• Tag Archives Taito

  • Taito (1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    cgw_048_1988-06_11

    Source: Computer Gaming World – Issue Number 48 – June 1988

    What is a Taito indeed? Taito once was a well known producer of arcade games. They were around from the very beginning producing one of the earliest and most famous video arcade games, Space Invaders. For a time, they also produced home video games and this ad is from that time. While Taito isn’t quite as well known as they once were, they are still around and were purchased by Square/Enix a while back. More recently, they have started producing content for home consoles again with Darius Cozmic Collection recently released for the Nintendo Switch. However, the last arcade release I could find was Left 4 Dead: Survivors from 2014 and that one was only released in Japan.

    This ad is from the June 1988 issue of Computer Gaming World and was from a much more prolific time period for Taito. The titles featured in this ad, Bubble Bobble, Alcon, Arkanoid, Renegade and Rastan were all excellent games and available for systems like the Commodore 64, Nintendo, DOS based PCs and other systems of the time.

    I definitely recommend checking out these older Taito classics whether on original platforms or via emulation.



    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Alpine Ski (Taito, 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Alpine Ski (Taito, 1982)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/170504369947/mastersofthe80s-alpine-ski-taito-1982

    Alpine Ski is an arcade game that was released by Taito in January 1982. As the player, you take the role of a skier in a downhill slalom race and ski jumping competition. The game is played from an overhead perspective and you must dodge trees and other obstacles along the way. Your goal is to finish in the shortest time possible. Missing gates incurs time penalties and collisions with obstacles will of course slow you down.

    I don’t recall every playing the arcade version of this game but I did play a clone on the Commodore 64 simply titled “Ski” if I recall correctly. It is a fun game if you are taking turns and competing against someone but otherwise it gets boring pretty quickly.

    The arcade game is based on the Taito SJ System hardware which includes the following specs:

    • CPU: Zilog Z80
    • Sound: Z80 + 4x General Instruments AY-3-8910
    • Video Resolution: 256×224

    A number of games by Taito used this hardware, the most famous of which are probably Jungle Hunt and Elevator Action. MAME emulates this hardware well so that is the route to go if you want the true arcade experience. Alternatively, Alpine Ski was also released as part of the Taito Legends 2 compilation of Taito games for the PlayStation 2 and PC in 2007. It was also released for the Sony PSP in 2007 as part of the Taito Legends Power-Up compilation.


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  • The Flintstones (Sega Genesis)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    gamefan-v1i5-pg-028

    A review of The Flintstones by Taito for the Sega Genesis from the April 1993 issue of GameFan.

    Source: GameFan – Volume 1, Issue 5 – April 1993

    A review of The Flintstones by Taito for the Sega Genesis from the April 1993 issue of GameFan.

    “There’s trouble in Bedrock! … but fear not, Fred Flintstone is on the job, ready to lend a hand to Wilma, Betty, Barney, and Pebbles courtesy of Taito and the Sega Genesis. Tito did not take advantage of this big license and just crank out a so-so game, they obviously took their time and the result is a well thought out action platform excursion. The first thing I noticed when I fired up the Flintstones was how well the actual cartoon is represented. Fred is drawn perfectly and his moves are very fluid. The backgrounds and enemy characters are equally impressive. As Fred, you’ll walk, jump, climb, swim, and basically club everything in sight as you fight your way to the final boss. All the levels in the Flintstontes have something new to offer. The Flintstones delivers an excellent action platform game to your Genesis. This game is worth a big looky … okay I’ll say it … Yabba Dabba Doo!”

    I never played this game as I didn’t have a Sega Genesis until well after its glory days (I had a Super Nintendo instead) and wasn’t really interested in these sorts of licensed games anyway. However, the screen shots make this look like a pretty decent platformer and E. Storm (the writer of this review) certainly seemed to like it.




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