Price: £34.99 (digital or physical)
Developer: ININ/Taito
Players: 1/2
The online stores are stuffed with retro collections today, and it can take an effort of will to want to drag those memories back up, especially when remakes, remasters and modern twists also make a tempting counter offer. (see Taito Milestones 2)
But ININ's Taito Milestones 3 is something I couldn't pass up thanks to the appearance of both Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands on the roster. Rarely has such simplistic but endless charm and perfect gameplay been captured by a bunch of cheery pixels.
Two true classics, they lit up arcades and 16-bit machines with their vibrance and jollity, and even though I own Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, there's always room on my SD card for these glorious challenges (also available as a physical release) in their original form.
Rolling from the mid-80s to the early-90s, there's plenty of side-scroller action with Rastan Saga 1 and 2, their threequel Warrior Blade, and Thunder Fox, all from the Arcade Archives collection.
With the ability to save your progress, there's the chance to get further into a game than you could when the 10ps ran out or it was time for dinner BITD. I might have got into the 50s on Bubble Bobble back on my Atari ST, but certainly, many of the later levels in most of these games are a mystery, and a couple I've never seen before, all part of the joy of a collection.
Ramping up the violence is the glorious carnage found in two-player Godfather-riff-off, Dead Connection. Along with the RPG-stylings of Cadash, and a spot of fun sports in Champion Wrestler, there's plenty of bite-sized action for most arcade fans.
With online rankings, you can also compare scores. And there are display frames and CRT filters if you want to add that extra bit of retro vibe. I guess if you only fancy one game you can pick up the Arcade Archives original, but as a collection this can easily suck up a few hours a day as you skip between bouts of sword, gun and rainbow play.
No matter how much you swear by modern shooters and epic sci-fi exploration, there's got to be a place in any gamer's heart for bouncing on bubbles and rainbows. As the latest way to enjoy those delights, Taito Collection 3 comes heartily recommended.
Score 4/5
