Taito Egret II Mini - another mini arcade!

Phantoon said:

Congratulations! What's your favourite game on it so far?

I wish SNK would redo the Neo Geo Mini to be more this level of quality. I have it next to my Astro City Mini and my Egret Mini and it's obviously the poor cousin.

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I bought this for Elevator Action Returns as it's one of my absolute favorites and I couldn't pass up a way to play an arcade perfect port (Taito Legends 2's version was adequate but had some bad slowdown, messed up the machine gun, and was a little smudged). I played through that last night as my way of testing it out and BAM it's definitive. I only dabbled with the Kaiser Knuckle sequel afterwards (which was fun but I need to understand HOW to play it before I get much deeper into it), but I'm excited to really dig in this weekend.

PSA: Since this thing doesn't come with a power supply, apparently some folks are having issues, depending on what you're using. Details on the issue here.

I used the Astro City Mini plug and had no issues so far. Hopefully that continues...

I heard Metal Jesus Rocks was having issues with this. He's right... these damn things should just come with the necessary power adapter, instead of just the cable.

I'm certainly paying enough that they could throw in an adapter. Honestly, for what I'm paying, it should be delivered to me on a sedan chair carried by glistening Adonises, but I'd settle for the adapter.

You may have to wait for the Cho Aniki mini arcade cabinet to get that treatment.

This thing is a hit with the rest of the family, unlike the Astro City Mini and Neo Geo Mini it's right next to. Taito > SNK and Sega, you heard it here first.

I've always said so.

My Egret finally shipped today! Looking back at the timeframes of my previous SLG orders it looks like shipping takes about two weeks, but we're in the endgame now.

Heads up: a firmware update is coming on September 5th for the Egret II Mini!


There's also a stream planned on the 2nd covering the update...and possibly more?

Wow, they really are going above and beyond here

Ten new games are coming via Arcade Memories Vol. 1:

• Cleopatra Fortune
• Gekirindan
• Lightbringer (Dungeon Magic)
• Riding Fight
• Grid Seeker
• PuLiRuLa
• Daisenpu (Twin Hawk)
• Slap Fight
• Gladiator
• Great Swordsman

Launching 12/22/22 for about 9000 yen. Waiting patiently for the Amazon.jp listing to go live lol.

Firmware will be landing on Sept. 5th as I noted before. It'll require a SD card to perform, so just be aware!

Edit: Longer overview vid released!

Here's English instructions for the firmware update:

What's this part about?

• (Those who have a paddle & trackball game expansion set)
  Changed so that 50 titles are displayed in the top menu when the paddle controller is connected.
  * If you insert the SD card of "Paddle & Trackball Game" after the update, 10 titles will start with the contents before the update.
  If you play in this state, there is a risk that the save data will be inconsistent, so please do not insert the SD card after the update, and connect only the "paddle & trackball controller" to the main unit.
  "Please play."

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If I'm reading this correctly, the SD card that comes with the paddle controller is now obsolete, and just plugging in the paddle controller itself causes the 10 additional games to become selectable? Is that right?

also please spare a thought for my Egret, which is currently in customs in New York. God willing and the creek don't rise I should have it in the next few days. I'M SO EXCITED

Vaeran said:

What's this part about?



If I'm reading this correctly, the SD card that comes with the paddle controller is now obsolete, and just plugging in the paddle controller itself causes the 10 additional games to become selectable? Is that right?

Click to expand...

Having just tested it out, yes, the SD card is now obsolete if it detects the paddle controller. And yes, the paddle feels better. I'm still terrible at Arkanoid but it feels more on me than the controls, haha.

Good to know, thanks! Best of luck on your Arkanoid journey.

Haha thanks, I'll be more excited to play Puchi Carat and Plump Pop, tho, haha.

I guarantee two United States Customs agents are sitting playing Bubble Bobble on my fucking Egret even as I type this.

"Holy shit. Check this out, Simmons. [rotates screen]"
"Well I'll be god damned. We gotta start this whole inspection over again."

My Egret arrived safe and sound on Saturday! I performed the firmware update and then spent the rest of the weekend playing it. It's great! I'm already familiar with some of these games from the Taito Legends collections on PS2, but even in those cases it's been a minute so they're largely fresh to me.

I chose Rastan Saga as my first game, as it's the first one I have a clear memory of playing as a kid. I don't think I ever got past the first couple screens in the 80s because it's hard as shit, but with the help of save states I'm inching my way through it. After playing through a few stages of Rastan I looped back around to Space Invaders and have been working my way through the collection in chronological order* so I can appreciate Taito's evolution over the decades. Right now I'm just getting a taste of each game, and then once I reach the end I'll go back and start really focusing down on the ones I enjoy.

I'm finding things to appreciate about each game, even the very simple early ones -- Lunar Rescue, for example, doesn't have a lot of complexity going on but it's a fun and kind of addicting gameplay loop, especially for a game from 1979. The only two I've really bounced off of hard so far were Steel Worker and Chack'n Pop. I'm sure I'll go back and give them another chance eventually, but for now I'm more excited to get to the latter-day titles like Darius Gaiden and Elevator Action Returns.

* Except I forgot to include the trackball games in that order! Whoops. I'll have to rectify that tonight.

I quite liked Lunar Rescue too!

Steel Worker and Chack'n Pop are definitely odd ones. I think Chack'n might be my least favorite game on there outside of Violence Fight, actually. The game's mechanics and controls just kinda work against itself.

Glad you like it, it's an amazing little thing. Puzzle Bobble is so damn good, and Growl is so insane it's great.

Man, Cadash seems so cool. It's an action platformer but also a whole-ass RPG, with towns and villagers to talk to and shops and equipment. I got through the first couple areas well enough but now I'm in this little dwarf village and I'm too big to fit in any of the shops! This may be the one game on here that's really hurt by my dumb ass's inability to read Japanese despite engaging with Japanese media for 25 years now.

I think I got stuck there too, haha. Need to look up a FAQ at some point.

Have you asked Link if you can borrow his Minish cap?

Legend speaks of a man who will emerge from the mists to challenge Taito's TATSUJIN (1988). No one shall know his name, and his face shall be unknown to the townsfolk. He will be unlike any player the world has ever seen. Crowds will gather to witness his feats.

"How will I know him?" asked the shepherd's boy.

You will know him by his inability to clear the first stage even with save states and like, fifty attempts.

"Wow. What a total dingus."

Indeed.

I've gotten my Arcade Memories V.1 in the mail today and given the 10 games some time, so I've written down my thoughts!


Short version: I think this is worth the price of admission, especially for Cleopatra Fortune, PuLiRuLa and Gekirindan, but all 10 are interesting and were good to amazing exploring!

Famitsu will be livestreaming the reveal of Taito's third Egret II Mini expansion, Arcade Memories V.2, on August 24th at 4am PST. Night Striker is one of the ten games that'll be included! It'll be out in December.

Very exciting news! After Arcade Memories Vol. 1 came out, I put together a little wishlist of games I'd like to see on Vol. 2, in some cases because I'm familiar with ZUNTATA's music only and want to experience the games it was written for. In no particular order:

• Night Striker (1989) - Already confirmed! No matter how the rest of it shakes out, at least I got one.
• Arabian Magic (1992) - Lovely and vibrant beat-em-up that was on Taito Legends 2.
• Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode III (1991) - The original Rastan is the first game I have a clear memory of playing in the arcade, so this series is special to me.
• Chase H.Q. (1988) - They've got to, right? This is one of Taito's most famous games.
• Psychic Force (1995) - I'll take either this or its sequel, Psychic Force 2012 (1998). Or both!
• Operation Wolf (1987) - Another one I remember from the arcade. It's probably not a lot of fun without a light gun, but maybe they can make it work? Admittedly a longshot.
• Galactic Storm (1992) - I only know of this one through its music, but PROTMIND and Electric Brain Emperor are ZUNTATA concert staples.
• Insector X (1989) - Also on Taito Legends 2.

Anyone else hoping for any titles in particular?

Here's twelve I'd be happy to see (and I'd love to see what you suggested as well, Vaeran):



Arabian Magic – This two player beat em up was interesting enough when I gave it a go on Taito Legends II back in the day, so I’d appreciate a revisit!



Chase H.Q. – Arguably the most famous Taito arcade game missing from the original lineup not named Darius or The Ninja Warriors, I’d like to hope that this racing/action title would be considered as an option for an expansion.



Master of Weapon – A pretty wild vertical shooter with a lot of background damage and intense firefights, I’d love to see more of Taito’s efforts in the genre appear.



Raystorm – Its 3D nature may compromise its chances, but I would not complain one bit if this iconic shoot-em-up classic decided to wiggle onto the Egret…although the upcoming Ray’z collection could eliminate its inclusion even more…



Plotting – AKA Flipull, this is a rather unique puzzler where you toss a piece at a matching one to clear it from the side. Curious how this might work!



Pop n Pop – A Magical Drop-like with Taito characters as avatars? Sign me up, lol.



Space Seeker – This early genre hopping shooter changes perspective and gameplay styles as you go; color me very intrigued that a game from 1982 is doing this!



Time Gal – Arguably too technical thanks to the extensive animation, this Dragon’s Lair style adventure would still be a pretty rad inclusion. It was confirmed for a separate Switch release, so I’m more doubtful it’ll be on the Egret II at all now, but hey, it’d be neat all the same.



Typhoon Gal – This early proto-fighter is one of the first to star a woman in such a role. I gave the Arcade Archive a shot and liked it, so I’d love to see it get included on the Egret!



FixEight – Toaplan is continuing their support with Arcade Memories V.1, so let’s get weird with their inclusions. This overhead run-n-gun looks pretty interesting, and I’d like to see how it plays!



Zero Wing – Better known for its kooky localization on the Genesis, the arcade original would be a great and a notable shooting icon from Toaplan.



Wardner – Last but not least, Toaplan’s platformer has some nostalgic clout, and would be fascinating to experience.