Namco Museum Vol. 1

Last updated
Namco Museum Vol. 1
Namco Museum Vol. 1 cover art.jpg
North American cover art.
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s)
Series Namco Museum
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
  • JP: November 22, 1995
  • NA: July 31, 1996
  • EU: August 17, 1996
Genre(s) Various
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Namco Museum Vol. 1 [lower-alpha 1] is a 1995 arcade video game compilation developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. The collection includes seven arcade games developed by the company that were originally released in the 1980s, such as Pac-Man , Galaga and Pole Position . The compilation features a 3D open-world virtual museum that the player can interact with, the games being housed in themed rooms with exhibits, such as promotional flyers, cabinet artwork and instruction cards. Players can also view Namco product catalogs, promotional pamphlets and front cover scans of the company's Japanese press literature.

Contents

The game's development was directed by Shinichirō Okamoto, with Galaga creator Shigeru Yokoyama assigned as producer. The Namco Museum name was originally used for a chain of Namco-owned department stores in the early 1980s that sold goods based on Namco game characters. Each of the included arcade games use a JAMMA emulator running the game's original source code, making them near-perfect arcade ports.

Namco Museum Vol. 1 was met with mixed to favorable reviews from critics. Although its loading times and lack of appeal to modern players was criticized, it was praised for its replay value, virtual museum and included exhibits, as well as the selection of included titles. It would go on to sell 1.65 million units in North America alone and spawn five additional volumes, alongside similar collections for other platforms. A digital version of the game was released for the PlayStation Store in 2014 under the PSone Classics brand.

Gameplay

PlayStation version screenshot, showing the player walking around the Pac-Man exhibit. Namco Museum Vol. 1 screenshot.png
PlayStation version screenshot, showing the player walking around the Pac-Man exhibit.

Namco Museum Vol. 1 is a compilation of seven Namco-developed arcade games from the 1980s — Pac-Man (1980), Rally-X (1980), New Rally-X (1981), Galaga (1981), Bosconian (1981), Pole Position (1982) and Toy Pop (1986). Players can modify in-game settings, such as the starting number of lives, [1] and can also enable the game's original boot-up sequence. [2] Pole Position supports the Namco NeGcon for analog to compensate for the lack of an analog controller at the time, [1] while Galaga and Pac-Man allow support for vertical monitors. [1]

The collection uses a 3D virtual museum that the player can walk around and interact with, as opposed to a menu system like other similar compilations. [1] Each of the included games have their own exhibit and a room themed after them. [2] [1] Exhibits contain a number of promotional material that can be viewed by the player, including instruction cards, arcade flyers, cabinet artwork and the game's circuit board. [1] [2] [3] A "lounge" area can also be accessed in the main lobby containing other bits of Namco-related marketing material, including pamphlets, product catalogs and front cover scans of their Japanese video game magazine Namco Community Magazine NG.

Development and release

Namco Museum Vol. 1 was released in Japan on November 22, 1995, [4] in North America on July 31, 1996, and in Europe on August 17, 1996. Development was directed by Shinichirō Okamoto and produced by Galaga creator Shigeru Yokoyama. [5] The Namco Museum name was originally used for a chain of Namco-operated department stores in the 1980s, which sold goods based on Namco game characters and had many of the company's earlier arcade games available to play. [6] Each of the included games use JAMMA emulator running the game's original source code, making them near-perfect ports. [2] A digital version of the game was released onto the PlayStation Network under the PSone Classics lineup on September 30, 2014. [7] [8]

Reception

Namco Museum Vol. 1 was met with mostly mixed to favorable reviews from critics, who praised its virtual museum, exhibits and replay value, although some would criticize the lack of appeal towards modern demographics and long loading times. It holds a 74% on aggregator website GameRankings. [9] It sold 1.65 million copies in North America as of December 2007. [15]

Next Generation praised the collection's 3D museum and interchangeable features, although noted of the game's long loading time for viewing the promotional items. They recommended the compilation to fans of the included titles, concluding that it "is good as this sort of thing gets." [2] IGN stated that the included titles "really have stood the test of time", saying that they still remain fun years after their original release. [13] Four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly highlighted the collection's excellent emulation quality and museum content, with one reviewer calling it one of the best video game compilations for the console, saying it is "a great addition to anyone's collection who couldn't pump enough quarters into the machine to fill his or her head." [11] Consoles Plus recommended the collection to fans of the originals, tacking on that younger players would find them "nerdy and uninteresting." [10]

In a more negative light, Maximum found most of the included games to be "well past their expiration date", particularly comparing Pole Position unfavorably to Namco's own Ridge Racer Revolution . [14] They did state, however, that the aforementioned Pole Position, Galaga and Pac-Man were "indisputably classic" titles and noted their historical importance. [14] Tommy Glide of GamePro labeled Toy Pop as the weakest title, calling it a "throwaway" game, while also saying the museum material was not as well-done as those found in Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits . [12] He did, however, say it was worth owning for fans of the original arcade games, and at least worth renting. [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: ナムコミュージアムVOL.1, Hepburn: Namuko Myūjiamu Boryūmu 1

Related Research Articles

<i>Ms. Pac-Man</i> 1982 video game

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to Pac-Man (1980), and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the titular character, the player is tasked with eating all of the pellets in an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating the larger “power pellets” lets the player eat the ghosts, who turn blue and flee.

<i>Galaxian</i> 1979 arcade video game

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. It was licensed and distributed by Midway Manufacturing in North America. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them.

<i>Galaga</i> 1981 arcade game created by Namco

Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to Galaxian (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. Some enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued to transform the player into a "dual fighter" with additional firepower.

<i>Dig Dug</i> 1982 video game

Dig Dug is a maze arcade 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.

In video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate games are available individually for purchase or were previously available individually. For this reason, collections, anthologies, and compilations are considered multicarts. The desirability of the multicart to consumers is that it provides better value, greater convenience, and more portability than the separate games would provide. The advantage to developers is that it allows two or more smaller games to be sold together for the price of one larger game, and provides an opportunity to repackage and sell older games one more time, often with little or no changes.

<i>Rally-X</i> 1980 video game

Rally-X is a maze chase arcade game developed and released by Namco in 1980. Players control a blue Formula One racecar through a series of multi-scrolling levels and must collect yellow flags scattered about. There are enemy red cars that pursue the player in an attempt to collide with them, and there are also boulders that must be avoided. Red cars can be temporarily stunned by laying down smoke screens at the cost of a portion of their fuel.

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.

<i>Galaga 88</i> 1987 video game

Galaga '88 is a 1987 fixed shooter arcade video game by Namco. It is the third sequel for Galaxian. It features significantly improved graphics over the previous games in the series, including detailed backgrounds, larger enemies and greater ship details. The game runs on Namco System 1 hardware.

<i>Gaplus</i> 1984 video game

Gaplus is a 1984 fixed shooter arcade game developed and released by Namco. It is the third game in the Galaxian series, serving as a direct sequel to Galaga (1981). In North America, a modification kit was later released to change the name to Galaga 3, possibly to reflect its position in the series. It was the only game other than Phozon to run on the Namco Phozon hardware. A contemporary home port for the Commodore 64 was released in 1988. A "demastered" version of the game was included in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 as a bonus title.

<i>Namco Museum Battle Collection</i> 2005 video game

Namco Museum Battle Collection is a 2005 video game compilation developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation Portable. 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.

<i>Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1</i> 1995 video game

Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 is a 1995 arcade game compilation developed and published by Namco. It includes three of the company's most well-known games from the early 1980s — Galaga (1981), Xevious (1983), and Mappy (1983) — alongside brand-new "Arrangement" remakes of these games that have updated gameplay, visuals, and sounds. The arcade originals are also modified slightly to end after a certain number of rounds. Super Xevious (1984) is also playable. It ran on the Namco ND-1 arcade system, being one of the first games to utilize it.

<i>Gee Bee</i> (video game) 1978 video game

Gee Bee is a block breaker/video pinball hybrid arcade game developed and published by Namco in 1978. The player controls a set of paddles with a rotary knob, with the objective being to score as many points as possible by deflecting a ball against bricks, pop bumpers and other objects in the playfield. It was developed by Toru Iwatani, known as the creator of Pac-Man and Pole Position. Outside Japan, it was published by Gremlin Industries.

<i>Cutie Q</i> 1979 video game

Cutie Q is a 1979 block breaker/video pinball hybrid arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. The player controls a set of paddles with a rotary knob, the objective being to score as many points possible by deflecting a ball against blocks, ghosts, spinners and other objects on the playfield. It was designed by Shigeru Yokoyama, with spritework done by Toru Iwatani. It is the third and final game in the Gee Bee trilogy.

<i>Namco Museum Remix</i> 2007 video game

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.

<i>Namco Museum DS</i> 2007 video game

Namco Museum DS is a classic arcade game compilation published by Namco Bandai Games. It was originally released for the Nintendo DS on September 18, 2007.

<i>Namco Museum Virtual Arcade</i> 2008 video game

Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is a video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America in 2008 and in Europe and Japan in 2009. Part of its Namco Museum series, Virtual Arcade includes 34 titles; nine of these are Namco Bandai-published Xbox Live Arcade games, and the rest are arcade games that are only accessible through the disc. Players can access the Xbox Live Arcade games through their dashboard if the disc is in the console.

<i>Namco Museum Essentials</i> 2009 video game

Namco Museum Essentials is a 2009 video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3. The collection includes five Namco arcade games from the 1980s: Pac-Man (1980), Galaga (1981), Dig Dug (1982), Xevious (1983), and Dragon Spirit (1987), alongside an exclusive Xevious sequel, Xevious Resurrection. Player progress is rewarded with stamps, which could be redeemed for virtual items in the now-defunct PlayStation Home service. Stamps also award points when collected, used to unlock extra features such as wallpapers.

<i>Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions</i> 2011 video game

Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions is a 2011 video game compilation developed and published for the Nintendo 3DS by Namco Bandai Games. It contains six games from the company's Pac-Man and Galaxian franchises—Pac-Man (1980), Galaga (1981), Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007), Galaga Legions (2008), Pac-Man Tilt, and Galaga 3D Impact, the last two being unique games created exclusively for this collection. The collection also includes achievements, online leaderboards, and a trailer for the Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures television series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Namco Museum Vol. 1 instruction manual. Namco. 31 July 1996. pp. 1–26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Finals". Next Generation . No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 148. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  3. ↑ El (September 1996). "Namco Museum Volume 1" (9). GameFan. p.  86 . Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "『ナムコミュージアム VOL.1』は、この6タイトル". Namco. 22 November 1995. Archived from the original on 26 July 1997. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  5. ↑ Namco Museum Vol. 1. Namco. 11 November 1995. Producer - Shigeru Yokoyama. Director - Shinichiro Okamoto.
  6. ↑ "Namco Product Catalog". Namco Ltd. 1984. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Clements, Ryan (28 September 2014). "The Drop: New PlayStation Games for 9/30/2014". PlayStation Blog . Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Estrada, Marcus (30 September 2014). "Namco Museum Vol. 1-5 Headed to PSN". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Namco Museum Vol. 1 for PlayStation". GameRankings . Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Namco Museum Vol. 1" (in French) (56). Consoles +. August 1996. p. 158. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Namco Arcade Classics" (82). Electronic Gaming Monthly. May 1996. p. 34.
  12. 1 2 3 Glide, Tommy (September 1996). "Namco's Museum Volume 1" (86). GamePro. p. 64. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  13. 1 2 IGN Staff (25 November 1996). "Namco Museum Vol. 1". IGN. Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  14. 1 2 3 "Maximum Reviews: Namco Museum Volume 1" (5). Emap International Limited. Maximum. April 1996. p. 157.
  15. ↑ "US Platinum Chart Games". The Magic Box. 27 December 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.