Reviewed: October 7, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Namco Bandai
Developer
Namco Bandai
Released: September 18, 2007
Genre: Arcade
Players: 1-2
8
8
8
8
8.4
Supported Features
Compiling over 25 years of video game history on one game card, Namco Museum DS provides players with the definitive experience for all of their favorite retro games. In addition to pixel-perfect translations of all eight included titles, the game also lets players experience new dual-screen presentation for additional gameplay flexibility and fun unlockable content such as sound tests and original arcade cabinet artwork.
Most recently, we saw many of these games on the PSP version of Namco Museum, but that title featured a lot more titles in the collection. Namco Museum DS includes the following gaming classics:
Pac-Man® VS.
Originally released in 2003 – Play as Pac-Man and his famous ghost enemies in this breakthrough multiplayer game! Up to four players can get in on the action with just one game card, collecting power pellets as Pac-Man while the other players assume the role of ghosts and try to track him down.
Dig Dug® II
Originally released in 1985 – Equipped with only a drill and a pump, hit weak fault lines in an attempt to sink portions of an island, sending your enemies deep into the sea!
Galaga®
Originally released in 1981 – Pilot a space ship, fend off frantic swarms of aliens, try your luck with “Challenging Stages,” and find the best way to deal with enemies’ powerful tractor beams!
Galaxian®
Originally released in 1979 – A precursor to Galaga, shoot flying aliens as they move in formation to attack you.
Mappy®
Originally released in 1983 – Control Mappy, a police mouse, as he attempts to bring a band of criminal cats to justice. Bounce on trampolines and open or close doors to dodge chasing enemies, all in an attempt to retrieve valuable items from the cats’ mansion.
Pac-Man®
Originally released in 1980 – Play the most popular arcade game of all time! Navigate the yellow fellow through the original Pac-Man maze, avoid ghosts while chomping Pac-Dots and fruit and use Power Pellets to turn the ghosts blue and get some payback!
The Tower of Druaga®
Originally released in 1984 – Control a heroic prince, using your sword and shield to slay the terrible demon Druaga.
Xevious®
Originally released in 1982 – Use a heavily armed aircraft to destroy enemies and targets in the air and on the ground.
I’m not sure what’s scarier; the fact that I am reviewing games that are more than 20 years old or the fact that I could have reviewed them just as easily when they were considered new in the arcades. There was definitely a sense of déjà vu while reviewing this title, since most of these games have appeared and reappeared several times over the past two decades in compilation collections as well as being re-released on Xbox Live Arcade.
I could bore you with gameplay details for all 8 of these classics but chances are if you are even remotely considering this compilation you have played most or all of these games already, so rather than focusing on the gameplay we’ll cover how well these game have been emulated on the NDS, and the short answer is PERFECTLY!
Of all the systems I have played Pac-Man, Xevious, Mappy, Galaga, and all the rest of these games on, the NDS plays them the best if for no other reason than a highly responsive and highly direction D-pad. There is no sloppy motion or accidental diagonal movements. I got to the 5th key stage on my first game of Pac-Man and if you know what that means you know just how good that is.
These games are all extremely simple, some only using left and right on the D-pad and most games don’t use more than one or two fire buttons at the very most, some games don’t use buttons at all. Oh, the good ole days…
While I enjoyed nearly all of the games in this compilation I do have to question releasing Galaxian and Galaga in the same set. The games are nearly identical in design and gameplay; only Galaga is far more entertaining and challenging. The Tower of Druaga is also an odd choice, clearly a Japanese game that even most hardcore gamers have never heard of, and frankly, it’s not that much fun. And I’m not nearly as big a fan of Dig Dug II as I am the original, and where is my Ms. Pac-Man? I can only assume a sequel is in the works, since this compilation only scratches the surface of Namco’s vast library.
The showcase title has to be Pac-Man VS. which is also the only multiplayer title in the compilation. This game is a blast and other players aren’t even required to have their own game cartridge. One person starts off as Pac-Man while up to three others play the ghosts. You take turns chomping dots and the first person to reach the predetermined score wins the match.
Many of the arcade games support multiplayer using a single DS. Just add enough virtual credits then hold down the right trigger while starting the game then pass the DS back and forth. There is also a downloadable demo you can share with another DS so they can get a taste of the 80’s on their own system.
Namco Museum, much like a real museum also tries to education as well as entertain. To that end you can venture into the library and view all sorts of original art (mostly from Japan), arcade attendant brochures, and even bring up a detailed photo of the original motherboard from each game. It gets even cooler when you zoom in on the dipswitch box and can actually configure game options like how many lives you start with and what score earns you bonus lives by reconfiguring the dipswitch settings. Admittedly, this is dangerously approaching extreme geek territory, but anybody who is over 40 is already drooling.
Most all of these games appeared in the arcade using the 3:4 aspect ratio (or a TV flipped 90-degrees), which doesn’t exactly jive with the landscape format of the DS screen. Ideally, it would have been cool if they could have split the games across both screens but that gap between the screens would have caused gameplay issues. Instead you have a few options for displaying these games.
By default, all the games will expand to fit the top (or bottom) screen. Obviously this causes a bit of distortion, much like watching standard programming on an HDTV. You can opt to force the game into original aspect ratio, creating empty areas on either side of the screen, or you can flip the image 90-degrees and play the DS on its side, much like the Brain Age games.
All of these options are great, but they all come with their own caveats. On the default expansion you get the distortion as well as some really thin or missing horizontal lines. Forcing the aspect ratio really shrinks things down to being almost too small to play, and turning your DS on its side forces you to relearn a new comfort zone for working the D-pad and buttons. Still, the options are there and you are certain to find something that pleases your fingers and your eyes.
As for the quality of the visuals, each game has been masterfully recreated on the DS with pixel-perfect detail. It would have been nice to have cabinet art border the game screen when playing in original aspect ratio (like they do on Xbox Live Arcade). Pac-Man VS is the obvious standout, being only four years old, it features much more vibrant colors, solid polygons, and a more contemporary style.
The DS is capable of such great music, sound, and even speech, so it was no problem for Namco to get all of those digitized sounds replicated on the handheld with note for note precision. It’s all just as classically bad as you might remember. They even threw in some updated tunes for Pac-Man VS.
And if you can’t get enough of all the music and quirky sound effects during the actual game, head to the library where you can play all the music and each individual sound effect for every game in the collection in the music player, complete with some visual treats in the top screen.
While not the best compilation of retro games ever made, this is certainly a good start when it comes to Namco classics on the DS, and for only $20, how can you deny yourself this tasty glimpse into more than 20 years of gaming history. By design, these games were meant to be played and replayed until your fingers blistered, then you taped them up and played some more.
And when you factor in the ability to save your high scores as well as no longer having to carry around a few pounds of quarters (or tokens) to play these games for countless hours, Namco Museum DS is one of those games you will carry around with you even when it’s not in your DS, just in case the Pac-urge arises.
Namco Museum DS is a portable arcade that fits in your pocket and a definite must-own title for any DS owner old enough to have played these games when they were new. Younger kids will likely be turned off by the simplistic game designs and even simpler graphics and sound, then again, there is nothing like a good father-son rivalry and dad might just have a chance with one of the eight games waiting inside this classic collection.
