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Taito Egret II Mini - another mini arcade!

Phantoon

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
Taito have just announced the Egret II Mini which looks very much like Sega's Astro City Mini, which was a fantastic mini arcade. This can do a few more things though; if you're (figuratively) made of money you can but extra controllers with spinners and trackballs and add extra games. In addition, the (4:3) monitor can be spun around into TATE mode.

The games announced so far are as follows:

Originally released on one of Taito's numerous 8080-powered boards
  • Space Invaders (1978)
  • Lunar Rescue (1979)

Originally released for the Taito Q(ix) System board
  • Qix (1981)

Originally released for Taito's SJ System family of Z80-powered boards

  • Elevator Action (1983)
  • Chack'n Pop (1983)
  • Bubble Bobble (1986)

Originally released for Taito's X System family of 68000-powered boards
  • Rastan Saga (1987)
  • Rainbow Islands EXTRA (1988)
  • Cadash (1989)

Originally released for Taito's L System family of Dual Z80-powered boards
  • The NewZealand Story (1988)

Originally released for the Taito B System
  • Violence Fight (1989)

Originally released for the Taito F1 System board
  • Don Doko Don (1989)
  • Metal Black (1991)

Originally released for the Taito F2 System board
  • MizuBaku Adventure (1990)

Originally released for the Taito F3 System board
  • Kaiser Knuckle (1994)

The trackball / spinner controller will come with Strike Bowling, Arkanoid, Plump Pop, Syvalion, Cameltry and Arkanoid Returns.

I've got my preorder in; if it's as good as the Astro City Mini it's well worth the import and Taito have an embarrassment of great games that can be in this thing.
 
ArugulaZ

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
The flipping screen is a brilliant touch. I just hope you won't have to buy two of these machines to play Darius.
It's great that someone out there is offering a dial controller, but damn is that thing expensive. It seems you either have to pay through the nose for a spinner or roll your own.
 
Phantoon

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
Yeah, it's difficult to be sure until people get their hands on it but it looks like even more care went into this than the Astro City Mini, and that's fantastic already.
 
Klatrymadon

Klatrymadon

Rei BENSER PLUS
(he/him)
I thought I'd need to see some Rayforce and Darius Gaiden to be interested in this*, but Metal Black, Kaiser Knuckle, Raimais and the first port of Syvalion to have an appropriate controller have hooked me in! Also excited about the 4:3 rotatable screen (which looks sick), the 8- and 4-way switchable lever, the SD slot, the instruction cards not being permanent stickers, the great list of games, etc. Fingers crossed the emulation is alright, because everything else is in place for a good time.

*I'm sure these are to come!
 
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WildcatJF

WildcatJF

Let's Pock (Art @szk_tencho)
(he / his / him)
I want one, but nearly $500 to import one with the trackball is more than I can handle, haha. Hopefully Strictly Limited Games (who has done a lot with Taito's retro catalog the past couple years) will work out a deal to bring it overseas at a more reasonable price.

Regardless I'll look forward to seeing what else is on here; the starting lineup is solid. Elevator Action Returns has to be there for me to feel it's definitive, tho, haha.
 
Phantoon

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
The next batch of games has been released:

Steel Worker (1980)
Pirate Pete (1982, reskin of Jungle Hunt/King)
The Fairyland Story (1985)
Kage no Densetsu (The Legend of Kage) (1985)
Halley’s Comet (1986)
KiKiKaiKai (1986)
Scramble Formation (1986)
Raimais (1988)
Bubble Symphony (1994)
Elevator Action Returns (1994)

Looks like we've got a sale, @ShakeWell
 
ShakeWell

ShakeWell

Slam Master
(he, etc.)
Phantoon said:
The next batch of games has been released:

Steel Worker (1980)
Pirate Pete (1982, reskin of Jungle Hunt/King)
The Fairyland Story (1985)
Kage no Densetsu (The Legend of Kage) (1985)
Halley’s Comet (1986)
KiKiKaiKai (1986)
Scramble Formation (1986)
Raimais (1988)
Bubble Symphony (1994)
Elevator Action Returns (1994)

Looks like we've got a sale, @ShakeWell
Click to expand...

GIMME.
 
ArugulaZ

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
I'm familiar with most of those games to varying degrees (Scramble Formation is also known as Tokio, and by me, a reeking pile of crap), but Steel Worker? That's a new one on me. Judging from the manufacturer and the date of release, I'd guess it was a Space Invaders clone or at least running on that hardware.
 
Phantoon

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
Final set of games:

Lupin the 3rd (1980)
Outer Zone (1984)
Tatsujin (Truxton) (1988)
Volfied (Ultimate Qix) (1989)
The Ninja Kids (1990)
Darius Gaiden (1994)
Dan-Ku-Ga (unreleased update to Kaiser Knuckle (1995)
 
WildcatJF

WildcatJF

Let's Pock (Art @szk_tencho)
(he / his / him)
...they got the Lupin the 3rd license?

Anyway, I finally pulled the trigger on this. Ordering the arcade unit and the trackball/spinner controller separately resolved the outrageous shipping issue, oddly enough.

Okay, last edit: full lineup appears to be here. There was an announcement in between Phantoon's posts with the missing eight titles:

Adventure Canoe (1982)
Kyukyoku Tiger/Twin Cobra (1987)
Gun Frontier (1990）
Runark/Growl (1990)
Hat Trick Hero (1990)
RayForce (1993)
Puzzle Bobble 2X (1995）
Bubble Memories (1995)

The four remaining trackball titles are:
Marine Date (1981)
Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH (1987)
Puchi Carat (1997)
Birdie King (1982)
 
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WildcatJF

WildcatJF

Let's Pock (Art @szk_tencho)
(he / his / him)
So I compiled all of the games on this thing (and the trackball) and it's pretty damn amazing:
Space Invaders 1978
Lunar Rescue 1979
Lupin the 3rd 1980
Steel Worker 1980
Qix 1981
Adventure Canoe 1982
Pirate Pete 1982
Elevator Action 1983
Chack’n Pop 1983
Outer Zone 1984
The Fairyland Story 1985
Kage no Densetsu/The Legend of Kage 1985
Halley’s Comet 1986
KiKiKaiKai 1986
Scramble Formation 1986
Bubble Bobble 1986
Rastan Saga 1987
Kyukyoku Tiger/Twin Cobra 1987
Rainbow Island 1988
Tatsujin/Truxton 1988
New Zealand Story 1988
Raimais 1988
Don Doko Don 1989
Violence Fight 1989
Cadash 1989
Volfied/Ultimate Qix 1989
The Ninja Kids 1990
Liquid Kids Adventure 1990
Gun Frontier 1990
Runark/Growl 1990
Hat Trick Hero 1990
Metal Black 1991
RayForce 1993
Bubble Symphony 1994
Elevator Action Returns 1994
Kaiser Knuckle 1994
Darius Gaiden 1994
Dan-Ku-Ga (unreleased update to Kaiser Knuckle) 1995
Puzzle Bobble 2X 1995
Bubble Memories 1995

Trackball peripheral includes:
Marine Date 1981
Birdie King 1982
Strike Bowling 1982
Arkanoid 1986
Plump Pop 1987
Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH 1987
Syvalion 1988
Cameltry 1989
Arkanoid Returns 1997
Puchi Carat 1997

Overall this is a fantastic set of games with a lot of cruft ironed out. There's a few I wish were here; Cleopatra Fortune is one I would have liked, for instance, as it's one of the few puzzle games I enjoy. But damn, there's so much good, vital stuff on this thing.
 
Phantoon

Phantoon

I cuss you bad
Yeah, I kind of want to get the trackball but it's really quite expensive. I'd love Capcom and Konami to do answers to this, I'd love a mini arcade of this stuff.
 
Klatrymadon

Klatrymadon

Rei BENSER PLUS
(he/him)
It is, aye. I can't justify buying the cab at all at the moment, or ever, and really wish the games were being released as a pack for consoles alongside it. It's a very strong lineup showing off the (largely ingnored, imo) breadth and variety of Taito's output, and a couple of the games are being ported for the first time ever. Get 'em out there!
 
ArugulaZ

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
Taito's a brand of Square-Enix now, right? Is there any chance they would roll the dice on a US release? Or is the cab design too Japanese to make it worth the bother?
 
WildcatJF

WildcatJF

Let's Pock (Art @szk_tencho)
(he / his / him)
Klatrymadon said:
It is, aye. I can't justify buying the cab at all at the moment, or ever, and really wish the games were being released as a pack for consoles alongside it. It's a very strong lineup showing off the (largely ingnored, imo) breadth and variety of Taito's output, and a couple of the games are being ported for the first time ever. Get 'em out there!
Click to expand...

ArugulaZ said:
Taito's a brand of Square-Enix now, right? Is there any chance they would roll the dice on a US release? Or is the cab design too Japanese to make it worth the bother?
Click to expand...
Taito is indeed owned by Square-Enix.

Taito has been working with Strictly Limited Games and ININ Games for international releases of their Darius, Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble and Ninja Warriors Once Again games as of late, but they have yet to do any sort of hardware like this. It's POSSIBLE, and Taito is releasing a console compilation called "Taito Milestones" which seems to be bundling their Arcade Archives titles together, but it's unclear if that will come overseas or not (and isn't due out until February). It does have a few unique titles out of the eight announced:
  • The Ninja Warriors
  • Halley’s Comet
  • The Fairyland Story
  • Chack’n Pop
  • Elevator Action
  • Alpine Ski
  • Wild Western
  • Front Line
There's more titles to be confirmed, but you could look to what else Taito has put up through Hamster's service for expectations:
  • Pirate Pete
  • Ben Bero Beh
  • The Tin Star
  • KiKi KaiKai
  • The Legend of Kage
  • Time Tunnel
  • Water Ski
  • Bubble Bobble (I would be surprised if this was included, given it's an included perk for Bubble Bobble 4 Friends. It also hasn't come out on Switch)
Bolded means it is not on the Egret Mini II.
 
Vaeran

Vaeran

(GRUNTING)
(he/him)
UPDATE: I preordered it, proving once and for all that I cannot be trusted to handle my own finances

I also cannot wait until March.
 
Klatrymadon

Klatrymadon

Rei BENSER PLUS
(he/him)
Here's a video showing off the full selection of games:


It's really nice to see Dan-Ku-Ga there, an unreleased update to Kaiser Knuckle finally seeing the light of day.

Play Raimais and Outer Zone!
 
ArugulaZ

ArugulaZ

Fearful asymmetry
That music alone makes me want this! But alas, I must resist. Shame they won't take a chance in America, manufacture a ton of these systems, then cut the price to $30 when they won't sell like SNK did.
(Look, I'd LIKE this to be successful, but I'd like to be able to afford it, too...)
 
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