Bubble Bobble is a 1986 platform game developed and published by Taito for arcades. It was distributed in the United States by Romstar, and in Europe by Electrocoin. Players control Bub and Bob, two dragons that set out to save their girlfriends from a world known as the Cave of Monsters. In each level, Bub and Bob must defeat each enemy present by trapping them in bubbles and popping, who turn into bonus items when they hit the ground. There are 100 levels total, each becoming progressively more difficult.
Darius is a 1987 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Taito. Players control a starship named the Silver Hawk in its mission to destroy the Belser empire before they wipe out the planet Darius. Its gameplay involves traversing through a series of scrolling levels while destroying enemies and collecting power-up icons. It is notable for its unique three-screen panoramic display, upbeat soundtrack, and cute anime-influenced graphics.
Tomohiro Nishikado is a Japanese video game developer and engineer. He is the creator of the arcade shoot 'em up game Space Invaders, released to the public in 1978 by the Taito of Japan, often credited as the first shoot 'em up and for beginning the golden age of arcade video games. Prior to Space Invaders, he also designed other earlier Taito arcade games, including the shooting electro-mechanical games Sky Fighter (1971) and Sky Fighter II, the sports video game TV Basketball in 1974, the vertical scrolling racing video game Speed Race in 1974, the multi-directional shooter Western Gun in 1975, and the first-person combat flight simulator Interceptor (1975).
Primal Rage is a fighting game developed and released by Atari Games to arcades in the year 1994. The game takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth called "Urth". Players control one of seven large beasts that battle each other to determine the planet's fate. Matches feature many of the conventions of fighting games from the era, including special moves and gory finishing maneuvers. Ports were released for home consoles and personal computers. Efforts to perfectly emulate the arcade original have been unsuccessful due to the use of an unusual copy protection method. Toys, comics, a novel and other merchandise tie-ins were produced. The game sold more than 1.5 million copies.
Don Doko Don is a platform arcade game developed and released by Taito in 1989. In the game, the player(s) control two lumberjacks, Bob and Jim, with the objective being to clear the screen of all the enemies. Bob and Jim use their mallets to stun the enemies, pick up the enemies, then throw them at a wall, or other enemies to kill them off, resulting in bonus points. Bonus items also appear during stages that will have varying effects on the players.
The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest, known in Japan as The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends , is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series. It was advertised by SNK as a "special edition" of the series, as it featured most of the characters who appeared in the previous games.
The Fairyland Story is a platform arcade video game developed and published by Taito in 1985. In the game, the player controls the witch Ptolemy, with the objective being to clear the screen of all enemies. Ptolemy can use her wand to turn the enemies into large cakes, which she can then push off of platforms onto other enemies, which will squash them and award bonus points. Various Items that increase Ptolemy's projectile radius, as well as kill multiple enemies at the same time, will also appear throughout the stages.
Pit-Fighter is a fighting game developed by Atari Games and released as an arcade video game in 1990. It was Atari's first fighting game. The Japanese release was published by Konami. Home versions were published by Tengen.
A beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, while a number of modern games feature more open three-dimensional (3D) environments with yet larger numbers of enemies. The gameplay tends to follow arcade genre conventions, such as being simple to learn but difficult to master, and the combat system tends to be more highly developed than other side-scrolling action games. Two-player cooperative gameplay and multiple player characters are also hallmarks of the genre. Most of these games take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical, science fiction or fantasy themes.
Front Line is a military-themed run and gun video game released by Taito for arcades in November 1982. It was one of the first overhead run and gun games, a precursor to many similarly-themed games of the mid-to-late 1980s. Front Line is controlled with a joystick, a single button, and a rotary dial that can be pushed in like a button. The single button is used to throw grenades and to enter and exit tanks, while the rotary dial aims and fires the player's gun.
3 Count Bout is a wrestling arcade game released by SNK in 1993.
Arabian Fight (アラビアンファイト) is a scrolling beat 'em up video game released in arcades by Sega in 1992. Running on the Sega System 32 arcade system, the game displays pseudo-3D sprite-scaling graphics and supports cooperative multiplayer for up to four players.
Ben Bero Beh is a platform arcade game released by Taito in 1984. The player guides Dami-chan, a superhero, through an apartment complex which is on fire. Armed with a fire extinguisher, Dami-chan must make his way down the levels avoiding gas explosions, crumbling floors, damaged lighting fixtures, and various enemies that pop out of the doors. The goal is to extinguish the fire and rescue Dami-chan's girlfriend, Nao-chan.
Halley's Comet is an arcade video game created by Pacific Manufacturing Ltd and manufactured by its parent company Taito. Receiving a worldwide release in 1986, Halley's Comet is a vertically scrolling shooter where the player defends various planets around the Solar System from a direct collision with Halley's Comet and the various alien swarms which accompany it.
Metal Black is a 1991 scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Taito. Set in the dystopian future of 2052, players assume the role of rogue pilot John Ford taking command of the CF-345 Black Fly space fighter craft to defeat the Nemesis alien race and save humanity.
Gun Frontier is a 1990 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and originally published by Taito in Japan. Set on the fictional planet of Gloria in the 22nd century, where an alien race of space pirates known as the Wild Lizards have invaded the location and enslaved its inhabitants for gold extraction, players assume the role of settlers who were part of the planet's colonization team taking control of revolver-shaped fighter aircraft in an attempt to overthrow the invaders and free their surviving civilization from slavery.
Kaiser Knuckle, which is known outside of Japan as Global Champion, is a 1994 fighting game released for the arcades by Taito. Kaiser Knuckle was released during the fighting game trend of the 1990s that began with Capcom's Street Fighter II. It is planned to be included as part of the Taito Egret II mini console, marking its first re-release outside arcades.
Violence Fight [sic] (バイオレンスファイト), is a 1989 fighting arcade game developed and published by Taito.
The Ninja Warriors is a beat 'em up video game developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and published by Taito in Japan and North America in 1994 and by Titus in Europe in 1995. It is a follow-up to Taito's 1987 arcade game of the same title, and shares similar gameplay. The player can choose between playing as one of three ninja androids, each with different attributes and a unique set of moves including jumps, dashes, throws, and other attacks. The game was developed by the same team at Natsume that later developed Wild Guns (1994).
Taito Memories is a series of video game compilations published by Taito in Japan. A total of five collections were released from 2005 to 2007 — four on the PlayStation 2, and one on the PlayStation Portable. The PlayStation 2 entries each have twenty-five titles, while the PlayStation Portable game has sixteen. The collections contain arcade games developed by Taito throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A similar series of collections, Taito Legends, was released outside Japan in North America and Europe, which retained many of the games included in the Taito Memories collections. The first two compilations sold a total of 145,616 copies.
