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 Next week sees the release of Taito Legends, a PC, PS2 and Xbox title that brings together numerous classic coin-op games under one banner. Included in the 29 games are Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Operation Wolf and Rainbow Islands. We spoke to the two men behind some of the most iconic games available in the compilation.
This article was originally published as a 'Making Of...' special in the October 2005 issue of Edge (E154). To order back issues call +44 (0)870 4448466 or click here to subscribe (click here if you are in the US).
Ask a bunch of Edge readers which company they'd pick as their favourite classic coin-op manufacturer and you'd get back the likes of Sega, Namco and, of course, Atari. Unfairly absent, though, might well be Taito, which, despite being the name behind Space Invaders, has somehow never quite received the recognition it deserves.
A good look at its back catalogue reveals that there are many reasons to sit Taito alongside those more routinely cited companies, not least a hefty amount of the titles featured on the upcoming Taito Legends, due later this year on PS2 and Xbox. The package brings together a bundle of titles, an early demo version revealing the following line-up: Aquajack, Battleshark, Bubble Bobble, Bubble Symphony, Colony 7, Continental Circus, Darius Gaiden, Dungeon Magic, The Electric Yo Yo, Elevator Action, Exzisus, Gladiator, Great Swordsman, Jungle Hunt, New Zealand Story, Operation Thunderbolt, Operation Wolf, Phoenix, Plotting, Plump Pop, Pop 'n' Pop, Rainbow Islands, Rastan Saga, Rayforce, Return Of The Invaders, Space Gun, Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part II, Super Qix, The Ninja Kids, Thunder Fox, Tokio, Tube-It, Volfied and Zoo Keeper. Not all of these games will make it on to the finished disc (indeed, Taito and UK publisher Xplosive have already confirmed that a second volume is in the works, due early next year), and, as with most collections of this ilk, it's a mixed bag, offering the infamous and the obscure, a quick play of the titles in the latter category usually enough to illustrate precisely why they were not singlehandedly responsible for creating ¥100 coin shortages across Japan.
By now you will have mentally bookmarked the titles you'll want to see in the package. Here, we talk to two of the men responsible for the some of the games that are highly likely to be in your reckoning.
 Q&A: Tomohiro Nishikado
(Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part II, Pop 'n' Pop)
When you made Space Invaders, how successful did you expect it would be?
I anticipated it would be a hit, but never thought it will be so huge. I was delighted to see it became popular, but I did not get overwhelmed by it, because actually I was already too busy working on the next project.
How long did it take to come up with the designs for the invaders themselves?
It was not an easy job. First, I thought of making tanks or airplanes as the targets to shoot, but it was technically hard to make airplanes look like they are actually flying. Human movement would have been easier, but I felt it would be immoral to shoot humans, even if they were bad guys. Then I heard about a movie called Star Wars released in the US which was coming to Japan next year, so I came up with a game based in space which had space aliens as targets.
The alien design was inspired by The War Of The Worlds by HG Wells. In the story, the alien looked like an octopus. I drew a bitmap image based on the idea. Then I created several other aliens that look like sea creatures such as squid or crab. The cabinet featured invaders that looked unlike the ones in the game – why was that? Yes, it really looks like a monster. Nothing like the bitmap images. Another graphic person worked on the design. Perhaps it was made that way because the game was originally titled Space Monster. The graphic designer was probably inspired by the sound of it. What was it like at Taito when you were making these games? Were you in competition with other designers to come up with the best games? At that time [1978], there weren't many people creating games within Taito. In fact, there was only one more development team besides mine. There was no competition at all, as I was actually director of the development department.
Nishikado's inspiration for Space Invaders came from reading HG Wells' War Of The Worlds. The original notes still exist today - as shown above. Don't bother checking eBay
How difficult was it to make the game back then?
It was very a difficult process. The hardest part was the development of a microcomputer. Microcomputers were hardly used at that time in Japan, so we had to create one from scratch. I could almost say developing the microcomputer was harder than developing the game itself. These days, we have personal computers to rely on, but there was no programming environment back then. So I had to create everything by myself. I created a development device, wrote a part of the game that runs on it, and then created more devices along the way.
What is the reaction from people when they find out that you made one of the most famous games of all time?
Reactions are very different between Japan and overseas. In Japan, they only make some compliments, but in other countries people tend to become very excited. Many want my autograph, to shake my hand and so on.
Pop 'n' Pop was very different to the Space Invaders games – what was the inspiration behind it?
At that time, Tetris came out on market and it was followed by other puzzle games such as Puzzle Bobble, so puzzle games in general were very popular. So I came up with an idea in which targets come at the player just like in Space Invaders. In addition, I made the targets into balloons in order to have a cute look.
Pop 'n' Pop wasn't nearly as successful as the Space Invaders games – how did that feel? Were you in fact under pressure to come up with a game that was as popular as Space Invaders?
No, I did not feel any pressure. It's true it was not so successful at arcades, but it was my challenge to create a puzzle game, and I am satisfied with its outcome.
What are your memories from the time when you were making these games?
First of all, I never had a bad time during game creations. There were some difficult times such as creation of a development environment for Space Invaders, but I rather enjoyed it. Personally, the most memorable game of all times is a mechanical game called Sky Fighter, which was my first creation at Taito. I don't think it exists any more. It was a shooting game featuring jet fighters. As it was a mechanical game, I had to work hard to make the airplane movements look real. As for videogames, I have a fond memory of a title called Speed Race, which may still exist somewhere. It was probably the first driving videogame ever. The game was exported to the US and became popular as well. Personally, I am more proud of that title than I am of Space Invaders.
What are you working on now?
I'm not personally involved in any original project right now. My company's dev team is currently making titles that were outsourced by various clients, so there are no relations with my past creations.
Bubble Bobble, Space Invaders and Operation Wolf are just three of the 29 games in the Taito Legends pack, which is released on October 14.
 Q&A: Fukio Mitsuji
(Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Volfied)
Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands both feature really cute characters – how did you come up with them, and what did you want them to represent?
This was a challenge for both titles – back then, women were rarely seen at Japanese arcades. So I thought bringing more couples would help solve this issue. That's why I designed cute characters and included cooperative play in Bubble Bobble.
Also, even though both of those games feature shooting, they aren't really violent – why did you make the games like that?
This would be a common answer for both titles. First, I am against any violent expressions. Also, I wanted to create a positive title.
What was it like making arcade games in the 1980s, compared to how it is today?
These days, videogames rely too much on sounds and visuals while ignoring the gameplay elements. Back then, creators could concentrate on the essential part of the game and it was possible to directly express your idea.
Volfied was like Qix – was it actually an unofficial sequel?
Volfied has a different title and looks than Qix, but in fact I consciously created it as a sequel. As a sequel, I tried to emphasise depth and variety in gameplay compared to the original. When the player completes a grid, the next level can be seen through from behind. I made it this way so that the players can anticipate what's coming next. I believe this is one of the elements that makes the game more fun.
Would you like to return to your old characters with new games?
I personally do not want to be enslaved by the creation of the past. If I were to create a new game, I would like to create brand-new characters and new gameplay.
What are your memories from the old days at Taito?
For Bubble Bobble, I was literally working day and night in order to come up with a good concept. I worked even on holidays. I often worked through the night, and when I noticed, my room was cluttered with papers that I wrote down the idea on. It was already break of the day and I could even hear morning birds.
What are you working on now?
I have been working on training at my game design school. Rather than myself creating a new title, I look forward to my students creating many games.
Does Operation Wolf work with a light gun?
I tried a mameox in the past, but the light gun support was a bit patchy.
Posted by: stx at October 4, 2005 7:10 PM
Thank you Fukio Mitsuji for creating Rainbow Islands. It was and still is a beautiful game.
Posted by: Tomun at October 5, 2005 12:02 AM
Oh, Bubble Bobble, I still am very much in love with that game. The joy of picking up a chewing gum and bubble like crazy is hard to beat. :)
Posted by: Tommy at October 5, 2005 10:08 AM
Bubble Bobble is still an amazing game. The gameplay remains one of the most original and unique out there. My favorite aspect of it is multiplayer, so I'd say Mitsuji did well at targeting couples for cooperative play.
Posted by: Three at October 5, 2005 1:02 PM
Bubble Bobble is not just an oustanding game, it also has a unique soundtrack, one of the most definitive in the history of games. Cann't get it out of my mind. Years now.
Posted by: Felix at October 5, 2005 3:18 PM
Feeling urgent need to go play Rainbow Islands and Bubble Bobble myself now... if only for that music. ...Now will it run on a PSP?
Posted by: Tortoise at October 5, 2005 6:35 PM
If you have Operation Wolf on the Amiga, a Sega light gun should work with it. We used to combine the Sega light gun (from the master system) with the Amiga since they have the same type of connector.
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How many levels are there on Taito Legend's Volfied. I got blown up at the brain level 15.
Posted by: todd at December 17, 2005 6:44 PM
Bubble Bobble is and always will be the most challenging and interesting game ever.I have played the game for over 15 years now, and have only completed single handedly 5 times. Bubble Bobble 2 awaits!!
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