Taito Legends
| Taito Legends | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Taito Corporation Empire Interactive Atomic Planet Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Xplosiv Empire Interactive Sega |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows 98 |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Distribution | CD-ROM, DVD-ROM (Xbox) |
Taito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. The games were originally developed by Taito Corporation. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games from Taito and developed the compilation. The North American and South American releases were published by Sega, even though it is not mentioned anywhere in the actual CD-ROM.
Between 2005 and 2007, in total four similar compilations had been released by Taito for the PlayStation 2 in its home market of Japan:[1]
- Taito Memories Volume 1 (タイトーメモリーズ 上巻 Taitō Memorīzu Joukan)
- Taito Memories Volume 2 (タイトーメモリーズ 下巻 Taitō Memorīzu Gekan)
- Taito Memories II Volume 1 (タイトーメモリーズ2 上巻 Taitō Memorīzu 2 Joukan)
- Taito Memories II Volume 2 (タイトーメモリーズ2 下巻 Taitō Memorīzu 2 Gekan)
The games on this compilation are emulations of their respective arcade originals; however, the software lacks light gun support for Operation Wolf, Operation Thunderbolt, and Space Gun. These games place a gun cursor on the screen, which the player can move around with the analog stick (console versions), or mouse (PC version).
Extra features include interviews with some of the game designers, original sales flyers, and arcade cabinet art.
Two follow-up compilations were issued; Taito Legends 2 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC and the PlayStation Portable exclusive Taito Legends Power-Up.
Games
While the Western Taito Legends consists of 29 arcade games, the Japanese Taito Memories includes only 25 arcade games per volume, omitting Jungle Hunt, Colony 7, The Electric Yo-Yo, Zoo Keeper and Tube It.[2]
| Title | Arcade release | Taito Legends | Taito Memories | Alternative title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space Invaders | 1978 | Yes | I Vol.2 | ||
| Space Invaders Part II | 1979 | Yes | I Vol.2 | Deluxe Space Invaders (USA) | |
| Phoenix | 1980 | Yes | II Vol.2 | ||
| Colony 7 | 1981 | Yes | No | Western release only. | |
| The Electric Yo-Yo | 1982 | Yes | No | Western release only. | |
| Jungle Hunt | 1982 | Yes | No | Jungle King (original) and Pirate Pete (official clone) | Western release only. Originally named Jungle King and contained a Tarzan-like character (later edited to a generic explorer-like character) and the Tarzan yell, which was removed due to licensing issues with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. |
| Zoo Keeper | 1982 | Yes | No | Western release only. | |
| Elevator Action | 1983 | Yes | I Vol.2 | ||
| Great Swordsman | 1984 | Yes | II Vol.2 | ||
| Return of the Invaders | 1985 | Yes | II Vol.1 | ||
| Bubble Bobble | 1986 | Yes | I Vol.1 | ||
| Gladiator | 1986 | Yes | II Vol.1 | Ougon no Shiro (Japan) | Edited version. |
| Tokio | 1986 | Yes | II Vol.1 | Scramble Formation (Japan) | |
| Exzisus | 1987 | Yes | II Vol.1 | ||
| Operation Wolf | 1987 | Yes | II Vol.2 | Lacks light gun support. | |
| Plump Pop | 1987 | Yes | II Vol.2 | ||
| Rastan | 1987 | Yes | I Vol.1 | Rastan Saga (Japan, Europe) | |
| Rainbow Islands | 1987 | Yes | II Vol.1 | Music altered due to licensing issues. | |
| Super Qix | 1987 | Yes | II Vol.1 | ||
| Operation Thunderbolt | 1988 | Yes | II Vol.1 | Lacks light gun support. | |
| The New Zealand Story | 1988 | Yes | I Vol.2 | ||
| Battle Shark | 1989 | Yes | II Vol.2 | ||
| Continental Circus | 1989 | Yes | II Vol.1 | ||
| Plotting | 1989 | Yes | I Vol.1 | Flipull (Japan) | |
| Volfied | 1989 | Yes | II Vol.2 | ||
| The Ninja Kids | 1990 | Yes | II Vol.1 | ||
| Space Gun | 1990 | Yes | II Vol.1 | Lacks light gun support. | |
| ThunderFox | 1990 | Yes | II Vol.2 | ||
| PuLiRuLa | 1991 | No | I Vol.1 | Japanese release only. | |
| Tube It | 1993 | Yes | No | Cachat (Japan) | Western release only. |
Reception
Taito Legends received slightly positive reviews with a score of 74.06% for the Xbox version, 71.68% for the PlayStation 2 version, and 75.17% for the Windows version on GameRankings.[3] IGN praised the collection for a superb presentation, as well as the large amount of bonus material, but criticized some titles in the collection as "worthless filler".[4] Other criticisms are the lack of online leaderboards, the omission of Arkanoid and Chase H.Q., the lack of light gun support for Operation Wolf, Operation Thunderbolt, and Space Gun,[5] the lack of control configuration, and for the controls being "flipped", making it potentially uncomfortable and unnatural to many, less-adaptable players. Only the Windows version fixes the error regarding the collection's control scheme.
References
External links
- Xplosiv pages: PS2,
- Empire support pages: PC (xplosiv red), PC xplosiv, PS2 Xplosiv, Xbox Empire
- XPLOSIV UNVEILS TAITO LEGENDS LINE-UP
- Empire Interactive announces the much-anticipated Taito Legends