Taito Milestones - A Handful of Highlights

The TAITO MILESTONES Collection features ten classic games, each representing a specific breakthrough in development and gaming history, spanning a variety of genres. Here’s an introduction to a handful of these ground-breaking arcade milestones that paved the way for the following decades of TAITO dominance in arcade halls across the globe.

QIX is a puzzle game from back in 1981 and came advertised as “a video game unlike any you’ve ever seen in design and challenge”, and we’re bound to agree. The game was originally released with a specifically designed arcade cabinet, complete with stereo sound and illuminated instruction card. Due to the line-drawing mechanic to capture areas by encircling them, the game opened up for real-time action where you could go about clearing a stage in numerous ways.

The object of the game is to box in the spinning helix – known as QIX – by filling in 75% of the screen with boxes of color, all while avoiding and disarming enemies trying to get the best of you. Make sure that the helix itself won’t touch your line-drawing before a new box has been completed. As the game progresses, the QIX will divide itself into more helixes to make the game more challenging and rewarding.

ELEVATOR ACTION from 1983 was the first Taito arcade game in the US being offered both as a brand-new dedicated arcade cabinet and as conversion kits. The latter were marketed to arcade halls as “limited quantity… conversion kits that can turn your idle games into real money-makers!”, and they surely did. You play as Agent 17, a highly trained sharpshooter operative code name “Otto”, on his mission to steal secret government documents hidden in a top-security enemy defence building.

Starting your game on the roof, Otto makes his way down through the building by elevators and escalators, disarming or sneaking past every enemy he’ll come across. Behind red doors you’ll find secret files to pick up, while blue doors are filled with enemy agents… armed and lying in wait for ambush. You’ll have to hone your skills and have well-planned strategies to master all of the bullet-dodging, jumping and quick-on-the-draw accuracy needed to get the job done.

ALPINE SKI was a top-of-the-line sports game when it released in 1982, being marketed with the promise of “real enjoyment of skiing” and “realistic sound effects” to make the player “feel as if he were surrounded by snow at a ski resort in the mountains”. Who wouldn’t want to take this downhill skiing, slalom and ski-jump substitute for a couple of play sessions?

You’ll score points by maneuvering your skier around snowmobiles, beginner-level skiers and other obstacles, increasing your speed with the press of a button. The game starts out with downhill skiing, the second course being a slalom level where you must ski between the flags in classic slalom fashion. After this you’ll have an exciting 1-time give-it-all-you’ve-got ski-jump event. With a good enough score, you’ll be able to start again on the downhill course.

Last, but not the least in our four out of 10 games presentation, is THE NINJA WARRIORS from 1987. Here you’ll control either a ninja or the female counterpart, armed with swords and carrying a limited number of shuriken to make short of any enemy crossing your path. The arcade cabinet featured three monitors side-by-side and also offered 2-player co-op, sharply increasing the amount of ninja fun had together with a friend. While you’ll have to do without the three screen arcade cab awesomeness in this modern iteration, having your one screen overviewing all of the action, the co-op option is of course still included. 

Set in the futuristic year of 1993, your mission is to assist the former president of El Cabar and end the reign of an evil and murderous dictator that has taken control over the country, effectively having the former industrious and democratic nation heading for destruction. The arcade game was later followed by The Ninja Warriors on the SNES, as well as a recent remake called The Ninja Saviours: Return of the Warriors, a modern take that renewed the series popularity worldwide.