# Taito Egret II Mini



## subcon959 (Jun 4, 2021)

Candy cab fans this one is rather interesting! After the recent Astro City mini we now have the Egret II mini announced..









The fact they kept the tate mechanism is what makes this one super interesting.

Amazon is showing a March 2022 release date so there's a while to go but the current price is ¥18,678 (which is a lot more than the Astro City).

Games List

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)

Games with Spinner Controller

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)


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## hippy dave (Jun 5, 2021)

Looks epic, especially with the rotating screen. Sounds like it has a good selection of games, but do these devices tend to get broken to run custom emulators/games?


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## KiiWii (Jun 5, 2021)

Wow!


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## FAST6191 (Jun 6, 2021)

If this was more of a tabletop/decent sized laptop affair rather than something you could probably hold in your hand I would be over there on launch day to pick one up in person, even without it being hacked to do many other games.
Little things like this... harder to see the value in for me.


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## subcon959 (Jul 2, 2021)

FAST6191 said:


> If this was more of a tabletop/decent sized laptop affair rather than something you could probably hold in your hand I would be over there on launch day to pick one up in person, even without it being hacked to do many other games.
> Little things like this... harder to see the value in for me.


I kind of agree that a larger size would be far more exciting, but I wonder what sort of price point that would mean. I don't think the usual mini console collector would be interested once you're over the £500 mark, but I could be wrong. As it stands, you already have to purchase a costly addon controller to get the full experience.


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## FAST6191 (Jul 2, 2021)

subcon959 said:


> I kind of agree that a larger size would be far more exciting, but I wonder what sort of price point that would mean. I don't think the usual mini console collector would be interested once you're over the £500 mark, but I could be wrong. As it stands, you already have to purchase a costly addon controller to get the full experience.


Basic LCD screens are pretty cheap these days, though we do get to enter a different world for them (small screens below about 12 inches tend to be their own class with the own manufacturers). Boxes are basically free (see what you can get custom CNC cut chipboard furniture for, hardly any different here with just a different decal). Controls might be more, not sure what sites are being suggested for MAME cabinets these days but would be a reasonable start if looking for controls.
To that end I don't see it as being all that more radical for price than this.


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## subcon959 (Aug 2, 2021)

Updated with game list.


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## FAST6191 (Aug 2, 2021)

Qix and Volified? I do like them.


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## subcon959 (Aug 2, 2021)

Qix is a great game. I also think Lunar Rescue will be fun to play on this thing. There's a rumour that there might be a western release that is actually a bit different, unlike the Astro City mini where they just changed the box.


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## hippy dave (Aug 13, 2021)

subcon959 said:


> Puzzle Bobble 2X (1995)


Game!


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## subcon959 (Dec 23, 2021)

https://www.unitedgames.io/news/egret-2-mini-exclusive-version-coming-to-the-west/


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## subcon959 (Jan 21, 2022)

Well, reservations for the limited edition western release are now open. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's coming through Strictly Limited Games..

https://store.strictlylimitedgames.com/collections/egret-2-mini

Those prices are a bit silly, plus there is very likely going to be a loooong wait as they tend to take forever with releases.

On the other hand, the Japanese version is just over a month away, a lot cheaper if you just get the base model, and will take only a few days to reach you via Amazon Express shipping. I still haven't talked myself into ordering one but I'm probably 60/40 in favour right now.


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## subcon959 (Jan 23, 2022)

Ah crap.. this video of the tate mechanism pushed me over the edge and forced me to order. It just looks so well done and satisfying..


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## SilverWah (Jan 24, 2022)

I played Dan-Ku-Ga with someone on Fightcade. Pretty cool game. It did wall breaks properly compared to Strive lol.


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## subcon959 (Jan 24, 2022)

SilverWah said:


> I played Dan-Ku-Ga with someone on Fightcade. Pretty cool game. It did wall breaks properly compared to Strive lol.


Yeah, it's a bit of a hidden gem.


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## subcon959 (Feb 26, 2022)

We're getting close now.. units are in reviewer's hands!


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## subcon959 (Mar 2, 2022)

Just got my shipped email.. I know no one else is excited about this but I'm looking forward to it more than the Steam Deck!


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## subcon959 (Mar 7, 2022)

This thing is SWEEET! It's a fair bit bigger than the Astro City mini too.






TATE baby! The mechanism is SO satisfying to use.


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## FAST6191 (Mar 7, 2022)

I can see it as a coffee table piece, though one of those arcade coffee table mame cabinet things is the better path for me, which is more than I expected (looks like reasonable buttons as well, even if a bit cramped). Not going to be running out to get my own unless it is a deal of the century/clueless mother/bored ex flogging things scenario.


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## subcon959 (Mar 8, 2022)

Taito added little leds under the marquee holder so I decided to print my own..


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## onofrix (Mar 8, 2022)

I already have mine too! Does anyone know if the sd with the 10 extra games has been dumped? I'm curious to see what kind of format it has in and if roms can be modified.


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## PresidentSenpai (Mar 8, 2022)

Well I honestly don't really know much about modding, but putting it in my computer it comes up as inaccessible and needing to be formatted.


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## onofrix (Mar 9, 2022)

PresidentSenpai said:


> Well I honestly don't really know much about modding, but putting it in my computer it comes up as inaccessible and needing to be formatted.


are you talking about the sd card? that's interesting. That means that is not using a windows compatible format (if you are using windows, of course). Maybe a linux one? (you know: ext2, ext3, ext4, etc..). Can you check it with partition magic or any other similar software?


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## PresidentSenpai (Mar 9, 2022)

Yeah I was talking about the SD card. I will try with that stuff tomorrow since I'm exhausted from tech troubleshooting some other stuff lol.

Also my take is that it really does seem like Taito intends to release additional game packs. My special edition came with a 'volume 1' book that includes deets of all the games currently included. This would also make sense this the game selection is a little strange. I like the deep cuts but I can't help but feel like certain games are weird for not being included. Like why is only the VS puzzle bobble available? super strange for a taito device.

I will say that I am otherwise super impressed with the device. When it works its like magic and it is a really great way to get quick game fixes. Switching to Tate mode is like magic. It's hard not to love this thing. The track ball paddle con is honestly worth to me. It plays really well and is pretty easy to tuck away when you are done, I actually own 2 with the hopes that they will work well with PC and I really don't want to build a full size con and have to deal with it. 

PS. if anyone knows how to get the Egret mini Track ball and paddle con working with the PC please let me know. When plugging into a PC it is detected as a mouse, with the track ball acting as analog mouse movement and the paddle mapped as the mouse wheel. The buttons on the controller are not detected by the PC at all, so it is really close to being plug and play.


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## onofrix (Mar 9, 2022)

PresidentSenpai said:


> Yeah I was talking about the SD card. I will try with that stuff tomorrow since I'm exhausted from tech troubleshooting some other stuff lol.


no problem! thank you!.



> Also my take is that it really does seem like Taito intends to release additional game packs. My special edition came with a 'volume 1' book that includes deets of all the games currently included. This would also make sense this the game selection is a little strange. I like the deep cuts but I can't help but feel like certain games are weird for not being included. Like why is only the VS puzzle bobble available? super strange for a taito device.


yeah! or why Rainbow Islands Extra? Why not the regular version?


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## subcon959 (Mar 10, 2022)

onofrix said:


> why Rainbow Islands Extra? Why not the regular version?


It's a good game but it's so disappointing not hearing that iconic music when you start playing.


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## onofrix (Mar 11, 2022)

subcon959 said:


> It's a good game but it's so disappointing not hearing that iconic music when you start playing.


exactly.


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## firecraft (Mar 14, 2022)

its annoying i need to remove the sd card if i want to use the main games , is there anyway to play the original egret II games without need to remove my trackball/spinner sd card ?


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## firecraft (Mar 14, 2022)

---double reply---


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## subcon959 (Mar 15, 2022)

firecraft said:


> its annoying i need to remove the sd card if i want to use the main games , is there anyway to play the original egret II games without need to remove my trackball/spinner sd card ?


I don't have a spinner controller but I assume they used some kind of DRM method so you can't just put a bunch of roms on an SD card and play them. It's possible the card contains a whole separate OS that the mini boots into when it's inserted.

What happens when you remove the card while the machine is on?


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## Unnholy (Mar 19, 2022)

onofrix said:


> are you talking about the sd card? that's interesting. That means that is not using a windows compatible format (if you are using windows, of course). Maybe a linux one? (you know: ext2, ext3, ext4, etc..). Can you check it with partition magic or any other similar software?



Hi guys! Very first post here!

So, the Taito Egret II mini got fully hacked by a guy on twitter, although other than some evidence he gave to back up his claims, not much else in known about the device. There is no available files to download yet, so no CFW obviously, or anything else end users could use... From what I can understand with the few info I got about this device, is that any "hacker" would be able to do it, it is basically an open book (unlike my beloved Astro City Mini, or the PCE Mini, unfortunately ((( ). So it is just a question of time before it gets shared.

Despite this great development, I was curious too about the SD card. As mentioned, windows won't recognize it, and will ask to format it. So obviously, I thought that it would be formatted in Ext4, so I fired up Diskinternals Linux Reader, but it again detected it as an unformatted SD card. There are no hidden partitions either. Just to be sure, I booted in Ubuntu, but again, it is seen as nothing else than an unformatted SD card...

So what is going on? Well, I think they pulled an old trick that I saw all of the time with old "Famiclone" systems, that would have all of the available games in the built-in memory, but use cartridges as "triggers" to boot into the UI with a predetermined list of games pulled from internal memory. Those cartridges contained almost nothing, with absolutely no roms in them. I think this it what Taito did here. I think ALL of the games, including the ones exclusive to use with the spinner/trackball controller and SD cards, are into the unit's internal memory. The SD card only serves as a key or passcode if you will, with zero substance in it. In fact, I would not be surprised that if it gets completely formatted, it will still work as intended (but I am not going to risk it right now...). And so, if it is the case, everyone will be able to access those games without needing the controller, once the hack gets out to end users (the guy on twitter demonstrated that he could now play paddle games with the joystick, without the spinner controller plugged in, so it won't be an issue, even for those who have not managed to get that overpriced, but unique, controller). 

There was very little chance that this card would contain a folder with roms in it, and others for assets; it would have been awesome, and a crazy easy way to add stuff to it right now, but nope...

With its cool controllers, and ability to choose screen orientation, this will be a perfect emulation machine, as long as those roms stay within what the average mini console can emulate. So probably not the OG Killer Instinct, but about everything that came before.

Anyways, please give me your thoughts if you have a minute!

Thanks for reading.


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## onofrix (Mar 20, 2022)

Unnholy said:


> Hi guys! Very first post here!
> 
> So, the Taito Egret II mini got fully hacked by a guy on twitter, although other than some evidence he gave to back up his claims, not much else in known about the device. There is no available files to download yet, so no CFW obviously, or anything else end users could use... From what I can understand with the few info I got about this device, is that any "hacker" would be able to do it, it is basically an open book (unlike my beloved Astro City Mini, or the PCE Mini, unfortunately ((( ). So it is just a question of time before it gets shared.
> 
> ...


hi! i saw that guy on twitter!. I talked with him on discord! .He told something interesting about sd. Is not just a "trigger". It really has the games inside, but it is "locked". He was able to unlock it using another specific device with an sd card reader. You can check this info here:



He even swap a rom with his international version, but to put extra games by yourself seems impossible. Is much easier to port retroarch directly. You can check further info on the above link.


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## royvedas (Jun 13, 2022)

And nothing was ever heard from Slinky Ramune on the matter ever again...


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## firecraft (Jul 7, 2022)

royvedas said:


> And nothing was ever heard from Slinky Ramune on the matter ever again...


so sad i was sooo happy to see him working on egret II mini and i support him but now im not hearing any news about it anymore


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## royvedas (Aug 7, 2022)

firecraft said:


> so sad i was sooo happy to see him working on egret II mini and i support him but now im not hearing any news about it anymore


It sucks so bad. I can't for the life of me understand that work isn't being done. It would be the ultimate emulation box for other emulators - perfect size, "transforming" screen etc.


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## Schwing (Sep 7, 2022)

In a tweet on the 16th of August, Slinky Ramune said "Modding instructions for Egret II Mini itself may be released in the future." (sorry, can't post link, new here).
Moreover, a firmware update was released 2 days ago, apparently it doesn't add any protection and the Egret is still hackable (still according to Slinky Ramune)
By the way, has anyone tried this update ? It seems it fixes a few bugs and changes the way resolutions are handled.


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