Not long after we published our first story about Taito's upcoming miniature arcade cabinet, the Egret II Mini, Taito has now announced the final assortment of games that will be included on the unit. The final announcement adds two more co-op classics: Darius Gaiden and The Ninja Kids, bringing the total number of built-in co-op games for the Egret II Mini up to 12.
Here are the final seven out of 40 games that will be included on the Egret II Mini. Bolded titles feature 2-player co-op:
- Dan-Ku-Ga (unreleased update to Kaiser Knuckle, 1995)
- Darius Gaiden (1994)
- Lupin III (1980)
- The Ninja Kids (1990)
- Outer Zone (1984)
- Tatsujin (1988)
- Volfied (1989)
The final two out of 10 games that will be included with the Paddle & Trackball Expansion set are:
- Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH (1987)
- Marine Date (1981)
Darius Gaiden
This batch of games is missing some co-op titles that I really hoped for (especially Rastan Saga 2 and Warrior Blade), but the two cooperative titles that made the cut are still worthwhile.
Darius Gaiden is one of the best side-scrolling shoot 'em ups of all time, featuring 26 branching levels, gorgeous 2D graphics, a haunting Zuntata soundtrack, and the traditional space-fish charm of Darius. If the Egret II Mini is only going to include one Darius, at least it's the best one.
As for The Ninja Kids, it's a wacky ninja-themed beat 'em up with four selectable characters and a cartoonish art style. The game's only big negative is that some of the enemies resemble racist caricatures when judged by Western standards. Would Warrior Blade (also a beat 'em up) have been a better choice over The Ninja Kids? Undoubtedly, but oh well.
The Ninja Kids
The full 40 games included on the Egret II Mini:
- Adventure Canoe (1982)
- Bubble Bobble (1986)
- Bubble Memories (1995)
- Bubble Symphony (1994)
- Cadash (1989)
- Chack'n Pop (1983)
- Dan-Ku-Ga (unreleased update to Kaiser Knuckle, 1995)
- Darius Gaiden (1994)
- Don Doko Don (1989)
- Elevator Action (1983)
- Elevator Action Returns (1994)
- Fairyland Story (1985)
- Growl (1990)
- Gun Frontier (1990)
- Halley's Comet (1986)
- Hat Trick Hero (1990)
- Kaiser Knuckle (1994)
- Kiki KaiKai (1986)
- The Legend of Kage (1985)
- Liquid Kids Adventure (1990)
- Lunar Rescue (1979)
- Lupin III (1980)
- Metal Black (1991)
- New Zealand Story (1988)
- The Ninja Kids (1990)
- Outer Zone (1984)
- Pirate Pete (1982)
- Puzzle Bobble 2X (1995)
- Qix (1981)
- Raimais (1988)
- Rainbow Islands EXTRA (1988)
- Rastan Saga (1987)
- RayForce (1993)
- Scramble Formation (1986)
- Space Invaders (1978)
- Steel Worker (1980)
- Tatsujin (1988)
- Twin Cobra (1987)
- Violence Fight (1989)
- Volfied (1989)
The Full 10 games included with the Paddle & Trackball Expansion set:
- Arkanoid (1986)
- Arkanoid Returns (1997)
- Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH (1987)
- Birdie King (1982)
- Cameltry (1989)
- Marine Date (1981)
- Plump Pop (1987)
- Puchi Carat (1997)
- Strike Bowling (1982)
- Syvalion (1988)
The Taito Egret II Mini is scheduled for release on March 2, 2022 in Japan only. It will be offered with several optional controllers, including the Paddle & Trackball Expansion Set, which adds 10 games to the Egret II Mini. The mini cabinet itself features a rotatable screen, HDMI output, two controller ports, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack. It will be powered by USB.
Even if this mini cabinet remains exclusive to Japan, it can be preordered from several online retailers. Amazon.jp’s price for the Egret II Mini by itself is 21,379 Yen (~$194) shipped and 69,561 Yen (~$629) shipped for the complete package with all controllers.
Check the Japanese Egret II Mini website for more details. Our thanks to Jake Kevin McNeil of the Consoles & Handhelds Facebook Group for his help with researching this story.