Taito Legends Review

By Martin Coxall Published 18 October, 2005

Sometimes nostalgia is as good as it used to be

Version tested: PlayStation 2

There are problems with Copyright, and the Games Industry has a problem with its old games. In fact, most of the time, you'd think the industry doesn't want you to know that old games have ever existed, and they're prepared to use Copyright Law to shut down emulation sites that allow you to play those old games; games from which those companies are no longer making any money, and if they had any decency would offer a blanket license of free of charge to those of us keeping some of mankind's finest creations alive. But no, they want to suppress these games because they are ashamed of them.

Rant over.

I and many other decent folk (not EVIL PIRATES FUNDING TERRORISM) had been ranting about it for years, and I was not sure anybody had really been listening to us about Abandonware. But there are signs that maybe somebody started to realize that money can be made from old games. Okay, so it's not a royalty-free license to emulate their old games, but many companies have now started to find ways of allowing you to play their back catalogue, in emulated form, on modern gaming hardware.

Which is what 'Taito Legends' is. Yet another Multi-arcade-machine emulator, probably Mame-based, bundled on a PC, PS2 or XBOX disc with a pretty UI and twenty-nine old Taito arcade games. Lovely. In fact, it's the best one of these compilations in a while.

'Taito Legends' Screenshot hats

26th Floor: Menswear Department. Hats.

Reviewing the individual games bundled in a package such as this lies somewhere between dangerous and futile. Futile because these games, for people of a certain age, represent a slice of their childhood, a piece of who they are, a memory of happy times past. Their opinions of these games is based as much on what it means to them as it is on how good these games actually were at the time. Dangerous also; if I badmouth any one of these games, and it was your favourite when you were 14, you will take an instant dislike to me and not rest until I'm dead.

As I cast a nostalgic eye over the beauties contained here, let me make this small disclaimer then; I love 2d platformers. If I am fawning pathetically over The New Zealand Story, it's just because it's a game that's special to me, not because I don't like Space Invaders. Please don't hunt me down and kill me.

So, what's in the pack? It ships with 29 Taito games in all. Wary as I am to make this claim, because one man's awesome is another man's ordure, I don't think all of these games deserve the accolade of 'Legends', and it's doubtful if even five of them truly do. However, the selection is wide, and hugely entertaining. Here's a few categorised into the arcade genres that were popular at the time and (holy industry stagnation, Batman!) seem to be much unchanged today.

The platformers, because I love 'em, and so should you:

'Taito Legends' Screenshot cute

I mean, sure, they're cute. But the bubbles get everywhere.

Rainbow Islands. During the the heyday of the Amiga, this game was rated by most Amiga Gamers the best game of all time. It's even better at the Arcade. Yes it's insufferably cute, but it's also a perfectly formed slice of 2D platforming. As is its prequel, the truly-a-legend Bubble Bobble, and its much-loved Kiwi-oriented cousin, The New Zealand Story. I still know the location of every portal without recourse to Google. It's how I wasted my youth, dammit.

The shooters:

There is, of course, Space Invaders. You might think that I need say nothing more about this game or its two included sequels, the nearly identical Part II, and it's slightly flashier sequel Return of the Invaders. But shockingly, there exist young'uns that have never played on an actual Space Invaders cocktail cabinet, and this is a shame. Nobody likes to see wasted youth. Space Invaders is gaming minimalism, and its purity of form is why its sequels fail to live up to its majesty.

The puzzlers:

Tube-it is a frantic and and enjoyable Tetris-with-pipes affair, and well worth a two-player head-to-head with a chum. However, I was more taken with the decidedly non-legendary but charmingly bonkers 'Plotting'. Don't ask me to explain the mechanics, because I really can't. That's its charm.

Random Stuff:

'Taito Legends' Screenshot tarzan

Me: Tarzan. You: look ridiculous.

Electric Yo-Yo. Hmmm. Never heard of this, makes no sense, and offers a total 'what-in-Xenu's-name!?' moment. I think I eventually figured out how to play it, but then lost interest. There's also one game that involves two dogs bouncing a cat at some balloons, and a version of QIX that is decidedly not in accordance with how my memory has it playing. Fun, but wrong.

For the most part, these tasty little nuggets of our shared heritage are mapped to the controller well, making appropriate use of the analog or D-pad as needs must, and with a fully-customisable scheme for each game, allowing the games to play as you wish.

It's joyous to feast your longing eyes over some of these old titles and discover that they still look absolutely gorgeous. I could go on for hours about how much I love The New Zealand Story, but when I see it like this looking as lovely as a 2D platformer could ever be that I realise why I love it. Even for those games ravaged by age, the nostalgic essence of their auras will carry them back into your hearts where they belong, even if I refuse to indulge the standard gamer cliché regarding how much better the gameplay was back in my day.

At around £15, the price is right and Taito has pulled us all a cracker from gaming history, in one of the most well-balanced and well-priced classic compilations of the lot. This heartwarming gestalt is a lovely and joy-bringing piece of our history, and anybody who ever popped a shiny round coin in any one of these machines' welcoming slots owes themselves a copy, today. Your nostalgia glands will thank you for it. And remember, if you take the duck over the finishing Kiwi in 2:1, there's a warp to 3:4. A bit of a word to the wise.

8 / 10

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About Martin Coxall

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Comments (71) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • tengu #1 6 years ago

    Told you so :)

  • gaztech #2 6 years ago

    Can you still put the Power Up! and Original Game cheats into Bubble Bobble?

  • Mr_Whacker #3 6 years ago

    Aww, New Zealand Story was ace. Always room for another retro collection and nice to see a reasonable (but not amazing) amount of games.

  • Teeth #4 6 years ago

    That's a retro compilation. Take note Tecmo.

  • Huntcjna #5 6 years ago

    New Zealand Story for teh win

    /still wants a full new zealand story original arcade machine

  • Furbs #6 6 years ago

    £15 for some games that are as old as the hills. Sounds like a 1/10 to me :p

  • BremXJones #7 6 years ago

    "During the the heyday of the Amiga, this game was rated by most Amiga Gamers the best game of all time."

    This so isn't true. AP's voting it as #1 game in their Top 100 was deeply controversial.

    But screw the readers! It was AWESOME.

    KG

  • OnlyMe #8 6 years ago

    Then again, everything AP did was controversial...

  • tengu #9 6 years ago

    Bubble Bobble is one of the all time greats imo, best game on this collection.

  • Blerk #10 6 years ago

    AP's voting it as #1 game in their Top 100 was deeply controversial.

    Was that because it was basically a port of the Atari ST version with no enhancements? Really wound Amiga guys up, that did. Despite it being the best funting platform game in the universe. :-)

  • knif3r #11 6 years ago

    notice how the crappy tecmo classics is reviewed on the xbox the fantastic taito legends is reviewed on the PS2...

    the anit-M$ campaign continues!!!!!!!!!

    ;-P hehehehe

  • krudster #12 6 years ago

    I'd have had issues with rating an arcade port as my platform's best game. Brilliant conversion or not, there were a hundred other original Amiga games that deserved consideration!

    Hrmph!

  • bivith #13 6 years ago

    mmmm ,tayto cheese n onion

  • JonFE #14 6 years ago

    Well, I've had only about an hour on this last night, but I agree with your review. I only wish that you could redefine the keys, cause I've been "jumping" with the A button on my XBox for so long that my thumb has developed a mind of its own...

    Ooh and Arcanoid, Puzznic, Parasol Stars and Puzzle Bobble would definately be welcome in my book, but I guess that they should save some for Taito Legends vol.2.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:00

  • OnlyMe #15 6 years ago

    With all the compilations around, I hope Codemasters decide to make a Sensible Software compilation... a proper one, not the stupid joystick thingie. On that disc we could have Microprose Soccer (both indoors and outdoors version), all the Sensible Soccers (that'll be around 5 or 6 of them) - or at least the best one among them - Sensible World of Soccer 96/97, Mega Lo Mania, Sensible Golf and Cannon Fodder 1 and 2. Maybe even throw in Sensible Trainspotting, which is a cute little word-game that was put on a coverdisk of a certain infamous amiga magazine.

    Another Codemasters idea! Bring on the Dizzy compilation!
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:01

  • Furbs #16 6 years ago

    SWOS > Anything else in the 16bit era
    Team 17 Games > Anything else in the 16bit era after SWOS
    Once they're out the way with, you can start talking about your New Zealand Stories and what nots.

    OnlyMe, if they were to do it, it would have to be a Joystick in to tele thing. Playing SWOS or BMX Simulator or Run The Gauntlet (underrated classic!) on an Xbox pad/DS would be heresy! It needs a Competition Pro! And we want the Amiga versions damnit! Not the bastardised Megadrive version!
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:01

  • Psi #17 6 years ago

    must have!

  • kangarootoo #18 6 years ago

    @Huntcjna

    This would get your started if you can find/build a cab and source the other bits.

    http://tinyurl.com/c7347
    (shortened link to ebay)

    EDIT: They state that the PCB is 100% working. This means that their following statement about "sold as seen" and "no guarantee is implied or given" is not legally applicable. Anyone looking at bidding on this should check with them which statement they are sticking by, cos they can't have both.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:05

  • Bezzy #19 6 years ago

    NewZealand story?? NO FUCKING WAY. I rented that when i was about ten, and never got nearly enough out of it before I returned it.

    Hmmmm. I think I want to get this. Just don't know if I'll have time to play it.

  • OnlyMe #20 6 years ago

    Furbs, I so agree with you there. Team 17 and Sensible World of Soccer (along with Kick Off 2) really put the Amiga on the map. I'm not sure if the Amiga would've been such a great machine without Team 17 developing for it. All the Alien Breeds on one disc alone would be a fantastic compilatioin, not to mention Worms, Superfrog, Quak (a fabulous Bubble Bobble clone), I even consider Full Contact as a great game. Their games had the best graphics I ever saw on the Amiga, almost every single one of them had standout graphics. They knew their amigas alright.

    Oh, and there's already a Competition Pro USB available. I haven't bought one yet, but I intend to. Excellent for all those emulators. Also, using an arcade stick is possible too, I have an arcade stick from Asciiware for my PSone.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:09

  • RubyRed #21 6 years ago

    Wot, no Arkanoid? Outrageous!

  • kangarootoo #22 6 years ago

    Ahhhh, Superfrog. What a game.

  • deepmenace #23 6 years ago

    good....but.....

    the capcom collection is just around the corner - google the lineup for that one.

    OMFG!

  • drumbaby #24 6 years ago

    They've got a table top Taito Space Invaders at the local Whacky Warehouse where I occasionally take my kids.

    I had a quick go on it....left me shaky and elated like the old days. I may have to buy this cheap. :)

  • smelly #25 6 years ago

    YAY! Off i go to purchase

  • zErOb_cOOl #26 6 years ago

    I want a random Megadrive compilation (that's not Sonic) on the PS2.

    Lets see..., Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Shadow Dancer, Desert Strike, MJ Moonwalker (chamon), Altered Beast, Splatter House. Those games alone would keep me happy for about half a year.

  • smelly #27 6 years ago

    does it have parasol stars?? If not booo! Not interested in rainbow islands as im getting the ds remake...

  • jiveguy #28 6 years ago

    mmmm ,tayto cheese n onion

    But King are much nicer.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:30

  • IP #29 6 years ago

    :: does it have parasol stars

    No, because Parasol Stars was never an arcade game. As for the compilation, there are some inaccuracies in the emulation, sadly. Still, it's one of the better efforts out there, and at least there's a decent selection of games, many of which are still highly playable.

  • PearOfAnguish #30 6 years ago

    How's about a Dizzy compilation for the GBA. Sort it out, Codies.

    As for the compilation, there are some inaccuracies in the emulation, sadly.

    Modded Xbox and original ROM's...
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 12:39

  • smelly #31 6 years ago

    I used to love dizzy.. but there's bugger all chance it'd hold up well today...

  • Eighthours #32 6 years ago

    Are the rumours about more emulation problems in the Xbox version true?

  • RobTheBuilder #33 6 years ago

    I cant believe how low a score this got in PSM.

    Ive had it a few days and its fantastic, probably three of the five best non sonic/mario platformers of all time; two of the best classic shoot em ups; plus a load more games that are all as playable as any other retrogame.

    And all for £15.

    Thats 50p a game.

    Best retro collection ever. I just hope they include Liquid Kids, Arkanoid + Revenge of Doh!, and Parasol Stars in the next one.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 13:06

  • krudster #34 6 years ago

    I get the distinct impression (from reading print mag reviews of these) that often they're reviewed by people who didn't grow up in the 8bit era. They seem to take one look at them and note the shite graphics and go for an instant low score. Looks like Taito actually hit the mark with this one.

    If anyone wants to know why certain compliations score so badly, you only have to look at this one to see how they should be done...

  • Blerk #35 6 years ago

    Quit it with the bloody Dizzy love, guys. Dizzy was crap-o-la. :-)

  • BremXJones #36 6 years ago

    Team 17 weren't fit to even touch Sensible's golden boots.

    A handful of classics, a larger number of decent games and a swathe of rubbish.

    Er. 1994-era-me flashback.

    KG

  • Furbs #37 6 years ago

    Sooooooooo....as good as Halo then?
    /runs

    As for Team 17/Sensi - I liked them both but to put Sensi on a pedastal above them is unfair. Cannon Fodder 2 anyone?
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 13:32

  • Blerk #38 6 years ago

    No, because Parasol Stars was never an arcade game.

    Parasol Stars was an arcade game. Just not a 'released' arcade game. It got canned before it was finished, but a prototype does exist.

  • smelly #39 6 years ago

    "A handful of classics, a larger number of decent games and a swathe of rubbish."

    Its like owning a ps2... :-)

  • OnlyMe #40 6 years ago

    Are you saying Team 17 had a lot more rubbish than good, or was that just a hit at the games industry in general? 'Cause I hardly remember any bad games from Team 17 on the amiga, except maybe Miami Chase... which could have been a decent game had it not been for the awkward steering.

  • krudster #41 6 years ago

    Oooh, Kieron, you're soooo very wrong. T17 had an absolute corking run of classics. Are you seriously telling me that Alien Breed SE AB2, Project X, Superfrog, Overdrive aren't among the besterest Amiga games evah?

  • tengu #42 6 years ago

    "Quit it with the bloody Dizzy love, guys. Dizzy was crap-o-la. :-)"

    No it wasn't! It ruled. Well, the first couple did anyway...

  • CordableTuna #43 6 years ago

    So, if this is a arcade compilation, does it mean you have infinite continues with the 'insert coin' button? I hope not, since it takes away all the challenge...

  • OnlyMe #44 6 years ago

    Dizzy has aged great, I recently tried Crystal Kingdom Dizzy and while I didn't understand what the hell I was supposed to do (understood the concept, but was stuck from the start) it was easily a game I can see myself playing through. And I never played any Dizzy games back in the days. There's a couple of Dizzy games that aren't really Dizzy, but puzzles with Dizzy characters in it. Like Dizzy Panic. Nice puzzles, but the greater games are the platform/adventure games.

  • statix101 #45 6 years ago

    Doubt its MAME based as suggested, because MAME dosent play all the games in the compilation perfectly,and using MAME for commercial purposes isnt allowed....not that it would stop them of course..)), but if they have tweaked the code to get some of the games working properly, they should release it to the MAME devs for general release.......

  • BremXJones #46 6 years ago

    "Alien Breed SE"

    High level decent. Not a patch on genuiine Amiga Classic in the genre The Chaos Engine.

    "AB2"

    Diminishing returns, and not that good. AB3D1, however, was as good as Doom on the Amiga ever got.

    "Project X"

    Ever get past level 2?

    "Superfrog"

    Goodish. In a period where the Amiga had a mass of platform games, it doesn't compare to any of the Real Greats.

    "Overdrive"

    Genuinely shit compared to Micromachines or Skidmarks. Hell - pretty shit even if not.

    I've mellowed on T17 as I've got older, but back then I got annoyed with their Amiga Saviours Rep, when the majority of what they did was decentish-genre work, with some real stinkers.

    (This was the period where I regularly slagged the bitmaps for only really having one good game - the eternal beauty of Speedball 2. Then they did another, in the form of The Chaos Engine, which screwed that one up)

    I was a very angry man.

    KG

  • Furbs #47 6 years ago

    Ok, but to play devils advocate - did Sensi bring in the "annual minor update" model for football games which we are cursed with today? And even though SWOS was seminal, Goal! played the better game of football :p

  • Sid-Nice #48 6 years ago

    Blerk wrote: Was that because it was basically a port of the Atari ST version with no enhancements? Really wound Amiga guys up, that did.

    Then you'll of known how the Atari STE owners felt, when every Amiga port was ported over, with only the Atari STFM in mind. :)

  • Royal Fool #49 6 years ago

    This collection deserves 8 simply because Rainbow Islands is there. That game is one of the best ever.

  • oceanmotion #50 6 years ago

    Rainbow Islands. Awesome. Used to play that all the time on the Atari.

  • krudster #51 6 years ago

    Dear oh dear Kieron, I am Shocked and Stunned from NW2.

    Superfrog was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best platformer on the Amiga but some distance.

    Project X - the best shooter. And, yes, I got to about level five I think. Me and my housemate of the time used to take it in turns at thrashing each other's high score.

    Alien Breed SE - came out about 18 months *before* Chaos Engine, and is - to my mind - its equal. Stunning atmosphere, great even now.

    AB2 - Agreed about diminishing returns, but still great.

    Overdrive - You're so very very very incalculably wrong about this! A game that hogged an entire first year college month chipping off 1/100ths of a second off each other's times. Not up to Micro Machines standards, but still up there as one of the best top down racers in the canon.


    I'll defend T17 to the hilt - those guys got more out of the Amiga hardware than pretty much anyone else, and backed it up with some corking games. They're legends, dude. Get over it!

  • OnlyMe #52 6 years ago

    The Chaos Engine is VERY good, but Alien Breed is fantastic as well. Your preference may say otherwise, but there's no beating the special atmosphere these games had. And I'm not sure if you missed out on the second sequel, Alien Breed Tower Assault. This game have no problem with matching Chaos Engine. As for the 3D editions, these games still hold up today, the only downside with the first one is the very blocky graphics. But the gameplay and atmosphere is excellent. The second game suffered from being nigh unplayable because of bad framerate, but using the PC to emulate it today makes it fly like it should. And thus making it a fantastic game.

    Overdrive was excellent, and still is excellent. Not sure why you don't like that one. All Terrain Racing, the sequel, is fabulous too. Superfrog, you may not like it as much as Super Mario or other greats, but it's one of the best platformers ever imo - and should share the table with Mario and Sonic.

    Project X was tough, that's true. Not really a reason to slag it off as rubbish though. But that doesn't make it any worse. But you forget about Apidya. That was also one of their games. And then we have Worms, Qwak, Arcade Pool/Snooker, Super Stardust. Where is the big batch of bad games you're talking about? Oh, did I mention Assassin, the Strider clone that I personally rate higher than Strider?

    Team 17 pretty much defined amiga to me. There's a few bad ones, most of which I didn't play back in the days. Those are Miami Chase, Kingpin and the Spheris Legacy (a zelda-clone).

    Furbs: There's Sensible Soccer, Sensible Soccer v1.1, Sensible Soccer v1.2, Sensible World of Soccer, Sensible World of Soccer 95/96 and Sensible World of Soccer 96/97. Apart from the first three Sensible Soccer games we you had the option of buying an update disk for the SWOS versions if you had the one of the earlier SWOS editions already or buying the full standalone edition. The last SWOS has some great new features that wasn't on the earlier ones, like being able to curve your passes, volleys and normal standing headers in addition to the infamous flying headers. The keepers got better with each new game too. Of course the reasonably accurate player/team/manager names were updated too. I love being able to play with my hometowns team in SWOS, which I can't in any PES or the later editions of FIFA games, because they're not in the elite league.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 14:30

  • petebritish #53 6 years ago

    I remember taking a girl out on a 1st date, buying New Zealand Story taking her home to my house,I said "lets go in the bedroom" she said "i thought you would want to get me in there". Then i spent 4 hours playing the game she let herself out.

    Funnily enough i never saw her again!

    Will buy this and see if gets rid of the in laws when they come round for a half hour turns to 6 hour visit!!
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 14:29

  • RobTheBuilder #54 6 years ago

    To the person who said that infinite continues takes away the challenge:


    Youve obviously never played Continental Circus much, or tried to get every big diamond and complete the extra bonus levels on Rainbow Islands.


    Superfrog was good, but I dont think it was the best platform game on the Amiga.
    I also liked ATR by Team 17, but I do think that Project X was no where near as good as the fantastic RType conversion by Electric Dreams.

    And what about body blows...lol

    Oh and: Does anybody else remember the "rainbow islands" alike Edd The Duck game ???
    Edited by 2 at 18/10/05 @ 14:44

  • powerup #55 6 years ago

    About Team 17 - Project X was good, and not too difficult with practice, but was not a patch on Apidya (not a Team 17 game OnlyMe, it was developed by Kaiko and published by Blue Byte. It was later re-released at a budget price by Team 17).

    Apidya was excellent (for the time) in pretty much every way - imagination, gameplay, music, graphics, powerups..

    Project X came close, but featured totally unnecessary floaty inertia on your ship when powered up heavily, which has no place in a pure arcade style shoot em up.

  • Xerx3s #56 6 years ago

    Sony's vision on next gen graphics then? jk^_^

  • JayG #57 6 years ago

    Speedball 2, greatest game of all time. I still play it on GBA.

  • powerup #58 6 years ago

    "Speedball 2, greatest game of all time."

    Agreed.

  • CordableTuna #59 6 years ago

    No, RobTheBuilder, I haven't. Never heard of Continental Circus, but I've played Raindow Islands. In any case, I'd rather have the challenge of getting through all the levels than make up other goals.

    So, does anyone know if the compilation lets you, say, limit the amount of continues you're allowed to use? Or if the games drop you in the beginning of the level when you use a continue? Those are fine by me, at least some challenge is left, but I'm not so keen on those play-until-credits-roll type continues where you just pick off from where you died. Challenge replaced by boredom, I say.

  • kangarootoo #60 6 years ago

    " Dizzy isn't solely owned by Codemasters, there's the two lads who coded it to consider too... "

    Those "lads" run Blitz Games these days, and aren't really lads anymore.

    I'd totally forgotten Body Blows. Another classic (in my hazy memory anyway).

  • Donglebomb #61 6 years ago

    > Best retro collection ever. I just hope they include Liquid Kids,
    > Arkanoid + Revenge of Doh!, and Parasol Stars in the next one.

    There already is a next one - in Japan at least - though they've wibbled the game selection around for the Western release. Dunno if there are enough familiar titles left amongst the reams of mental Japanese stuff for another English-language compilation.

    http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/tai to-arcade-classics/638898p1.html

    http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/tait o-memories-gekan/648567p1.html

  • Trowel #62 6 years ago

    Ahh, New Zealand Story had the 'Best Cheat Ever' on CPC464.

    None of this up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-select-start Konami crap - just press Enter to skip to the next level!

    Genius.

  • RobTheBuilder #63 6 years ago

    Cordable:

    You can choose to have easy medium or hard arcade settings. Bear in mind many of these games have no continues, and some restart you at the level each time, making it still difficult.

    The challenge in rainbow islands is a core part of the game; rather like (but more satisfying than) collecting all the emeralds in sonic.

    I remember when the car explosion in Continental Circus was about the best sprite effect ever. The amiga version has it much scaled down as it couldnt handle it!

  • RobTheBuilder #64 6 years ago

    Oh and.

    The cheat on New Zealand Story only takes you to level 2-3, not 3-1.
    And theres also a warp on level 1-3.

  • OnlyMe #65 6 years ago

    Robthebuilder, Continental Circus was scaled down because the Amiga ports was rarely done by people who knew the amiga hardware. The amiga was certainly able to handle the explosions.

  • Stoatboy #66 6 years ago

    New Zealand Story on the miggy had a pretty good cheat - motherf***inkiwibastards, IIRC. Can't remember what it did, but still remember the code for some reason. It got changed to fluffykiwis for the budget re-release though, I believe.

  • Manaman #67 6 years ago

    There's a leaflet with the game that advertises 'Taito Legends 2' promising 40 games. Hope Arkanoid, Bubble Symphony makes it on.

  • mrpsb #68 6 years ago

    edit: "Re: Rainbow Islands"

    Shame it was an ST conversion originally really, I'm sure it would have looked much nicer if the graphics had been designed for a direct port to the superior machine, rather than going for the lowest common denominator. Then again, such decisions are always easier with the benefit of hindsight! Then again the ST shitness-denial sufferes out there would still have the world believe even the AGA-only games coming out as late as 1996 were still just ST ports.

    As much fun as I had with the Amiga version however, it has been well and truly shat on by the PS1 version, "over the rainbow" or not.
    Edited by 1 at 18/10/05 @ 20:33

  • RobTheBuilder #69 6 years ago

    I have the amiga version of CCircus, it was good actually.

    I do recall a review of it in (I think) CU Amiga that said that the conversion was very good job. I believe it was by Virgin games, but thats just my memory saying so! The explosion is most of the screen, and at the time in the Amigas life I can think of no games anywhere that could do smooth 70% of screen sprite effects like that.


    And yes, the cheat for NZS was that one, famous at the time!

    Also, it it just me who notices that the Amiga version has better (more detailed) music than the arcade. I keep humming the tune over the minimal background music on legend! I remember that the blocks level (arkanoidesque) had no music at all.

  • yagisencho #70 6 years ago

    Concerning the second collection out in Japan, Cadash and Ray Force alone would make it worth my money. We'll have to wait and see how the first Taito Legends compilations sells though. They've got a ton of shooters that could use the compilation treatment...

  • bloodflowers #71 6 years ago

    We picked this up last week - girlfriend is absolutely addicted to Bubble Bobble. Chicks always loved the bubble blowing dinosaurs.
    Edited by 1 at 21/10/05 @ 13:07