Customer Reviews

Taito Legends

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Many classic compilations have come on the PS2, which are a dime a dozen on that platform. Taito has been in business since 1978, and has quite an established history. The name doesn't carry the same weight as it did back then, but when they first appeared, they helped established the golden age of arcades. They also have quite a library of arcade games. Do they stand the test of time?

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.
8.0/10

Taito Legends introduces a wide selection of twenty-nine arcades packaged inside one CD ROM. Whether or not the phrase "legends" applies here is for you to decide. The vast archive seems very impressive and should attract retro gamers of the eighties and those curious to try something old. Many, myself included, remember spilling quarters in some of these vintage Taito machines when younger. At a very affordable price, one will find it hard to pass up on Taito memory lane.

However, do not expect every game to impress you. It's apparent Taito focused on quantity over quality. Roughly five arcades I consider halfway decent. Regardless, Taito taught me history by piling in their low-grade games since the majority of them I never knew exist. While I found playing Electric Yo-Yo a nuisance trying to clear each stage, one cannot deny the comical, yet bizarre Pac-Man imitation. Most will probably play these unpopular games once or twice before sticking to what you really like from the collection.

I bought Taito Legends for The Ninja Kids and Operation Wolf. The Ninja Kids allows up to four players to interact on screen to battle out the evil bad guys. The benefit along with some others is that Taito implemented the unlimited continue feature which prolongs game play so you may advance further, sooner rather than starting from scratch whenever the game come to an end.

Playing Operation Wolf left me feeling bittersweet. I was happy to play one of my all-time favorite shooters, but six missions didn't provide enough gaming entertainment. I never realized how short Operation Wolf was until I played through its entirety for the first time on the Playstation 2. I have no complaint about using the analog controller. Aiming and shooting targets come easier than the arcade machine gun, though to some it may feel unnatural to the arcade experience.

Even today Bubble Bobble is still fun to play on the NES. Between the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) and Taito Legends, I prefer playing the NES edition. Those who play as the lovable characters on Taito Legends will be saddened to discover unlike its NES cousin there's no lucky break to continue where you left off after you die. That stopped me from attempting to play the game. Who would want a migraine headache?

The graphics and sound are nothing spectacular but they are perfect translation to keep that nostalgia intact.

The collection offers hack and slash, puzzle, RPG, racing, and shooters.

Remember only a small handful are worthwhile, as the leftovers will leave an empty feeling to your stomach but not to your wallet. The $19.99 price tag is a bargain. What I do enjoy outweighs the vast volume of sub par games. Though I was intrigued to try pretentious games unheard of, brief amusement caused me to dismiss them rather quickly.

This is a great collection of 29 games from Taito released by Sega in the US for only $19.99. I love most of these games on this collection, this is the best collection money can buy.

You get many great arcade perfect ports of some of the greatest games. Games like Ninja Kids, Thunder Fox, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Island, New Zealand Story, Elevator Action, Operation - Wolf & many more.

I would've paid over $20 just to get an arcade perfect port of New Zealand Story, but it only cost me .70+ cents in this collection. Try this collection & find out how great games were in the 2D era.

Very high replay value with most of these great games. You get many different kinda games on this collection, it includes some great action, platformer, puzzle, fighting, run & gun, shooters & many more different genres on this collection. This compilation deserves a perfect score.

You will not be disappointed with this collection, if you have to buy one collection then I highly recommend this collection. This is the way a collection should be done. I just hope we see some more great collections like this released soon.

As a teenager I used to ride my bike (sometimes through rain and snow) to get to the local bowling alley, where I'd spend my paper route money playing games like Jungle Hunt (then called Jungle King and featuring a Tarzan-like character) Elevator Action, Phoenix, Bubble Bobble, Zoo Keeper and of course Space Invaders. This collection accurately recreates those games of years gone by, this time no bike ride or quarters required.

Once again I can spend my Saturday nights with nothing better to do with Space Invaders, a 2 Liter of Faygo and my mix tape of nothing but Rush.

Taito Legends for the PS2 contains 29 retro arcade games spanning the years 1978 till 1993. Most of the games are from the 80's. Each individual game has its own sub-menu where you can read the game description, change certain options, get hints & tips, and depending on the game, view the original sales flyers or watch a video of an interview with the desinger of that game.

List of games included:

Battle Shark 1989
Bubble Bobble 1986
Colony 7 1981
Continental Circuit 1987
Electric Yo-Yo 1982
Elevator Action 1983
Exzisus 1987
Gladiator 1986
Great Swordsman 1984
Jungle Hunt 1982
New Zealand Story 1988
Ninja Kids 1990
Operation Thunderbolt 1988
Operation Wolf 1987
Phoenix 1980
Plotting 1989
Plump Pop 1987
Return of the Invaders 1985
Rainbow Islands 1987
Rastan 1987
Space Gun 1990
Space Invaders 1978
Space Invaders 2 1980
Super Qix 1987
Thunderfox 1990
Tokio 1986
Tube It 1987
Volfied 1989
Zoo Keeper 1982

Although some casual gamers might bemoan the fact that there one too many unknown or "lesser" games, I love the fact that there are well-known as well as more obscure games and everything in-between. The title screen is intuitively designed. Each game has a mini arcade model and is easy to jump into and out of whenever needed. Overall just an awesome, awesome collection of retro treasure from the legendary game-maker Taito.

I bought this game on the spot when I saw it in a store in the Fall of 2004. I hadn't seen the original Space Invaders in God knows how long. To add to that, 28 other games, some of which I remember playing, like Phoenix and Zoo Keeper. Oh man, I must've played this game disc straight for two weeks when I first got it. Here's 20 of the titles:

Battle Shark
Bubble Bobble
Colony 7
Electric Yo-Yo
Elevator Action
Gladiator
Great Swordsman
Jungle Hunt
Ninja Kids
Operation Thunderbolt
Operation Wolf
Phoenix
Plump Pop
Rainbow Islands
Rastan
Space Invaders
Space Invaders II
Super Qix
Tube It
Zoo Keeper

A good mix of popular and little known games with a variety of themes. There's something here for everybody. You probably played a few of these in the arcade and there's even an interview with the creator of Space Invaders. All in all, a great buy for your money and a great nostalgia trip that it provides. Video games when they were mostly fun and simple to learn.

Like most others here, I bought this for the nostalgia value. I dumped plenty of quarters into Deluxe Space Invaders (here called Space Invaders Part 2) in the student union back in the day, and I also have fond memories of Elevator Action, Qix, Phoenix and Jungle Hunt. The games are so faithfully reproduced, right down to inserting virtual coins, you can almost smell the snack bar french fries and hear "Don't Stop Believin" playing in the background. There are even pictures of sales flyers and an interview with the Space Invaders creator.

What I didn't expect were the delightful, previously-unknown (to me) treasures like Tube It, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands and Plump Pop. Tube It is every bit as addicting as Tetris, and Plump Pop is like a Breakout with cute cartoon characters, and both games are full of catchy music. My daughter quickly became a fan of Bubble Bobble and its sequel, Rainbow Island, as well as Elevator Action, Jungle Hunt and Ninja Kids. Plus there are enough shoot-em-up, blow-em-up games to thrill anyone's inner Bart Simpson. I was intrigued by Tokio, a vertical shooter which flies over an authentic Tokyo cityscape, since I used to live there. It's a shame these games were "born too late" for the arcade craze which fizzled out by the end of the 80s.

If you love both discovering and rediscovering classic video games, Taito Legends gives a huge bang for the buck. I got it from a bargain bin and wasn't expecting much, but now I want Taito Legends 2!

I can remind my childhood when I played them usually.
It is so funny even if the games are so simple.

This is a game all my children love especially Bubble Bobble. and the rest of the games all very fun to and they like them very much as well . Thank you Mrs. Alva

Taito Legends for the PS2 brings back fond memories, goingto the local arcadesin the 80's with my brother and friends.We had so much fun playing games like Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Operation Wolf, Space Invaders, and many more. Taito legends brings home those memorable games home to you people who grew up in the 80's. There are a lot of games on this DVD I haven't heard about.There are interviews with the people who developed the games.If you were growing up in the 80's like myself, you'll enjoythese games on this disc. Definitely worth $19.99, you can't go wrong.