![Taito Egret II Mini](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.timeextension.com/ed1aac50f1e52/taito-egret-ii-mini.900x.jpg)
Update #2 [Thu 24th Aug, 2023 16:40 BST]: The ten games that will be included in Taito Egret II Mini Arcade Memories Vol.2 were revealed in a special Famitsu livestream earlier today.
According to Famitsu's website, these titles will include:
- Night Striker (1989)
- Return of the Invaders (1985)
- Crime City (1989)
- Cloud Master/Chuka Taisen (1988)
- Wardner/Pyros (1987)
- Twin Cobra 2 (1995)
- Thundercade/Twin Formation (1987)
- Wyvern F-0 (1985)
- Operation Wolf (1987)
- And Yūyu no Quiz de Go! Go! (1990)
Pre-orders are open in Japan starting from today on Amazon.jp, with three options available to buyers.
The first option costs ¥8778 and includes the game, a copy of the A4 strategy book Dengeki Taito Station Volume 3, a mini instruction card for each title, and special Taito 70th anniversary stickers. There are also two more options available that bundle the above with the Taito Egret II Mini (¥19,778) and the Taito Egret II Mini + Cyberstick controller (¥28,578).
Update #1 [Thu 10th Aug, 2023 09:30 BST]: Taito Egret II Mini Arcade Memories Vol. 2 will be released on Thursday, December 21st, 2023 in Japan – and the games included on it will be announced in a live stream on August 24th.
Original Story [Thu 2nd Mar, 2023 10:45 GMT]: A recent addition to the ranks of retro-focused micro-consoles, the Taito Egret II Mini has a lot of tricks up its sleeve – including a rotating display and optional trackball/paddle controller.
Another cool feature is the ability to expand the library of supported games via the Egret II Mini's SD card slot. We've already had Arcade Memories Vol. 1, which came packed with titles such as Slap Fight, Twin Hawk and Gekirindan, and it has now been revealed that a second volume is in the works.
Given Taito's long and proud history in the realm of arcade games, there's still plenty of scope left in this series. What titles would you like to see included in this and future Arcade Memories volumes? Let us know with a comment below.
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[source twitter.com]
Comments 23
And now we'll have to wait if we were monitoring volume 1's price, because the 2nd is probably going to be available bundled with the 1st and cheaper, just like what happened with volume 1 and the Egret II Mini, cheaper together than apart. Damn it.
The pricing of the first volume is... not aligned with what I am willing to spend, shall we say. They'll have to do a lot better in terms of pricing and game quality for me to consider it.
Honestly, I feel like pretty much all of the decent to good Taito arcade games are already available... we're not missing much.
Yeah, interested, but not at the price it'll go for.
actually insane how taito keeps fumbling their legacy content every step they take recently
yea, the first volume costs over $100CAD (including shipping) just for 10 games on amazon japan. i have been watching for a price drop and still nothing of note. these expansion carts should have been priced at $40CAD. hopefully they will slash the price of volume 1 in the near future and then i'll consider it. unfortunate that the egret II never got hacked by the community to allow us to add more roms to it either.
@Porco it has, I wouldn't mess with mine personally but it seems pretty easy.
@mjparker77 that's news to me. thanks for the info. compard to the nes/snes/ps1 classic this doesn't sound very user friendly... hopefully someone will make the process easier. as it stands, i wouldn't want to mess with it either haha.
And STILL no bloody Chase HQ!!! >
I love my Egret II Mini and I’ll be preordering this pack as soon as it goes up on Amazon JP.
I thought Vol. 1 was an ok value - 10 games with Hamster pricing, essentially. These packs come with a snazzy case, insert cards and a lovely guidebook covering all 10 games plus interviews. I think producer Ega-P and co. are doing archival-quality work, but yeah, there is a language barrier that reduces the value for many people.
Gladiator, Gekirindan, and LightBringer were my faves in vol 1.
Since Night Striker is in vol. 2, I don’t see why they couldn’t port Chase HQ. I desperately want them to announce Zookeeper this time!
@Guru_Larry
There seems to be a strange reluctance to port it since the PS2 era, for some reason. I'd have said it's the controls, but the Arcade Archives version of Pole Pisition has just done a great job.
@mjparker77 Makes me wonder if they are planning a steering wheel controller in the future, Taito made a couple of racing games.
@Guru_Larry
A few fans I’ve listened to in Japan are predicting (or maybe just hoping) the Egret will be compatible with that huge Cyber Stick controller that came out last year together with the Mega Drive Mini 2. They pitched it to After Burner fans, but it’ll work great for Night Striker, too.
But yeah, a steering wheel would be best for Chase HQ, for sure.
Just another half day till they announce the games for Vol. 2! The livestream will be at 7:00am tomorrow for us easterners in the US, so I’ll have to catch it on my lunch break. They announced the games will be between 1985 and 1995, which eliminates Zoo Keeper, sadly. I hope they include heavy hitters like Chase HQ and Galactic Storm and sell enough so we can get a Vol. 3 next year (with Zoo Keeper). 😅
That's a pretty crappy line-up. Oh well.
10 games.
10. GAMES.
only 10 GAMES?
10 games.
wow! the bundle that includes the cyberstick + volume 2 cart costs a whopping $325.95(CAD), including shipping. for some reason, they are pricing this bundle significantly more than the actual egret hardware itself + volume 2 which is kind of crazy.
The lineup looked fun to me, and the Cyber Stick will work with my Mega Drive Mini 2 as well, so I preordered Vol.2 plus the controller as a Xmas gift to myself 😁
You could say really it’s a 70th Anniversary present for Taito! Today (8/24/2023) is the official day. Like Producer Egappi-san said, this pack brings the Egret Mini up to 70 games. 70 games on Taito’s 70th bday. 🎂
I’ll look forward to playing Wardner, Night Striker, Crime City, and Operation Wolf. I hope that latter plays with the trackball, as well as the Cyber Stick (though a thumping uzi controller will forever be the definitive way to play).
Gotta say, though, I’m bummed there’s no belt-scrolling beat em up like Arabian Magic or Rastan III.
@Porco
It is nuts how expensive that controller is - Amazon JP sells it for JPY26,000 on its own, or JPY28,585 bundled with the Vol. 2 cartridge.
I probably wouldn’t have invested if the yen wasn’t so weak vs USD right now.
I have an Egret II Mini, and I am interested in several of these games... but I just can't justify that price point, especially with shipping from Japan. I'd rather wait until the better games are available on Nintendo Switch via Arcade Archives, if they're not there already.
@JJtheTexan
I can understand your reasoning - the Egret hardware and game packs are priced so high, they’re not going to appeal to many people outside of Japan.
AFAIK Hamster hasn’t ported any of the 20 Arcade Memories expansion pack games to Arcade Archives yet. It’s probably just a matter of time, though. Most of the best games on the base Egret have been Hamstered. They’re doing amazing work! Bosconian this week!
@Teksetter yea. the $60CAD shipping fee does not help matters at all sadly
@Guru_Larry Hello you! I wasn't expecting to see you on this fine website!
@Agent_P I've had a couple of articles on here too int he past ^_^
Much like the first one, this is just too expensive for what it is. I enjoy these mini-arcade deals as a relatively low priced novelty, but when they become as expensive as a legitimate modern console I simply lose interest. I'd probably just buy one of those Arcade 1-Up deals over this as I could at least get some games I really love and want with that. Taito just doesn't have enough games that I consider that appealing.
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