A muted celebration of an important developer.
A small “Powered by Arcade Archives” message sits in the corner of Taito Milestones‘ dual-purpose title/game select screen, a subdued seal of quality there to let players know the emulation within is of the same standard we’ve come to expect from Hamster’s prolific series, with all the usual features (and even the exact same interface) present and correct. What this means in practice is the digital recreations of arcade classics found here sit somewhere in the middle ground between the extravagance (and expense) of M2’s extraordinary work and the less desirable ‘It mostly functions as it should’ efforts of old; quietly reliable releases where the games themselves are always the main attraction.
So it’s a good thing the ten titles selected for this collection cover an impressive range of genres, offering everything from scrolling beat ’em ups and single-screen platformers to good old fashioned sci-fi shooting and abstract territory snatch ’em ups. There’s definitely something here for everyone (so long as they have a taste for the ’80s) no matter what their mood, the arcade origins of these titles naturally making quick casual bursts of play effortlessly enjoyable. Anyone hoping to spend longer with an old favourite will be pleased to hear every game supports online leaderboards, so if you can crush everyone at Alpine Ski or have dedicated your life to mastering The Fairyland Story then you can finally show off your awesome skills to the entire world. Those with an eye for detail can spend their time marvelling at The Ninja Warriors specialist screen options, beautifully preserving the game’s three monitor’s worth of widescreen display with settings that go above and beyond scanlines and resizing, aiming instead to echo the more honest (if disjointed) extended monitor/mirror setup of the original arcade cabinet, complete with optional offset screens and mismatched tinting.
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