Namco Museum
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Namco Museum refers to the series of video game compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. The titles have been met with mixed reaction from the gaming press. Namco has continued releasing the games spanning a decade (1995 to 2007).
The series began on the Sony PlayStation with the tentatively named Namco Museum Volume 1, indicating Namco's intent to make further instalments of the series. The series ran until Volume 5 on the PlayStation 1, covering various games from the late 1980s, before moving onto the Nintendo 64, Wii, Nintendo DS and all sixth generation systems.
[edit] Namco Museum Volume 1
| Namco Museum Volume 1 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | November 22, 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
This was the first in the long series for the PlayStation and contained Pac-Man (1980), Rally-X (1980), New Rally-X (1981), Galaga (1981), Pole Position (1982), Bosconian (1981) and Toy Pop (1986). Toy Pop was relatively unknown.
All of the games were faithful to the arcade originals - Galaga allowed for an alternative screenmode to compensate for the lack of vertical monitor, whereby the scoreboard was located on the left of the screen, or rotated the image 90 degrees if the user possessed a vertical monitor or was willing to risk placing the television/monitor on its side. Pac-Man allowed the same. Nonetheless, all of the games in this and other collections were "recreated" using the original source code. The games in Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection were emulated using the original game ROMs.
While the control systems of six of the games were well preserved, Pole Position suffered in transition. At the time, the PlayStation's analog controller was not available and analog control was only possible by Namco's unpopular neGcon joypad.
The package also featured a "museum" mode where the player could walk through a virtual museum containing various curiosities surrounding the games including images of the mainboards, marketing material and conceptual artwork (all from the Japanese releases; neither this nor the others contain any American materials). For this reason, the games themselves are based on the Japanese releases, although for the U.S. the games retain their U.S. changes (i.e., Pac-Man is still "Pac-Man", as opposed to "Puckman"; the ghosts still have their U.S. names, etc).
Microsoft had already produced a similar product in 1995 under the title Microsoft Return of Arcade for Windows 95 which was practically identical in contents and concept, also containing versions of Pac-Man, Pole Position, Galaxian and Dig Dug, albeit emulated as opposed to recreated.
[edit] Namco Museum Volume 2
| Namco Museum Volume 2 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | February 9, 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
The second installment of the PlayStation series featured Mappy (1983), Xevious (1982), Galaga sequel Gaplus (1984), Grobda (1984) (a Xevious "spinoff"), Dragon Buster (1984) and Super Pac-Man (1982) (Cutie Q (1979) in the Japanese version). It enjoyed similar success to the original, and contained a similar "museum" mode. The Japanese version also features Bomb Bee (1979) as a hidden game.
[edit] Namco Museum Volume 3
| Namco Museum Volume 3 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | June 21, 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
The third PlayStation volume contained Galaxian (1979), Dig Dug (1982), Pac-Man sequel Ms. Pac-Man (1981), Pole Position II (1983), The Tower of Druaga (1984) and Phozon (1983). The first four were well-known in the U.S., but the latter two were relatively unknown. It contained the now-customary museum mode. This was the first in the series to receive general criticism from the gaming press, with serious questions being raised about the inclusion of the rather intensely difficult Tower of Druaga, even though copies of the compilation enclosed a separate hint book for the game inside the case.
[edit] Namco Museum Volume 4
| Namco Museum Volume 4 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | November 8, 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
Volume 4 for the PlayStation featured Pac-Land (1984), Assault (1988), Ordyne (1988), the sequel to The Tower of Druaga known as The Return of Ishtar (1986) Genpei ToumaDen (1986), and Assault Plus (1989) as a hidden game. The usual museum mode was included. It was not well-received.
[edit] Namco Museum Volume 5
| Namco Museum Volume 5 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date | February 28, 1997 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
Volume 5 for the PlayStation featured Pac-Mania (1987), Dragon Spirit (1987), Metro-Cross (1985), Baraduke (1985) and Valkyrie No Densetsu (1989), as well as the standard museum mode.
[edit] Namco Museum Encore
This title was the only one that was not planned in advance for the PlayStation, hence the name. It was also the only one not to feature a Pac-Man game. It featured seven titles: Dragon Saber (1990), Wonder Momo (1987), Rompers (1989), Motos (1985), Sky Kid (1985), King and Balloon (1980), and Rolling Thunder (1986). This was the only title never to be released outside Japan.
[edit] Namco Museum 64 and Dreamcast version
| Namco Museum/Namco Museum 64 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Mass Media, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64, Dreamcast |
| Release date | November 29, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
Namco's foray onto the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast featured six games. Although the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast didn't get multiple volumes of Namco Museum like the PlayStation did, Namco picked out the most popular games (mostly those deemed to be "classics" from the Golden Age of Arcade Games) from the PlayStation versions and including them in a single compilation. The Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast versions featured Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug, and Pole Position, but no museum mode as with the PlayStation versions.
[edit] Namco Museum Advance
The Game Boy Advance version featured the games: Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug, and Pole Position. Hardware limitations, however, meant that the accuracy of the games suffered somewhat, especially with the horizontal Game Boy Advance screen. This compilation did not save high scores, leading to some criticism. It has a sister game, Pac-Man Collection, which was released a month after.
Allowing high score saves on either of these cartridges would have required the inclusion of non-volatile RAM, adding significantly to the cost of each cartridge. As these were aimed at the budget market, Namco decided not to include high score saving so that they could keep the price low.
[edit] Sixth generation era version
The PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube (the sixth generation of video games) were host to yet another version of the series. The version on these consoles included all the games from the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast version plus Pac-Man Arrangement, Galaga Arrangement, Dig Dug Arrangement, Pac-Attack, Pac-Mania, and Pole Position II. Pac-Attack and Pac-Mania must be unlocked by earning 20000 in Pac-Man, and 15000 in Ms. Pac-Man respectively. This version of Namco Museum marks the first version in the series to include a non-arcade game (Pac-Attack). This collection was only released in North America.
[edit] Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection
This title refers to Namco's 50 years as a company which originally manufactured toys. It was released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC and includes sixteen games: Pac-Man (1980), Ms. Pac-Man (1981), Galaga (1981), Galaxian (1979), Dig Dug (1982), Pole Position (1982), Pole Position II (1983), Rolling Thunder (1986), Rally-X (1980), Bosconian (1981), Dragon Spirit (1987), Sky Kid (1985), Xevious (1982), Mappy (1983), Pac-Mania (1987), and Galaga '88 (1987). Both Pac-Mania and Galaga '88 are locked initially and require minimum high scores in their prequel games to unlock.
Because this museum was developed by Digital Eclipse rather than Mass Media, it features "true" arcade game emulation, retains most (but not all) correct sounds, and eliminates the Japanese Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man side art. Also, the Gamecube version allows the player to view the "waiting for start" sequences by pressing the Z button with good timing just as the selected game starts. However, they can only be viewed once (they are skipped afterwards), and players can only exit to the main menu during game play. The PS2 and PC versions allow the player to exit a game at any time, but skip the waiting for start sequences. For Dragon Spirit, Pac-Mania, and Galaga '88, the continue features from the original arcade versions have only been retained in the PC version.
This collection also features five songs from the 1980s: "Come on Eileen," "Working for the Weekend," "She Drives Me Crazy," "Talking in Your Sleep," and "Joystick," which are played in the game selection menu. As in the previous collection, there is no actual museum content.
There is also a scaled down version for the Game Boy Advance which includes five games: Pac-Man (1980), Ms. Pac-Man (1981), Rally-X (1980), Galaga (1981), and Dig Dug (1982). Like the original Namco Museum for the Game Boy Advance, this version did not save high scores.
The PC version is thought of by many PC gamers as an update to both Microsoft Return of Arcade and Microsoft Revenge of Arcade, as all games included in both of those earlier titles combined (with the exception of Motos, which was in Revenge of Arcade) are included as part of this update.
[edit] Namco Museum Battle Collection
This title was released on the PlayStation Portable. It contains over twenty of Namco's games such as Pac-Man (1980) and Galaga (1981). In addition, "Arrangement" variants are available for Pac-Man, Galaga, New Rally-X (1981), and Dig Dug (1982), which have updated gameplay, graphics and can be played in a versus or cooperative mode using the PSP's ad hoc feature. Game Sharing, a feature that had not yet been used on the PSP, was introduced in this game. This allowed others PSPs in the area to download the first few levels of some of the games.
The Japanese version is divided into two volumes, with the second containing three extra games: Dragon Spirit, Motos Arrangement, and Pac-Man Arrangement Plus.
[edit] Namco Museum Remix
This game was released on October 23, 2007 for Wii. This compilation features the original arcade versions of Cutie Q, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Gaplus, Mappy, Pac & Pal, Pac-Mania, Super Pac-Man and Xevious. It also featured re-vamped versions of Pac 'n Roll, Galaga, Motos, Rally-X, and Gator Panic. When played on multiplayer, the Miis are used.
[edit] Namco Museum DS
| Namco Museum DS | |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release date | NA September 18, 2007 JP October 11, 2007 EU February 22, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Compilation |
| Mode(s) | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | (E) Everyone |
A release of the series for the Nintendo DS was released in late 2007. As well as the original Pac-Man it also features a port of Pac-Man Vs., the well-received multi-player version that was only previously available on the Nintendo GameCube. There are also seven other games which are on this cartridge: Galaga, Xevious, Super Xevious, Dig Dug II, Galaxian, Mappy, and The Tower of Druaga. This game also allows access to each game's DIP switches.
