The first Taito Milestones collection bundled 10 classic Taito arcade games in a low-frills package. One year later, Taito and ININ Games have returned with Taito Milestones 2. This installment once again bundles 10 Taito classics into one compilation, but the games lineup is slightly more modern and exciting this time around. We’re talking a...
Taito’s “Ray” series of vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em ups hasn’t seen nearly as many entries as their Darius series, but it retains a devoted following among fans of the genre. Comprised of RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis, the Ray games are known for their lock-on mechanics that allow players to fire upon enemies in...
While Darius is Taito's number one shoot 'em up series, the "Ray'z" series is a close second. Made up of three vertically-scrolling arcade shmups released from 1994-1998, the Ray'z games still command a loyal following. Now PlayStation and Switch gamers can own the entire series (or just the two newest games) via two freshly-released collections: RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection and Ray'z Arcade Chronology. Both collections are similar, so we'll outline what each one contains.
Taito Milestones 2 is a Switch-exclusive collection of 10 arcade classics from Taito. The collection will feature a quality assortment of games, including three co-op shoot 'em ups: Darius II, Gun Frontier, and Metal Black. The first Taito Milestones didn't have as strong a games lineup, but collectors might still want to own them both. Hence, Strictly Limited Games has opened preorders for a bundle with physical editions of both games. For even more physical goodness, a new collectors edition and an upgrade for owners of the Taito Milestones 1 collectors edition are also up for grabs.
Few spin-off series have been as successful as Taito’s Puzzle Bobble. The 1994 arcade game successfully used characters from the Bubble Bobble series of platformers in a brand-new puzzle game. It would go on to spawn dozens of sequels and ports (not to mention clones), most recently with Puzzle Bobble 3D for PlayStation and Oculus/Meta Quest....
Darius might be Taito's best-known series of shoot 'em ups, but the "Ray'z" series is popular too. Beginning with 1994's 2D RayForce (also known as Layer Section and Galactic Attack), the series went on to spawn two polygonal entries: RayStorm in 1996 and RayCrisis in 1998. Various iterations of these games will be included in a pair of upcoming collections for PlayStation and Switch from ININ Games: RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection and Ray'z Arcade Chronology. Both titles are due out on June 30.
Last year, ININ released Taito Milestones, an exclusive collection of 10 classic arcades, for Nintendo Switch. The low-frills presentation and mundane selection of games resulted in a fairly niche product. Perhaps the developer took feedback into account, for Taito Milestones 2 sounds more exciting. Of the ten games coming in the new comp...
The venerable Puzzle Bobble series (a puzzle game spin-off of Bubble Bobble) has seen many iterations over the years, including the pretty decent Puzzle Bobble 3D. That game wasn’t quite as refined as we'd prefer, but the newly announced Puzzle Bobble Everybubble looks like a return to form. It will feature traditional 2D Puzzle Bobble graphics and gameplay, plus four player local co-op! Everybubble is due out exclusively on Nintendo Switch in 2023.
In 1993, Natsume licensed the rights to create sequels to Taito’s single-player Kiki Kaikai arcade game. While the sequels retain the Kiki KaiKai name in Japan, they go by Pocky & Rocky in English markets. The first Pocky & Rocky for Super Nintendo added 2-player co-op, a feature retained in the recently released Pocky & Rocky Res...
Taito and ININ Games have teamed up to deliver numerous collections of classic Taito games in recent years, including Space Invaders Invincible Collection, Space Invaders Forever, and several Darius collections. Now, the two companies (along with Japanese developer Hamster) have unleashed a Switch-exclusive collection called Taito Milestones. This ...
