Lots of obscure classics.

User Rating: 10 | Taito Legends PS2
The release of classic 80's arcade compilations continues unabated, and Taito legends is a very worthy addition.
The game features well over 25 classic arcade games including at least one of the most famous games ever made: Space Invaders. This compilation deserves a 10 out of 10 simply for that game.

GRAPHICS: 7 out of 10. When rating classic compilations, you have to use perspective. Compare the graphics between games of that time period and, usually, you'll come up with a pretty fair judgement.

Taito games were never, in my opinion, on the cutting edge of graphics. Even some of the more famous titles on this compilation, including Space invaders, Rastan, Super Qix and Bubble Bobble, are not exactly "mind-blowing" in the graphics department. Rather, they were typical for their era.

Some of the games, however, do have solid even impressive graphics. Battle Shark and Space Gun are two solid examples.

As well, the "shell" presentation of Taito Legends is attractive . The menu screen features a photograph of the original arcade cabinet of each game which is really a cool treat for people who played the games in the arcade.

PLAYABILITY: 10 out of 10. I rate it this highly simply because I can see no difference between Taito Legends and the original versions of these arcade classics. The programmers did an excellent job of emulating the games, along with their sound effects. The introduction music to Volfied is the best video game music ever written.

Of course, you'll always have people who complain that there is no light gun support but I didn't find that to be a serious obstacle. First-person shooter games like Operation: Wolf and Space Gun still play very smoothly. They seemed just as frantic and fun as they did in the arcade.

It would have been nice if Taito Legends contained a bit more information in the "Hints and tips" section. For example, I've had trouble figuring out how to unlock certain power-ups while the "Hints and tips" section offers advice like "press select button to enter credits." Come on, guys.

STORY: 5 out of 10. Okay, I'll explain this rating. The story lines for these 80's arcade games are simple and straightforward, with "defend the earth from invaders" being the most common.

I think where programmers and producers dropped the ball on Taito Legends is in bonus material, such as interviews with the programmers, secrets of each game, little-known bits of trivia and things like that.

Other compilations have done better at showing things like different arcade cabinets that each game was released with, for example.

REPLAY VALUE: 10 out of 10. For an 80's arcade fanatic like myself , this game has tremendous replay value simply for the nostalgia factor.

However, I feel the replay value of these challenging arcade classics is high. For instance, Space Invaders, one of the first video games ever released back in the 70's, is still a fun and challenging game to play over 25 years later. While Taito may not have been cutting edge in the graphics department, they had extremely skilled programmers who made interesting, unique and addictive games like Zoo Keeper and Volfied, a big favorite among me and my buddies.

OVERALL: 10 out of 10. I feel this compilation has earned a very high score for several reasons, including the quality of the translation, the high number of games included and the fact Space Invaders should be in the library of every true video game fan.

The minor drawbacks of this compilation, including a lack of background information, shouldn't be a big problem especially for the casual gamer. Since this game is available for only about $20, I highly recommend it for fans of classic 80's arcade action.