Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Great Gaymathon Review #23: Taito Legends 2 (PlayStation 2)


Game: Taito Legends 2
Genre: Arcade Compilation
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Destineer
System: PlayStation 2
Release date: 2007

Although it's not as immediately appealing as its predecessor--which features such arcade classics as Bubble Bobble, Elevator Action, Rainbow Islands and Space Invaders--Taito Legends 2 offers its fair share of old-school entertainment once you scratch the disc's surface (figuratively, not literally). Even without the benefit of nostalgia, for instance, games like Cameltry, Kiki Kaikai, The Legend of Kage and Qix are a blast. And then there are the slew of Bubble Bobble-esque games in this collection--Chak'n Pop, Don Doko Don, The Fairyland Story and Liquid Kids--each of which are enjoyable and unique enough to stand on their own. Sure, there are a few duds--I'm lookin' at you, Crazy Balloon and Wild Western--but even those tend to have a redeeming value or two. I'd highly recommend giving each of the 39 games included on Taito Legends 2 a try at one point or another regardless, as you never know which previously unknown (or ignored) title will surprise your heart into skipping a beat. For me, that game was the Parodius-esque--or maybe I should say Pop'n TwinBee-esque--Space Invaders '95, which introduces bosses, cute protagonists and (most importantly) pastels to Tomohiro Nishikado's magnum opus.


See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

9 comments:

RetroKingSimon said...

Great compilation, I've got this on my PSP :) It has modern updates of a few of the titles

Bryan Ochalla said...

Really? That sounds interesting! I may have to try the PSP version out at some point :)

RetroKingSimon said...

Yeah, Taito Legends Power-Up is the one you're after. It had remakes of Balloon Bomber, Crazy Balloon, Legend of Kage, Cameltry. The originals are there as well, of course :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Huh! I'm especially curious about the Balloon Bomber and Crazy Balloon remakes. The original Balloon Bomber is pretty fun, although I'm not sure I'd say the same about Crazy Balloon :\

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I have been looking for a used copy of 1 or 2 every time I go into a GameStop.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Well, shoot! Hopefully you'll find it soon. It certainly should be cheap used -- I think it's just $20 new, although I'm not sure.

PepsimanVsJoe said...

Raimais is one of my favorites of this bunch. It's some sort of high-speed Pacman game with hidden bossfights against cyborg insects.

Some of Zuntata's best work can be heard in this compilation as well. Metal Black, G. Darius, Elevator Action Returns, just amazing music.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Yeah...I've been to six GameStops in the last few weeks, just on completely unrelated trips. No luck.

Side not: the CAPTCHA below is "uristedi". Is that the ability to aim your pee without shaking? As in, "I have great uristediness! Watch me knock that beer can over."

Bryan Ochalla said...

Huh. Maybe this is the kind of game that people hang on to. Or maybe it's snatched up as soon as it's put on the shelves? Regardless, hopefully you'll find a few copies soon.

As for the CAPTCHA you had to enter this time: LOL! Yes, I think you're right :)