Cindi Mayweather
Member
When I got my arcade stick the very first thing I did with it was take out my copy of Taito Legends 2 for PC and go to fucking town. Taito Legends is so aptly named. Legendary company.
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Why isn't Taito as revered as Nintendo?
- Thread starter dh4niel
- Start date
Opinionatedfish
Member
Here's your potential.
Despite that one terrible glitch, still a good game. Boxart does not dissuade me from playing a game.
No. Reading that I would assume Space Invaders is a fictional 80s game in a movie or something. I'm not that young (28) so maybe it's a cultural/exposure thing.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Yes, they were. Although I'm sure the prices are jacked up these days.
Proof that GAF should have an entrance exam.
Weltall Zero
Member
Oh yeah, I played that one (a rental back in the day, I don't think I own it), it had quite a lot of text and secrets for a game of that era.
Taito also published my favorite NES ninja game, Blue Shadow / Shadow of the Ninja, which I believe I still own.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
My God no!!
It has Elevator Action Returns and that's it. The rest of the disc is overflowing with junk. More quantity than quality.
Namco Museum Collections, namely the Xbox 360 edition obliterates it. As does Capcom's collections. As does Sega's Ultimate Genesis Collection which finally delivered a strong arcade port of Shinobi.
I'd say the first Taito Collection is overall superior to the second.
sixteen-bit
Member
ZUNTATA the GOAT
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Disagree strongly but you don't like Taito much anyways.
I don't like Namco's classics much besides Ms Pac Man and Mr. Driller. Of the bigger Japanese arcade companies they've always been at the bottom for me.
Sega is actually the top for me regarding Japanese developers, but the Genesis collection has plenty of filler itself. Games like Comix Zone and 3D Blast aren't that great. The fact the collection is based around a system also limits the type of games it can have. It is in no way a definitive Sega collection and making it a Genesis collection limits its true potential. That said, I won't berudge anyone who thinks it's the best game collection of all time, because it's certainly up there.
I think Taito Legends 1 is fantastic as well. But 2 has my favorite 2d shooter on it: G-Darius. It also has Elevator Action Returns, Qix, Legend of Kage arcade, Kiki Kaikai, Raystorm and Rayforce. Legends 2 appeals to me a lot more than the other game collections. I wish Sega would put out a more definitive collection with stuff like arcade perfect Outrun, Shining Force III, Panzer Dragoon, Dreamcast games;etc. maybe even Shinobi ps2.
I think saying Legends 2 only has Elevator Action Returns is...madness.
They almost had their own game console.
Holy shit. That would have been incredible.
stuminus3
Member
This topic was making me feel bad so I decided to play a couple of rounds of Rainbow Islands. After the initial shock of realising this year is its 30th anniversary wore off I quickly remembered that yes, it really is still one of the greatest platform games ever made. You young'uns really should check it out.
Agree with all of Cindi Mayweather's post, and with the exception of Pac-Man I'm not huge on Namco's golden era arcade library either.
Agree with all of Cindi Mayweather's post, and with the exception of Pac-Man I'm not huge on Namco's golden era arcade library either.
Makes me wonder why Square Enix doesn't capitalize on the fact that they own the rights to one of the most famous video games ever released.
Like, Square Enix has had a fair bit of success with RPG-ifying nostalgic properties like Super Mario RPG and Kingdom Hearts. Why not do something similar with Space Invaders? Maybe even mix in Bubble Bobble, Qix, etc.?
Like, Square Enix has had a fair bit of success with RPG-ifying nostalgic properties like Super Mario RPG and Kingdom Hearts. Why not do something similar with Space Invaders? Maybe even mix in Bubble Bobble, Qix, etc.?
shaowebb
Member
If you don't own it you really need to own Taito Legends 1&2 folks. Simply incredible with lots of unsung titles that are amazing like Plump Pop and Liquid Kids showing up in it alongside the top draws they were known for like Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands.
TAITO was a gift to gaming.
TAITO was a gift to gaming.
Then GAF can lean to the far right too.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
They made Space Invaders Extreme nine years ago. There's Space Invaders Infinity Gene on your App Store right now. They put out Bubble Bobble Double, a Pacman CE esque update and it's also on mobile. They also released a modern Elevator Action.
But the problem is that outside of Space Invaders Extreme none of them are really that great. Though I haven't put much time into Infinity Gene.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Anyways, I've never seen Game Center CX. Best way to watch it? I'd love to see this Taito episode for instance. Do they have anything on Sega?
davidwhangchoi
Member
yo! shmup music forever!
Jawmuncher
Member
I forgot taito was even a thing
I would have bought one as well. Especially to be able to play a perfect version of Rastan on an arcade-based 16-bit CD-ROM home Taito system.
Also, more Taito appreciation -T he Sega Master System version of Rastan reviewed:
Most people haven't heard of like 80 percent of those games, that's what gives.
also Nintendo stayed relevant. Taito didn't.
davidwhangchoi
Member
can anyone beat Operation Thunderbolt on one credit? "raises hands"
that's how much i loved taito's well designed game. put so much time into that beauty =)
that's how much i loved taito's well designed game. put so much time into that beauty =)
Still one of my favorite retro companies.
But they made little of note after the 90's (their best stuff in the 00's was remixes of their old stuff).
They made iconic arcade games but when arcades stopped being important, so did their company.
And now that they have been swallowed up by Square-Enix I don't expect then to get many more chances to receive mainstream attentions.
But they made little of note after the 90's (their best stuff in the 00's was remixes of their old stuff).
They made iconic arcade games but when arcades stopped being important, so did their company.
And now that they have been swallowed up by Square-Enix I don't expect then to get many more chances to receive mainstream attentions.
mattiewheels
And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
You've got a lot to choose from, I think the show passed 200 episodes last year. The translators' website is a very nice and organized guide, both for original show order (under "GUIDE" section of the site) and the order that they've been translated in. Honestly, I'd start with the first shows following the ten or so company-specific episodes, technically season 2 but that's where he started just playing full games. They're some off the most charming hours of TV I've ever seen, I'm obsessed.
www.sa-gccx.com
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Yeah company oriented episodes sound really cool. I love game history so much that I would watch a weekly tv show about nothing but game history. Thanks for the tips.
IrishNinja
Member
Never knew about the almost console, that's awesome!
Rastan, Elevator Action Returns, and tons of classics, easily one of my favorite classic 3rd parties. Sucks that square seems to do so little with their catalog
Legends 1 & 2 have so many reasos this statement is wrong
Rastan, Elevator Action Returns, and tons of classics, easily one of my favorite classic 3rd parties. Sucks that square seems to do so little with their catalog
Legends 1 & 2 have so many reasos this statement is wrong
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Mechanized
Member
I shouted "WHAT?!" out loud in disbelief at the thread title. They are definitely a great company all the same though, but comparing them to Nintendo, Jesus. Some of the best NES games happen to be Taito, that never carried forward out of that era to me though. Great games here and there, but nothing as memorable or sort of everlasting as that output.
The first season of GCCX was Arino interviewing developers, doing trips and and challenging a game.
After that they decided the challenges were more interesting and focused on that instead. I would say watch the first season and watch your favorite games after that.
This thread should help you onwards.
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
Great, thanks for reminding me I'm old.
Adam_Roman
Member
How can there be a Taito thread with no mention of Little Samson? That was an insanely good NES game that easily held up to early entries in the SNES catalog.
Megalosaro
Banned
I think Square Enix owns them
Jesus Christ this is a shitpost
Why play Metal Black, Layer Section or Darius Gaiden you can play the ultimate shmup: Space Fever
I'd never heard of this game before, it looks really, really kewl. Will have to try it sometime.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
I don't think it's that surprising, especially for younger people. It's been a long time since Taito was relevant (unless you're aware of Groove Coaster, which is excellent).
Vital Tundra
Member
Why? Because they are Nintendo. I didn't even know who you were talking about befor seeing the games, and even then those games didn't have the MARIO factor
Preach. Lots of fantastic Taito games; not sure they're really comparable to Nintendo though.
The Hermit
Member
Best name of console ever
Yup, it's a gem. I can't say its absence is unexpected around here, though. No disrespect, but GAF is not where I go when I want to discuss older games. GAF's pricipal focus is current generation gaming.
Apparently, between the costs and the speed not being good enough for the service (it was a Satellite streaming service based device, like Satellaview), they decided to scrap it. But the idea was to stream the same quality as the arcade games to your home. That would have been incredible.
InfiniteCombo
Banned
Well, for me personally, they just stopped making games I cared about.
That being said, the NES Bubble Bobble is one of my favorite games of all time. I still also own some of the games in the Puzzle Bobble series.
That being said, the NES Bubble Bobble is one of my favorite games of all time. I still also own some of the games in the Puzzle Bobble series.
theSlacker
Member
The advertising that fact in a way that almost seems like they are proud of it is what's blowing my mind.
pls go
D.Lo
Member
Kind of a silly comparison. I think Taito are as revered as Nintendo for 70s/early 80s arcade games, but after that on Famicom/SNES/PC Engine etc they became a smaller scale Capcom, at best. Maybe Hudson level.
Whereas Nintendo and Sega went on to continually grow and innovate. While they both maintained some of the arcade era spirit (eg Crazy Taxi, Wii Sports etc), they grew well beyond it in scope, wheras Taito stayed making Puzzle Bobble 12. If Taito were in any way comparable we'd have the equivalent of Bubble Bobble: Breath of the Wild etc.
Whereas Nintendo and Sega went on to continually grow and innovate. While they both maintained some of the arcade era spirit (eg Crazy Taxi, Wii Sports etc), they grew well beyond it in scope, wheras Taito stayed making Puzzle Bobble 12. If Taito were in any way comparable we'd have the equivalent of Bubble Bobble: Breath of the Wild etc.
It's pretty straightforward:
Taito could not re-capture the magic of its early arcade successes with new IPs, were barely a presence in the burgeoning home console market in the SNES-Genesis era, to the point where they were forgotten about in the PS-N64 era, except for Puzzle Bobble, which lived on for a VERY long time and is somehow not a thing that Square Enix is releasing on online storefronts.
They couldn't adapt and couldn't re-kindle their spark with new ideas fast enough.
Taito could not re-capture the magic of its early arcade successes with new IPs, were barely a presence in the burgeoning home console market in the SNES-Genesis era, to the point where they were forgotten about in the PS-N64 era, except for Puzzle Bobble, which lived on for a VERY long time and is somehow not a thing that Square Enix is releasing on online storefronts.
They couldn't adapt and couldn't re-kindle their spark with new ideas fast enough.
Comix Zone and 3D Blast suck. let me tell you about Star Fox Command and Wii Music. Lmao
This is probably true in the West but I assure you that Taito still had a massive presence in the Japanese market during the n64/ps era.
Premium Quality
Member
Miss playing some of those old Taito games.
I'm happy that I can play Bubble Bobble on my PS4 right now.
I'm happy that I can play Bubble Bobble on my PS4 right now.
theSlacker
Member
pls go
whalleywhat
Member
They went third party.