the menus themselves, we get 3D representations of the arcade cabinets, dancing invaders, and interviews with some of the designers. We also get a diagram of a PS2 controller that shows what buttons are used for what. You can also adjust the difficulty of the games before you start, resize the screen dimensions, and some other things. The real question now is… how are the games?
Space Invaders:
This is the original arcade game. If you don’t know what it’s about, you blast away aliens in an attempt to prevent them from getting to the bottom of the screen where they invade your territory. It’s basic, simple, and pretty fun to this day.
Space Invaders Part 2:
It’s the same as the first one, just with color. I don’t need to say any more.
Return of the Invaders:
Essentially the same as the other two Space Invaders games, except that the aliens look much better and you get different types. Same thing here.
Jungle Hunt:
In this game, you have to swing on vines, swim, and jump over rocks and stuff in order to save your girlfriend. The controls are simple to learn and it’s pretty interesting. I do have a hard time saving the girl at the last level, though. It’s pretty hard.
Bubble Bobble:
This game is very fun. You are a little cute lizard that uses bubbles to trap your enemies, and then you pop the bubbles to kill them. There are 100 levels in the game, but I’m only able to barely get beyond 10 (yes, I suck). Still, the game is very fun.
Rainbow Islands:
This so called “sequel” to Bubble Bobble is quite disappointing. It’s still pretty fun, but what you do is trap enemies with rainbows or hit them with it. You also sometimes use the rainbows to move up the level. Compared to the original, this one is a disappointment.
Operation Wolf and Operation Thunderbolt:
In these two games, you’re a soldier blasting other soldiers, helicopters, and other things. With no light gun support, some of the appeal here is lost, but they are still pretty fun.
Space Gun:
Same deal as the “Operation” games, but this time, you’re in a space station rescuing hostages. It’s also pretty fun, but once again, no light gun hurts it.
Elevator Action:
This one is where you are moving down the floors of a building and shooting guys that are trying to shoot you. This one is pretty fun, but it can get repetitive.
Colony 7:
This one is a horizontal shooter where you have to blast enemies with rockets and stuff. It’s pretty fun, to be honest.
Continental Circus:
The only racing game that is on either collection, this one plays quite similarly to Pole Position where you race several tracks and make sure not to crash into anything. If you do, you waste precious seconds and possibly can’t qualify for the next track.
Electric Yo-yo: This one is where you have to move a yo-yo to remove blocks while trying to avoid enemies. It’s not that fun.
Volfied: This one is where you have to reclaim land from invaders by drawing lines across the screen. This one is so hard; I can’t complete a single stage.
Phoenix:
This one is where you shoot bird like aliens. It’s very similar to Galaga, and pretty fun.
Zoo Keeper:
This is where you have to get animals back into the zoo by caging them (circle around while avoid things) and rescue his girlfriend. It’s interesting, to be honest.
Battle Shark:
Another light gun game where you are in a submarine trying to shoot the enemy. This one also suffers from no light gun, but it is the most fun of them.
Gladiator:
This one is a forced moving game where you have to move forward while attacking many things, including other gladiators. This one is pretty fun, and is definitely different from all the rest.
The New Zealand Story:
This is a side scroller where you have to move from one side to the other to rescue your friends, and sometimes battle bosses. It’s quite fun.
The Ninja Kids:
This one is a beat em up that plays similarly to the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. Not quite as good, but still quite fun.
Tokio:
This is a vertical shooter where you have to have to defend Tokyo from the enemy. It is pretty fun, to be honest.
Plump Pop:
This one is where you have to use a trampoline to bounce off an animal so that it can take out enemies and things like that. Its okay, but not that great.
Tube It:
This is a puzzle game where you have to connect tubes in order to break the blocks. It’s no Tetris, but it’s okay.
Great Swordsman: This is a “fencing game” where you have to get a one up your opponent. This one sucks. I didn’t like it.
Super Qix:
This one is the same as Volfied, where you have to draw lines to reveal a picture. I don’t really like this type of game.
Exzisus:
This one is a horizontal shooter where you blast enemies on another planet. This one is quite fun.
Plotting:
This is a puzzle game where you have to match blocks with similar looking blocks. This one is a fun time, really.
Thunderfox:
This one is a side scrolling action game where you have to take out terrorists and other things. This one is okay.
Rastan:
Similar to Thunderfox, except it’s a hack n’ slash that is similar to other games I played, like Valis III. I kind of had as much fun with it, as well.
The collection of games is solid, with some bad ones, but mostly good ones. This one is quite well made.