We gave you James Bond, The Beatles, The Lord of the Rings, Kate Bush and The Sex Pistols. You gave us Metal Gear Solid, Cowboy Bebop, Spirited Away, Zelda and Seven Samurai. Thank you Japan for all your beautiful gifts!!
I love the Taito egret 2 mini. It does so much right and not too much wrong. I love the rotatable screen and the stick/buttons are well made and responsive. The selection of games is a bit hit n' miss but there are some very good games in amongst this lot. Rastan Saga, Elevator Action & Elevator Action Returns, Darius Gaiden, RayForce, Metal Black, Hat Trick Hero, Kaiser Knuckle, Bubble Bobble, Tasujin and last but not least Space Invaders.
Unfortunately, there are a few games on here that haven't aged well. I'm looking at you Pirate Pete and The legend of Kage. In these cases, if you don't have the nostalgia of playing these games back on the day, then it's unlikely that you'll be having a great time.
The console itself is well made and it feels sturdy. The rotating screen is a big plus as is the ability to change the stick from 4 to 8 way.
The biggest downside is the input lag which affects a lot of the graphically intense games. This however, only affects the screen on the Egret and not the TV. If you're planning on playing the games on your TV, you have nothing to worry about in this case. The speakers on the device are ok, a bit tinny but they get the job done. Only other gripe is the price of some of the add ons to this console but this is always the case with collectables.
So, the Egret 2 mini is a fantastic console, it's just a shame that the software wasn't on par with the hardware or we would be looking at the greatest mini console yet. The ability to rotate the screen to enjoy Tate games is a revelation but the input lag, expensive controllers and weak speakers are disappointing.
All in all, I believe 4/5 is a fair score for the console but I'll also give a bonus extra point for the exceptional delivery provided, It arrived looking like it had just been taken off the factory shelf.