Released simultaneously with Taito Arcade 1, this second collection features more hidden gems, along with some genuinely iconic classics from the golden age of arcade gaming.

The big cover star is Tiki the Kiwi from The New Zealand Story, a title which was critically acclaimed back in its day.

It’s a cute platformer with some interesting mechanics and nicely designed levels; though I was more familiar with its various home conversions back when it was released, I’m so glad to have the arcade original on this cartridge.

It’s a beautiful game, visually, and still great fun to play.

Operation Wolf is another very fondly remembered game, but it really loses something in translation here (as it did when included on the Taito Super Pocket too). Of course, if you’re as old as I am, and have been a fan of gaming for almost as long as you’ve been alive (yes, just like me), then you’ll know that Operation Wolf was a light gun shooter with a weighty Uzi fixed to its arcade cabinet. Without that, and with using the dpad to move a cursor around the screen, it’s just not the same experience. It’s a cool game, but one that’s definitely not best suited to the hardware.

Elevator Action is another Taito classic which holds up quite well today, primitive audiovisual design aside. Your little secret agent must use elevators and stairs to descend to the bottom of a building, pursued by gun wielding enemies all the way down. It’s addictive stuff, and has some really interesting mechanics; Elevator Action is definitely one of my favourite Taito games of all time!

The final title I’d truly consider well known on this cartridge is Rastan, a hack and slash platformer which I was really obsessed with in the arcades. It’s still pretty good, though it’s obvious now that the main character’s movement, and his attacks, aren’t nearly as practical as they need to be, leading to some frustration with the design of the game.

Alpine Ski is the oldest game on the cartridge, being an arcade release from 1981. You’ll first ski down a mountain, and then try to perform a jump on the next stage. It’s ok, and very of-its-time; however, I found it a little too frustrating to be all that enjoyable.

The Electric Yo-Yo is a bit of an oddity from the year after Alpine Ski was released; the best way I can describe it is as sort of a free form Pac-Man style dot collector, albeit with your character being a Yo-Yo, moving around a grid of squares to collect them. It takes a little getting used to, but can be quite addictive once you get the hang of its unusual mechanics.

Kiki Kaikai is a top down shooter, I suppose broadly in the vein of Capcom’s Commando, albeit in a traditional Japanese setting with cool monsters and ghosts as enemies. It’s another fun title which definitely qualifies as a hidden gem.

Volfied is a strange, territory control game which is sort of a spiritual successor to Taito’s earlier arcade game, Qix. A lovely, pixel art, sci-fi style make this a bit more visually appealing than its predecessor, and its unique gameplay, if a bit on the frustratingly challenging side, is still pretty compelling.

Lastly, platformer Liquid Kids feels a bit like an upgraded, scrolling Bubble Bobble, with cool water-based powers for your character and a gorgeous visual style that’s aged beautifully.

Though lacking titles as instantly appealing as Space Invaders or Bubble Bobble, Taito Arcade 2 is another worthy addition to any Evercade owner’s collection. Several games make excellent use of the Evercade EXP’s TATE mode too, which is always a good thing!

You can buy Taito Arcade 2 from Amazon.

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