The desire to own retro-based gaming hardware is usually steeped in authenticity. We don’t just want to play older games, but to do so in a manner that reflects our original experiences. The uptick in mini-variants of arcade cabinets and classic consoles being released each year despite the ease of emulation is proof of that. The latest example: the Taito Egret II Mini.
Originally released in 1996, the Egret II arcade cabinet stood out thanks to its large rotating screen – a mechanism that allowed for horizontal and vertical alignments – and Taito’s library of games. This Miniaturized version is nearly identical. Sporting its own rotating screen, 40 pre-installed games, and solid controls, the Egret II Mini is comparable to some of the Best Arcade Cabinets currently available.
Taito Egret II Mini – Design and Features
At first glance, Taito’s Egret II Mini looks just like its larger counterpart. The joystick and buttons have a blue color scheme as opposed to pink/purple and there’s only room for one set of controls. Everything else, from the side paneling to the placement of its stereo speakers (held right above the screen) is basically identical. Just a lot smaller.
The Egret II Mini doesn’t take up a lot of room. Weighing about a pound or two, with a width and height sitting around 5.10 and 8.5 inches respectively, it can be safely planted on most coffee tables. The joystick and buttons are of relative size, with a shrunken control deck that only allows for solo play. The placement of each component is reflective of the original Egret II’s design though.
While the Egret II Mini is small, its screen seems large when compared to the rest of the unit. The 5-inch 4:3 display (with a resolution of 1024x768) takes up a decent amount of real estate, making Taito’s games appear bigger than they actually are. This becomes more impressive when you start rotating the screen. Press into its sides and you’ll get a nice “click” just before the screen pops out. From here, you can rotate it to the left or right (depending on its current position) for a horizontal or vertical position. Vertical scrolling Shoot’em Ups like RayForce, for instance, look better when using the correct orientation.
When it comes to its frame, the Egret II Mini seems rather sturdy. I didn’t get the impression that it was made with cheap materials. I wouldn’t recommend dropping the Egret II of course. Wrapped in what appears to be a hard plastic, I’d imagine that landing on a hard enough surface would result in more than a chipped corner. That said, it does feel solid enough to take a fall from a low height.
Beyond the retro aesthetics and durable casing, there’s also a few modern elements. The back of the Egret II, for instance, is where all of its wires are connected. To the left of the power switch are two USB Type-A ports for extra controllers, an HDMI output, 3.5mm jack, and a USB Type-C port for power. Note that the unit we got didn’t come with a power brick; you can use a PC or laptop to power the Egret II if your phone charger doesn’t use a USB Type-A connection. The right side of the Mini sports a SD card slot for additional games. On the bottom, under the joystick is a toggle that switches between 8 and 4 directional inputs while the top offers space for the Instruction Panel that holds interchangeable mini-instruction cards.
The Egret II Mini will be sold in three different bundles. Each comes with different items, though the arcade machine itself is always the same. The version I received for review was the Limited Blue Edition – the base bundle that comes with a special cup, cup holder, and the mini-instruction cards. Our early model didn’t come with any of those extra items. However, my unit did include two optional controllers that are normally sold separately.
The Egret II Mini Control Pad feels akin to most retro console-based controllers. It sports a six-button layout, a slightly raised D-pad, and a 2-meter-long USB cable. The Control Pad worked well with most of the games featured on the Egret II. The Paddle and Trackball Game Expansion Set proved a bit more interesting. This special controller comes with a SD card with 10 additional games, all of which require a trackball or paddle to be played.
Taito Egret II Mini – Performance
For the most part, I enjoyed my time with Taito’s Egret II Mini. This was partially due to the solid list of games. Darius Gaiden is still a classic Shoot’em Up. My wife and I can never get enough of Puzzle Bobble (aka Bust-a-Move). And while my nostalgia did most of the heavy lifting, I did find myself enjoying some of the games I’d never played before; though it wasn’t as popular as Street Fighter or Samurai Shodown, Kaizer Knuckle is a fighter worth checking out.
I spent hours jumping from game to game. Spinning the screen to play Gun Frontier vertically before reverting to horizontal display for some Rastan Saga – think Rygar but better. Adding a second player was as easy as connecting one of the extra controllers. Just press the small blue button at the top of the control deck to “insert coins”, have both players hit start and off you go.
Going back to authenticity, it isn’t just the classic roms that makes the Egret II Mini seem great. It’s also the overall presentation. The front of the Mini cabinet lighting up when it’s turned on, auto playing demos, the sound it makes when picking a game or adding credits – all of it adds to the retro vibe. Honestly, there’s just a lot to love here. And that’s before adding the extra 10 games found on the expansion set.
The Egret II Mini also came with some modern features. Save states are pretty standard at this point. I was pleased to see the return of rapid fire though. This function actually helped to alleviate a control issue. Because the control deck is rather small, playing a game that required a lot of repetitive button mashing quickly led to fatigued muscles and hand cramping. I didn’t experience carpal tunnel or anything but I did have to take breaks, use rapid fire or swap to the Control Pad.
Everything worked as expected. Picking what to play was simple thanks to a grouping mechanic that sorted games by name, release date or by favorites; putting a star next to the ones you liked excluded everything else. All of the games loaded quickly even when connected to a TV using the included HDMI cable.
As good as the Egret II Mini sounds, it does have a few issues worth mentioning. For one, there isn’t a volume dial on the cabinet. The only way to adjust the volume is via the console settings on the main screen. There are no options available in-game. Meaning that you’d have to exit whatever game you were playing each time you wanted to change the volume. The same goes for brightness, filters, language settings and so on.
Speaking of language settings, a lot of the included games are in Japanese with no option to change them. The global settings (offering Japanese, English and simplified/traditional Mandarin) only pertain to the Egret II’s menus, not the games themselves. This isn’t always a problem – it shouldn’t be too hard to pick a mode in Puzzle Bobble – though games like the action RPG Cadash may prove to be a bit difficult to understand and play.
There’s also the expansion set’s SD card. Bundled with the Paddle and Trackball controller, it offers 10 extra games to be played on the Egret II. Unfortunately, you can’t just insert the SD card and start playing. You first have to turn off the Egret II as doing so will allow the cabinet to swap the included 40 games for the extra 10; you can’t have them all loaded up at the same time. This minor inconvenience wouldn’t necessarily ruin a given gaming session. However, because I could only play Paddle or Trackball games (including three different versions of Arkanoid) when the SD card was in use, I often opted to forgo the expansion set.
What did ruin my fun was the inclusion of The Ninja Kids arcade game due to its depiction of certain people of color. All of the game’s characters were made to look like marionettes, and everything is exaggerated or over-the-top. There are certain enemies, however, that resemble negative stereotypes. That includes Black people with bright red lips and Arabs depicted as terrorists. The cultist enemies loosely resemble klansmen. Basically, The Ninja Kids seems outright racist.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/nz3URsN
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