Taito Milestones 4 Review – Retro Curiosities and Arcade Gems

Taito Milestones 4 Review

Taito Milestones 4 is the fourth game in a series of collections of 80s and 90s Taito-developed arcade games. A lot of these games have been released individually as Arcade Archives downloads, but Taito Milestones 4 offers a 10-game set for half the price of the individual games. Past Taito Milestones collections have been a mixed bag of quality, but Taito Milestones 3 was incredible, with its focus on Bubble Bobble and Rastan Saga games. Read on to find out which games Taito Milestones 4 contains, and if they’ll be the retro fix you’re looking for.

Taito Milestones 4’s games are presented chronologically. Water Ski is an arcade game from 1983. The screen scrolls vertically with a boat motoring upwards. The player is water skiing off the back of the boat and dodging obstacles as the boat picks up speed. The water skier has some momentum to the way they move, and the player has to be careful to dodge without too much haste. The game’s physics hold up really well. Death occurs in one hit, but Water Ski was a pleasant surprise I could see lots of players enjoying in small doses.

Field Day

Field Day is from 1984. It’s colossal garbage by modern-day standards. The presentation is that of a track and field game, but the first event is throwing balls into a basket on pole, like you’re just free-throwing basketballs against an opponent. Although there are only two buttons, I never figured out how to sink a ball. Failing results in having to re-enter your name, which takes way too long with the awkward arcade controls. I can’t recommend Field Day at all.

Typhoon Gal is from 1985. It’s a judo game that kind of functions like a proto-fighting game. There are only two buttons, for grapple and throw. But sometimes the throw button jumps, and sometimes it strikes. I didn’t figure out the game’s mechanics, but it’s a lot more forgiving than some of these tough old arcade titles. The sprites are large and gorgeous for a mid-80s game. I doubt many players will sink time into Typhoon Gal, but it’s a fun curiosity.

Arkanoid

Arkanoid is from 1986. It’s a stone-cold classic, and the main reason I wanted to get Taito Milestones 4. It’s my favorite Breakout-style game. The player moves a paddle along the bottom of the screen. A ball bounces off it, and breaks blocks at the top of the screen. Some blocks open up power-ups that do things like increase the size of the paddle. Arkanoid was one of my favorite NES games, and I’m so happy to have the arcade version on modern consoles.

Bonze Adventure is from 1988. It’s an action platformer in the same vein as Ghosts ‘n Goblins. The player controls a little monk-looking fellow who jumps and throws bubbles. The visuals are a bit spooky and also have an East Asian folklore aesthetic. I really enjoyed Bonze Adventure. It’s not a very deep game, and it’s pretty difficult, but it’s the only game of its kind in Taito Milestones 4. It’s worth checking out just for the visuals.

Kuri Kinton

Kuri Kinton is also from 1988. It’s a very early side-scrolling beat ‘em up. It was also much better than expected. It only has two buttons, for jump and attack. But the controls felt great. Visually, Kuri Kinton is quite gorgeous. Overall, it’s a simple game, but another fun curiosity I didn’t know about before getting Taito Milestones 4. This collection really helped me realize how much Taito was pushing the limits of arcade visuals in the 1980s.

 

Syvalion is also from 1988. It’s a very unique game, where the player controls a flying dragon. The perspective is top down, but the game also plays kind of like a horizontal shooter. The dragon sprite is humungous, with a long body. It breathes fire that goes a limited distance from its head. Think Yoga Flame, and not Yoga Fire. Syvalion was a real highlight of Taito Milestones 4. Gameplay-wise it’s nothing groundbreaking, but its visuals make it feel totally original.

Don Doko Don

Don Doko Don is from 1989. It’s a Bubble Bobble clone, where the player controls a little gnome with a hammer. The gnomes jump around a single screen level, clearing enemies. Power ups and point-giving fruit drop from enemies and randomly throughout levels. Although Don Doko Don innovates nothing, I was pleasantly surprised to have a new Bubble Bobble game to play. The game is a fantastic inclusion to the Taito Milestones 4 collection.

Cameltry is an extremely fun puzzle game from 1990. The player has to rotate the screen, in order to get a ball to the goal at the end. The ball will drop if there’s nothing below it. It’s easy to get disoriented with all the screen flipping, but there are arrows on each course to keep the player on track. It’s like a 2D Super Monkey Ball. I was so shocked at how much I enjoyed Cameltry. The physics held up great, and I can see myself playing it for years to come.

Ninja Kids

Ninja Kids is also from 1990. It’s a beat ‘em up that follows more modern conventions of the genre. The plane has some depth to it. There are buttons for attack and jump. Pressing both does a screen-clearing attack. There are four ninjas to choose from, and each have a different weapon. The visuals have a cartoony charm. Ninja Kids isn’t one of my favorite beat ‘em ups ever, but it feels great to play, and should please retro fans of the genre.

Taito Milestones 4 has a fairly Spartan approach to extras and features. Each game has unlimited credits, and save states. There are loads of display options for size, position, orientation, etc. There are quite a few screen filters, but only one wallpaper (which I always turn off anyways). Depending on the game, the player has the ability to change play time, invert screens, or change the display. Scores and rankings can be reset. There’s full button mapping, online rankings, and manuals for each game. Unfortunately, there’s no rewind feature or archival extras of any kind. Both of these has become fairly standard features of retro collections in recent years, so it’s a shame they aren’t present in Taito Milestones 4.

A Mixed Bag

Taito Milestones 4 has one classic game, three great games, four good games, and two bad games. That’s a pretty good spread. There are lots of different genres in this collection, and several very original ones. I wish Taito Milestones 4 had more extras. And I wish Taito would focus more on getting out more of their best titles. Some of these games are just unnecessary for any reason aside from game preservation. Taito made tons of classic NES games like Bubble Bobble Part 2 and Little Sampson that aren’t available on modern consoles. Let’s get more of them and less unplayable trash. Still, I’m very happy to have Taito Milestones 4 in my collection, especially for Arkanoid, Syvalion, Don Doko Don, and Cameltry.

***Switch code provided by the publisher***