Ta•o Taido

Arcade flyer of Tao Taido.
Developer(s)	Video System
Publisher(s)	Video System
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release	April 1993
Genre(s)	2D Versus Fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet	Upright, Cocktail
CPU	68000 (@ 16 Mhz)
Sound	Z80 (@ 5 Mhz), YM2610 (@ 8 Mhz)
Display	320 x 224 pixels (Vertical), 2048 colors, 60.00 Hz

Ta•o Taido (タオ体道) is a 1993 fighting arcade game developed and published by Video System. It was Video System's only attempt in the fighting game genre, and it was created during the fighting game trend of the 1990s that was popularized by Capcom's 1991 arcade hit Street Fighter II.

The game takes place on Earth, where eight martial artists from around the planet compete against each other to fight and defeat the legendary master and reveal the secrets of Ta•o Taido. The game appears to be similar to other 2D versus fighting games during its release, but has different gameplay. The player's character fights against his or her opponent in single round matches in a single player tournament mode with the computer or against another human player, while using very simplistic commands that summon charging attacks. Players press and hold two out of three buttons down to charge up, then move the joystick toward a direction to perform an attack. The longer the players hold two buttons down, the more powerful and longer the attack gets and lasts; however, there are three levels of energy, and after the third and highest charge, it returns to the first and lowest charge. Short charges create weak moves, medium charges create moderate moves, and long charges create strong attacks. Both players have 3 levels of health in each round, instead of one like in most other fighting games. Ta•o Taido also has a cooperative 2-player feature similar to the ones in SNK's Street Smart and Fatal Fury: King of Fighters. The controls can be switched to what most other fighting games have.

Players have a character roster of eight fighters to choose from, and one unplayable boss. Each with their own unique fighting style and special techniques.