Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2[lower-alpha 1] is a 1996 compilationarcade game developed and published by Namco. It is a collection of four of Namco's popular games: Pac-Man (1980), Rally-X (1980), New Rally-X (1981) and Dig Dug (1982). Alongside the original games, three new "Arrangement" games based on each game are included.
Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 is a compilation of arcade games released by Namco with seven games in total (four re-released games and three original games). Games featured in this compilation are Pac-Man, Rally-X, New Rally-X (which is found in a selectable menu alongside Rally-X) and Dig Dug. Instead of being emulated, these games were completely recreated from scratch for the hardware. Additions and changes to these games include Rally-X and New Rally-X being played in a vertical resolution instead of the original horizontal resolution and the ability for every game to end after a certain round and displaying a new ending sequence (the games can be set to endless play in the game settings). Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 also has optional setting to toggle which games can be played, the machine can be set to play Pac-Man only, Dig Dug only or Rally-X only. The setting also changes the game's title screen.
Alongside the original arcade games, just like the first volume, Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 features 3 brand new "Arrangement" games for each series, Pac-Man Arrangement, Rally-X Arrangement and Dig Dug Arrangement. Each Arrangement game features updated graphics, simultaneous 2-player gameplay (minus Rally-X Arrangement, which is for 1 player only), and new features.
Pac-Man Arrangement is a 1996 arcade game in the Pac-Man series. Pac-Man Arrangement follows Pac-Man as the player guides him to eat all the dots in the maze while avoiding Clyde (Blinky), Pinky, Inky and Blinky (Clyde). This game features a name error in which Blinky and Clyde's names are swapped. Alongside retaining identical gameplay from the original game, a few new gimmicks have been added as well. The game features 23 rounds in total split into 6 worlds, each with their own unique maze similar to Ms. Pac-Man, with the last round taking the form of a boss fight.
A fifth, yellow ghost who wears glasses named Kinky is introduced in this game. Kinky wanders around and can merge with other ghosts to give them special abilities, such as giving Clyde (Blinky) the ability to dash, giving Pinky the ability to jump close to Pac-Man, giving Inky the ability to create a mirror clone which can harm Pac-Man, and giving Blinky (Clyde) the ability to produce big Pac-Dots. Kinky, unlike the normal ghosts, can be eaten without the need of a power pellet, and produces power pellet effects when Kinky is eaten. The number of times Kinky appears increases throughout each World.
New features include Pac-Man being able to dash temporarily after eating a Dash Pellet, being able to jump to another part of the maze using a Jump Pad, and 4 new power-up pills with different functions, such as increasing Pac-Man's speed temporarily, trapping the ghosts in the ghost box, being able to create a mirror Pac-Man that can eat objects like the normal Pac-Man, being able to digest big Pac-Dots without slowing down, and stairs which prevent Pac-Man from changing directions when he enters them.
Pac-Man Arrangement is split up into six worlds, each having its own different theme, including a toy box world, a water land, a world themed off the original Pac-Man game, a grass land, a pyramid, and a mechanical base. The final round takes the form of a boss fight, where Pac-Man must defeat the Ghosts' Mech by eating all the Pac-Dots on the maze to destroy the Kinky clones and eventually the mech itself.
The game also incorporates two-player simultaneous play. A second player can join in anytime during gameplay, and will control a green Pac-Man, in which the player can help the other player complete the stage or compete for the highest score. At the end of every round when two players are present, a score total screen will appear and the player who scores the most wins per round. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score total overall wins the game. The game also features continues, however unlike the other arrangement games featured, the player's score is reset when they continue a game after losing all their lives.
Rally-X Arrangement
Rally-X Arrangement is a 1996 arcade game in the Rally-X series. Unlike the other games in the collection, Rally-X Arrangement does not feature a two-player mode. In this game, the player must guide the Blue Car to collect all the flags in each area while finishing the course before his/her fuel runs out and avoids collision with the red enemy cars.
New features to this game include the addition of items usable by the player. In the game, there is the addition of a new, square and cyan colored flag that gives the player an item when they get the flag. Items provide useful help to the player, including giving the player the temporary ability to crush enemy cars and rocks, slow the enemy cars down or make them run away, etc.
Three new variants of enemy cars appear in this game alongside the original ones, with the Touring car having the ability to continuously gain speed, the Drag car being invisible from the radar until a special item is collected, and the Neo Formula cars which can emit smokescreen like the player.
The game features new challenge stages which involve the player driving in a rock field to grab yellow flags while avoiding collision with rocks which deplete the cars fuel, to reach the goal point before time runs out.
The game features 15 rounds, with each portion of the rounds having its own theme, such as a park, a desert, an Egypt-style ruin a mountain and a city. The final round involves collecting all the flags on the course and getting to the goal point of the area. The game, like the other Arrangement games also has a continue feature.
Dig Dug Arrangement is a 1996 arcade game in the Dig Dug series. Dig Dug Arrangement follows Taizo Hori (aka Dig Dug) as he attempts to rid each area of the monsters that reside underground by pumping them up until they explode, crushing them with falling rocks or knocking them out with explosions.
New gimmicks include new power-ups, several new enemies and unique stage gimmicks, New enemies include aggressive versions of Pooka and Fygar, a Unicorn enemy that can perform a sprint attack, an Explosive Robot that causes an explosion when it is defeated, a Dig Dug impostor that can pump up Dig Dug, and from the Cosmo Gang games, Dodongadon and Jammer.
New stage gimmicks include big rocks that can fall directly to the ground, destroying all earth below it, Cosmo Balls from Cosmo Gang that will slide towards the direction marked on the ball, destroying all enemies in its path and pipes that the player cannot dig through. The game features new power-ups, such as increasing Dig Dug's speed, increasing the length, speed or power of his pump, hourglasses that can cause enemies to become inflated, rods that can cause meteorites or bullets to fall from the sky, a forcefield that protects Dig Dug from attacks, balances that increase the number of points earned from enemies, and two colored gourds with the red one giving Dig Dug ten points, or the green one causing effects to happen around the stage.
Dig Dug Arrangement features 50 rounds, with is split up into three islands, the first island having 24 rounds, the second island having 5 rounds which is hidden from view initially, and then the moon, which has the remaining 20 rounds, which is also hidden from view initially. Each round has their own unique layout and features different visual theme, such as a grassy terrain, a factory plant, a desert, an ice land and the moon. Out of the 50 rounds present, 5 of them are boss fights, which involve Dig Dug attempting to defeat a giant Pooka or Fygar in a wide open space by using explosive robots or ray guns to damage the boss and deplete its health bar. Unlike the other rounds, enemies come in infinite numbers in these rounds. The giant Pooka boss walks around the stage, while the giant Fygar acts the same but can perform a fire attack.
The game incorporates two player simultaneous play. The second player controls a yellow Dig Dug and can cooperate with the other player or play against them, competing for the highest score. Both players can use their pump to attack the other player, and can crush them with rocks or balls. Killing the other player awards bonus points to the player who defeated said player. At the end of each round, the player with the highest score at the end of the round wins the round, and their player flag is displayed on the world map screen. The player with the highest score at the end of the last round wins the game.
Legacy
A Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 arcade machine in the Musée Mécanique.
Although Pac-Man Arrangement is not seen in Pac-Man Museum (as the 2005 version of the game from Namco Museum Battle Collection is present), a remix of the World 1 theme from the game is present when entering the Pac-Room area of the game after completing several achievements.
Pac-Man Arrangement (which is labelled as Pac-Man Arrangement Arcade Ver. to distinguish itself from the 2005 game) is included in Pac-Man Museum + as an unlockable title, which was released in May 2022.
Reception
Edge magazine praised the games for being addictive and fun to play, as well as the remastered arcade versions for being faithful to the arcade originals. Edge particularly commended Dig Dug and Dig Dug Arrangement for being entertaining and one to "complete the trio in fine style".[2] Japanese publication Game Machine expressed interest in the game for bringing older arcade games into modern-day amusement centers, and particularly liked the gameplay of Rally-X Arrangement.[3]Game Machine listed it as being the fifth most popular arcade game of May 1996.[4]
In their review of Pac-Man Collection, Allgame said that Pac-Man Arrangement alone made the package worth the price for its fun gameplay and presentation.[5] Retrospectively, Hardcore Gaming 101 liked Pac-Man Arrangement for being a good update to the original, one that expanded on the concept of the original with ideas such as Kinky and power-up items.[6]
Pac-Man, originally called Puck Man in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.
Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rocks.
Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed in Japan and Germany by Namco and released in 1980. In North America, it was distributed by Midway Manufacturing and in Europe by Karateco. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidirectional scrolling maze to collect yellow flags. Boulders block some paths and must be avoided. Red enemy cars pursue the player in an attempt to collide with them. Red cars can be temporarily stunned by laying down smoke screens at the cost of fuel. Rally-X is one of the first games with bonus stages and continuously-playing background music.
Namco Museum is a series of video game compilations developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for home video game consoles. The first title in the series, Namco Museum Vol. 1, was released for the PlayStation in 1995. Entries in the series have been released for multiple platforms, including the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360. the latest being Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2, released in 2020.
Dig Dug II is an action arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Namco in 1985. It is a sequel to 1982's Dig Dug. Pookas and fire-breathing Fygars return as the enemies, but the side view tunneling of the original is replaced with an overhead view of an island maze.
Pac-Man World is a platform video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. Controlling Pac-Man, the player must complete each of the game's six worlds by collecting a certain amount of pellets to open up an exit door. The plot follows Pac-Man's enemies, the ghosts, crashing his 20th birthday and kidnapping his friends and family to bring them to their homeland of Ghost Island — with his birthday in ruins and his family in trouble, Pac-Man sets out to rescue them and defeat the ghosts.
Marvel Land is a platform game released by Namco in arcades in 1990. It runs on the Namco System 2 hardware. The game was published for the Mega Drive in 1991, with the European version renamed Talmit's Adventure. The game shares its name with the fictitious kingdom where the 1986 Japan-only Famicom game Valkyrie no Bōken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu takes place, but has no connections with it otherwise. Likewise the game has no connections with Marvel Comics or any of their associated characters either. In December 2022, the arcade version of Marvel Land was re-released exclusively in Japan on the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4 on the Arcade Archives lineup of digital arcade titles. It was originally planned for worldwide release at one point but was ultimately cancelled due to licensing issues with Disney and Hamster Corporation.
Namco Museum Battle Collection is a 2005 video game compilation developed by Tose and published by Namco for the PlayStation Portable; the first Namco Museum since the PS1 series to be developed in Japan. It includes 21 games - four of these are brand-new "arrangement" remakes of older Namco games, while the rest are emulated ports of Namco arcade games from the 1970s and 1980s. These ports include an options menu that allows the player to modify the in-game settings, such as the screen orientation and number of lives. Players can send one-level demos to a friend's console via the "Game Sharing" option in the main menu.
Pac-Man World 3 is a platform video game developed by Blitz Games and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Microsoft Windows. The Nintendo DS version was ported by Human Soft. Released in 2005, it is the third and final installment in the Pac-Man World trilogy and the only one to not be released in Japan. It also features a speaking Pac-Man for the first time ever outside of the cartoon series.
Dig Dug: Digging Strike is a 2005 maze video game published by Namco for the Nintendo DS. In Europe, the game was published by Atari Europe. It is the fifth entry in the Dig Dug video game series, and the second to be made for a home platform. The game follows series protagonist Taizo Hori, bitter about his son Susumu getting more attention than him—after a chain of tropical islands is threatened by monsters, Taizo sets out to defeat them and reclaim his fame. Gameplay combines mechanics established in the original Dig Dug and its sequel Dig Dug II, centered around sinking a large "boss" character into the ocean by digging under large stakes in the ground.
New Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game released by Namco in 1981. It is a lightly tweaked version of 1980's Rally-X, with slightly enhanced graphics, easier gameplay, a new soundtrack, and a "Lucky Flag" that gives the player extra points for remaining fuel when collected.
Pac-Man World Rally, known in Europe as Pac-Man Rally, is a kart racing game in the Pac-Man series. It was published by Bandai Namco Games, and released on August 22, 2006, for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft Windows. An Xbox version of the game was cancelled, though a preview of the game can be found in the Xbox release of Pac-Man World 3.
Pac & Pal is a 1983 maze chase arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is part of the company's Pac-Man series and the third to have been produced in-house. Players control Pac-Man as he must eat the items in an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts that pursue him. Pac-Man is assisted by a green-colored creature named Miru, the titular "Pal", who brings the items back to the center box. Pac-Man can also collect power-ups that allow him to briefly stun the ghosts.
Motos is an arcade game that was released by Namco on September 20, 1985. It runs on Namco Super Pac-Man hardware but with a video system like that used in Mappy, The Tower of Druaga, Grobda and Dig Dug II.
Sky Kid is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game released by Namco in 1985. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware but with a video system like that used in Dragon Buster. It is also the first game from Namco to allow two players to play simultaneously. The game was later released on the Famicom, and both this version for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U and the original arcade version for the Wii were later released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service, and for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives line of digital releases. The NES version was also ported to arcades for the Nintendo VS. System as VS. Super Sky Kid, but promotional materials and the cabinet for this version just use the name VS. Sky Kid.
Tinkle Pit is a maze arcade game that was released by Namco in 1994 in Japan. It features many of the characters from the company's earlier games.
Pac-Mania is a cavalier perspective maze game that was developed and released by Namco for arcades in 1987. In the game, the player controls Pac-Man as he must eat all of the dots while avoiding the colored ghosts that chase him in the maze. Eating large flashing "Power Pellets" will allow Pac-Man to eat the ghosts for bonus points, which lasts for a short period of time. A new feature to this game allows Pac-Man to jump over the ghosts to evade capture. It is the ninth title in the Pac-Man video game series and was the last one developed for arcades up until the release of Pac-Man Arrangement in 1996. Development was directed by Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani. It was licensed to Atari Games for release in North America.
Namco Museum Remix is a 2007 video game compilation developed and published for the Wii by Namco Bandai Games. The compilation includes nine Namco arcade games and five "remix" games made specifically for this compilation. A remake, Namco Museum Megamix, was released exclusively in North America on November 26, 2010; the game features nine other arcade games alongside the titles from the original, as well as an additional remix game based on Grobda.
Namco Museum DS is a 2007 video game compilation developed by M2 and published by Namco Bandai Games. The game features 7 arcade games previously published by Namco along with a Nintendo DS version of the Nintendo-developed title Pac-Man Vs.
Pac-Man Party is a party game by Namco Bandai Games for the Wii and Nintendo 3DS. It is similar to the Mario Party series and Monopoly games for the Wii. In the game's story mode, players must retrieve a stolen cookie recipe from Pac-Man's enemies Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde and return it to its rightful owner, Mr. Cookie. The game was released to coincide with Pac-Man's 30th anniversary. The game notably features redesigns of the main characters which would carry over to following Pac-Man titles in the mid-2010s, culminating with Ghostly Adventures.
↑ "AOU '96 PREVIEW - ナムコ"(PDF) (in Japanese). No.513. Amusement Press. Game Machine. 1 March 1996. p.14. Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No.518. Amusement Press. 15 May 1996. p.21.
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