Another year, another compilation of “classic” video games comes to the Nintendo Switch. If I sound like I’m down on my Taito Milestones 3 review already, then I can assure you that I am not. Several of the games featured in the collection are pretty top-tier, and being ports of the arcade versions with the need for infinite quarters removed does help this to be a decent collection. The issue is probably just the fact that we’re on collection number three by this point, so maybe they’ve just run out of A-list material to supply players with. Or maybe it’s just me. The only way to know for sure is to backwards-engineer this gut feeling and dive into the collection.
What Is Taito Milestones 3?
If you’re not already familiar with it, Taito is a company famous for releasing some great arcade and console games over the years. They’re the folks behind Bubble Bobble, Arkanoid, and literally bloody Space Invaders, and they’ve got one hell of an arcade pedigree as a result. This is the third collection of their arcade releases to hit the Switch over the past couple of years, with a few fan-favourites making the list of games included.
For Milestones 3, you get Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Dead Connection, Rastan Saga 1-3, Runark, Cadash, Champion Wrestler and Thunder Fox. So basically, it’s the two Bubble Bobble games and Rastan’s greatest hits, though Dead Connection is a cracking inclusion that will make any arcade action game fan happy to own.
Genre Doldrums
I had a whale of a time blasting my way through some of these titles, with Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Island, in particular, getting a trashing despite many previous playthroughs. There’s also a decent amount of beat-em-up action in the collection, but there’s also a bit too much of a reliance on platforming. What this collection feels like it’s missing is a decent puzzle game, which is annoying considering Puzzle Bobble is another Taito game that would have helped to round things out a wee bit.
That said, there is some variety here, and it’s not like the styles of platforming don’t vary quite a bit. In Dead Connection, you’re a tiny little spec on the screen, dodging bullets and trying your best to lay into your enemies at the same time, while in games like Bubble Bobble, you’re a little chunkier and focused on collecting random items. Of course, a bunch of these games are those late 80s Japanese arcade games that combo reeeeeally chunky platformers with RPG mechanics throughout them, so you can basically choose your platforming based on how big of a character you’re going to need to navigate through all of the obstacles.
Standouts in the Collection
There are a few standout games in the collection, with obvious contenders being Bubble Bobble, a game apparently so addictive they made a song about it, and possibly Dead Connection, a noir gangster shoot-em-up with some interesting environments and sprites on the scale of Smash TV with their size and detail. They’re both still pretty playable titles, though I personally will always prefer Rainbow Islands to Bubble Bobble, probably mostly because I was exposed to Rainbow Islands first, and that’s just how nostalgia works.
If you’re into side-scrolling beat-em-up games instead, then you’ll get at least a little enjoyment out of the Rastan Saga games included here, but it’s hardly likely to convert anyone who isn’t already a fan of arcade action games. There’s a whole slew of sequels and spin-offs featured here, which is somewhat missing a trick considering how many video games Taito has under its belt. Maybe Milestones 1 and 2 were more varied, but this package is clearly targeted at the hyper-specific crowd of people who love arcade beat-em-ups and Bubble Bobble.
The Verdict
Taito Milestones 3 is a decent collection for hardcore Taito fans, arcade heads, or beat-em-up enthusiasts, but it will probably fail to hold much sway with a more general audience. To its credit, this collection will give you hours of fun, and if you’re only used to playing these games in arcades, then you’ll save yourself a hell of a lot of coins, as well as get to see the endings of these games for the first time. Unless you’re playing Bubble Bobble, then the only way to see the ending is to be a masochist.
Developer: United Games
Publisher: ININ Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 10th December 2024
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Taito Milestones 3 was provided by the publisher.
