How? How in the hell did a Taito game collection get a perfect arcade rating? That's what my friend James asked me as I was going through the rounds in Zoo Keeper, trying to keep all those damn zoo animals confined in walls as they managed to gnaw away at bricks (because, you know, they're part of a good dietary plan, those bricks). I told him it's not what the title has to offer on the surface, but the depths it goes to. I mean, any collection can be put together like a flash in the pan and then released for a quickie buck. A few previous releases have proven that. But to actually delve into company history, talk with producers, and so on...there's the gold mine. Now, being an arcade historian (or what some might call a "nut"), I can honestly say that Taito Legends fully delivers on every count, and should be owned by everyone- not just arcade "nuts".

Anyway, I figured I'd break each game down real quick and then talk about the presentation from there. That's the way I usually break down a collection like this, just so you get an idea of how I weigh in with each title.

Jungle Hunt- Originally known as Jungle King but eventually changed due to some legal threats from the creators of the Tarzan books, Hunt puts you in control of some explorer who must swing on vines, jump and duck to avoid rocks, swim in water and stab alligators, and eventually save his girl from headhunters. These stages are structured so they ramp up in difficulty, but still remain fun to play. And, yes, it's still got that fun music in the background.

The New Zealand Story- Control a kiwi bird with weapons as he makes his way through a zoo, rescuing his fellow captured kiwis and eventually taking on the most evil walrus in the world. Not one of my personal favorites, but the game is a fun platforming effort with some tricks up its sleeve.

The Ninja Kids- Oh, my God. This is Taito at its best, when they take off on an unbeaten path and go completely wacko on game design, and yet still come up with a winner. Think of the formula for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but, instead of battling ninjas, you battle Satanists. You heard that right. And instead of turtles, you have Sesame Street-styled ninjas who have wacky animations. This game is just insane fun, especially with friends, even if it's over in a few stages.

Operation Wolf- Take control of a lone soldier and shoot everything in sight in an effort to rescue hostages that have been captured by a terrorist faction. Not a terrific game by any means, since it's been outdone as of late by better games like Virtua Cop and the Time Crisis series, but it manages to entertain.

Operation Thunderbolt- The sequel to Wolf, where a comrade tags along and more terrorists have to be taken down. It's nothing significant, but you do get to work alongside a friend in blasting enemies, and two is always better than one.

Phoenix- Mostly ancient Galaxian wannabe where you shoot at different birds before eventually getting to their mother ship in an attempt to blast it apart. Shooting fans should enjoy it.

Plotting- This is another long-lost favorite of mine, released in arcades and then shortly after on the Game Boy under the name Flipull. In the game, you have to eliminate tiles from a playfield within a certain amount of time and moves, and shouldn't get stuck with a tile that you can't hit other blocks with. It's really quite a skillful game, and, again, you can take on a friend to see who's the master of the grinning orange globs.

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