Namco Museum (ナムコミュージアム Namuko Myūjiamu) for Nintendo Switch is a compilation of Namco games, originally released as a download-only title in 2017 by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The collection features a port of the GameCube game Pac-Man Vs. alongside ten arcade games.
Overview[]
The compilation features 11 games, including a source code port of Pac-Man Vs. (based on the original GameCube version) and ten emulated ports of Namco's arcade titles. Each included game features "HD rumble" vibration through the Joy-Con controllers. The compilation itself (including the menu interface) can be set to run in vertical resolution, requiring the Switch tablet (or the TV) to be turned on its side.
Games[]
The original release of the compilation includes the following games:
- Pac-Man Vs. (2003)
- Pac-Man (1980)
- Galaga (1981)
- Dig Dug (1982)
- The Tower of Druaga (1984)
- Sky Kid (1985)
- Rolling Thunder (1986)
- Galaga '88 (1987)
- Splatterhouse (1988)
- Tank Force (1991)
- Rolling Thunder 2 (1991)
Pac-Man Vs. features an added single-console mode, in which all players solely control the Ghosts instead of Pac-Man; this also allows for single-player games. To play the game in its original form, multiple Nintendo Switch consoles are required; in addition to a "Pac-Man Vs. Free Multiplayer" demo on the other players' console(s), which can be downloaded from the Nintendo eShop.
Each arcade game features online leaderboards, in addition to a variety of gameplay settings. In each title, the player can continue from a later, previously-cleared level in the game (though doing so will result in the player's score not being ranked).
Additionally, every arcade game has both a "Normal Mode" and a "Challenge Mode". The challenge modes task the player with performing a certain objective within a set time limit; such as eating as many ghosts as possible in Pac-Man, and rescuing captured ships in Galaga. When the time limit is up, the player's score is tallied based on the challenge objective.
Namco Museum Arcade Pac[]
Namco Museum Arcade Pac box art.
A special, physical-only release of the game titled Namco Museum Arcade Pac was released on December 8th, 2018 in North America and Europe. The Arcade Pac version features an additional bundled game, Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus (which was previously released as a download-only title).
The original compilation's title screen is replaced with a selection screen, allowing the player to choose either Namco Museum or Championship Edition 2 Plus. Otherwise, the games' contents are unaltered from the digital releases.
Trivia[]
- While the other titles in the compilation are represented with their original arcade artwork (in their menu selection icons and/or screen borders), the original Pac-Man is solely represented by pixel artwork. The reasoning for this is unknown, though it may be connected to the Pac-Man artwork style guides.
- The Pac-Man Vs. menu icon uses the general 2010s merchandising artwork for Pac-Man, rather than the original game's Hideki Tanaami-based artwork.
- The North American cover for Namco Museum Arcade Pac features original artwork of the Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug characters, illustrated by "The Loulander".[1] The cover is also reversible into a more traditional design based on the Namco Museum menu interface. The European release solely uses the reversible design as its main cover artwork.
- The "Loulander" cover shows Blinky wearing a bowler hat, similar to Clyde's design in the Pac-Man TV series.
- This is the first and only Namco Museum video game to be rated T for Teen by the ESRB. It could likely be due to how Splatterhouse is included in the collection.
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Artwork[]
