Welcome all, to the Namco Museum! We all have dream jobs that will probably never come to fruition because those jobs may be too far away from reality. Well I have one such dream job. I’d like to be a curator and tour guide of the Namco Museum! Too bad there’s no such thing as a REAL Namco Museum, huh? But hey, this is MY blog and I can do whatever I want, so today I’d like to take you all on a tour of the newest edition to the Namco Museum series: Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for the Xbox 360! And we’re walking, we’re walking…

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade has the most arcade classics out of any game in the Museum series before it. Over 30 games! The main draw of this collection is that you can now play ALL the Namco arcade classics and updates previously only available through Xbox Live Arcade’s download service. This includes well-known classics like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga, as well as the stellar updates Pac-Man: Championship Edition and Galaga Legions. If you haven’t downloaded these yet, Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is simply worth the 30 bucks just to have them all. It’s cheaper than spending Microsoft Points!

A lot of reviewers say one problem with these Live Arcade games is that you have to leave the main game and go to the dashboard to play them, and you can only play them on the dashboard when the disc is inserted. Well, I don’t think it’s that bad of a problem. It’s a lot like those other Live Arcade discs that Microsoft sells for 20 bucks a pop from time to time (I have one with Geometry Wars and others on it). I do have one question that maybe you all can help me with: Since I have some of these Live Arcade games on my HD already, if I erased them since I have them on a disc now, can I still keep my high scores and achievements? Anyone know? Any help on that would be appreciated.

The other games are directly on the disc. There’s a wide selection, more so than any other Museum, but I do have one main problem. These other games don’t have any achievements! All the achievements are in the Live Arcade games. It would’ve been nice to have some achievements in the other games, especially the ones I’m really good at, like Super Pac-Man or Mappy. At least they save your high scores. Leaderboards would’ve been nice, too.

There is no 3-D museum or cabinet replicas to sift though. I miss that from the PSOne volumes. The menu where you select your games is pretty bare boned and similar to the menus in games like Taito Legends. But for our ‘tour’ of the Namco Museum, I’m going to categorize the games in different wings of my pretend museum as we go through them. So please stay in the group, and hold all questions until the end of the tour.

Pac-Man Wing
It only seems natural to dedicate a wing of the museum to Namco’s number one mascot and most recognized game. And there’s a lot of Pac-Man in Virtual Arcade, too.

Pac-Man
This is one of the Xbox Live Arcade games. I don’t think I have to explain it too much, do I? Even though I don’t have a high score in Pac-Man like Billy Mitchell, or a big Pac-Man Web site shrine, I think it’s still safe to say I’m one of the biggest Pac-Man fans out there. I have a Pac-Man arcade machine in my garage, boxes of Pac-Man merchandise I’ve collected, etc. Even though I would never spend 400 points just to have Pac-Man, I’m glad it’s on the Virtual Arcade because it just didn’t seem right that the number one Pac-Man fan didn’t have it on the Xbox 360!

Ms. Pac-Man
Another Xbox Live Arcade game I don’t think I need to explain too much. Probably more popular than Pac-Man himself. I’ve played the Xbox Live version over at friends’ houses and I have to say that it’s quite a bit harder than the actual arcade version.

Super Pac-Man
I don’t care what people say, Super Pac-Man is one of my favorite Pac-Man games. Sure it’s a little lighter on the gameplay, but I just love how wacky and noisy this game is! There used to be a Super Pac-Man machine outside the Wal-Mart in our hometown when I was a kid, and I played it all the time and that’s how I got so good at it. I wish they had some achievements for this game!

Pac & Pal
This one was never released in the US, though some places on the Internet said it was prototyped to be released here as Pac-Man & Chomp-Chomp (Pac-Man’s dog from the cartoon). You can play Pac & Pal on the Wii Namco Museum Remix and on one of the Jakks-Pacific joystick games, though. It’s a lot like Super Pac-Man but I don’t like it as much. Pac-Man and the ghosts still run around a maze, but this time Pac-Man unlocks the doors by flipping over cards that have a picture of a fruit on it. The “Pal” in the game is a little green blob with a bow named “Miru” in Japan. She will grab any uneaten fruits and bring them back to the ghost’s hideout. Sure it saves you from having to eat them, but you won’t get the points! There are no power pellets, but if you eat certain bonus items like the Galaxian flagship or Rally-X car, you can ‘shoot’ the ghosts to stun them for points.

Pac-Mania
This came out in the late 80’s. I was so excited when I first saw it in an arcade because it had been so long since I had seen a new Pac-Man game. It’s a isometric 3-D Pac-Man maze game with 16-bit graphics and Pac-Man can jump over the ghosts. I really like it and it’s one of my favorites.

Pac-Man Arrangement (PSP)
Unfortunately, the Arrangement games on this disc are the ones from the PSP, not the arcade. The Arrangement titles had updated graphics, audio, and some gameplay enhancements. But I prefer the arcade Arrangements more. The PSP ones are alright, but still kind of bland. I loved how the ghosts could get power-ups in the arcade Arrangement game.

Pac-Man: Championship Edition
If you don’t have Pac-Man: CE already, you need to go buy Virtual Arcade NOW (it’s better than spending 800 points to download it). It’s one of the best Pac-Man updates to come out in a long time and it’s also one of the reasons why I bought a 360 in the first place! It’s that good.

Galaxian Wing
There are plenty of Galaxian/Galaga games on this collection so they get their own wing in the museum, too. I talked extensively about each game in the series on a previous Namco Museum Tour Blog about Galaga Legions so I probably won’t go into as much detail here again. Just go read that old blog (if you can find it).

Galaxian
The first game in the Galaga series took the Space Invaders gameplay popular at the time and added to it. Color graphics, sounds, and enemies that would dive down at you. Shoot the flagships and their escorts in order as they dive for a high score.

Galaga
This one’s an Xbox Live game and nearly just as popular as Ms. Pac-Man. In fact, you can still see Galaga machines in arcades today, just like Ms. Pac-Man. And also just like the Ms. Pac-Man Live Arcade game, the Live version of Galaga seems a lot harder than the original arcade version. Galaga started the whole ‘get a dual fighter by letting your ship get captured’ gameplay hook found in nearly all other Galaga games after.

Galaga 88
This one’s a lot of fun. It’s a 16-bit update to the original with new enemies, formations, and power-ups. It’s also got a little bit of a cutesy vibe to it. I love the up close view of the bugs before each stage that go ‘wa-wa-wa-wa’ at you!

Galaga Arrangement (PSP)
Again, it’s the PSP Arrangement game. The arcade Arrangement is so much better and nearly as good as Galaga 88.

Galaga Legions
Another Live game made by the same folks who did Pac-Man: CE. I don’t like it as much as Pac-Man: CE, but it’s still a fun and creative shooter with Galaga elements. But it’s really hard!

Bosconian
Not really a Galaga game, but it does run on Galaga hardware. Which is probably why you don’t see too many Bosconian arcade machines because they were all converted to the more popular and money-making Galaga game. I had never played it before until it was on the very first Namco Museum. I discovered it was actually pretty fun for such an old game. You fly around space and destroy these green pentagon shaped space stations.

Taizo Hori Wing
Taizo is the name of the digger in the Dig Dug games, and he gets his own wing, too, with all the digging related games on this collection.

Dig Dug
I actually downloaded Dig Dug on Live when I first got my Xbox 360. They had a sale and it was only 200 points, and I wanted to see what an arcade game was like on the 360. I’m proud to say that Dig Dug is one of the only games I’ve gotten ALL the achievements on (the other one being Pac-Man: CE). I also have Dig Dug arcade machine in my garage.

Dig Dug 2
I’m not sure if the little-known Dig Dug sequel was ever brought to the US. I remember Bandai ported the NES version to the US. You still pump up Pookas and Fygars, but now the view is an overhead perspective, and you use a jackhammer to drill into spokes to create fault lines in the ground, and you can sink whole sections of an island this way, taking out any enemies on it! I love how they implemented the Dig Dug 2 gameplay in the DS update: Dig Dug: Digging Strike, but I think I’m the only one who liked that game.

Dig Dug Arrangement (PSP)
Again, I’m sad it’s not the arcade one. The arcade Arrangement game had fun two player support and one of the enemies on the moon was the Cosmo Gang alien.

Mr. Driller Online
I love the Mr. Driller games. Which makes Mr. Driller Online such a disappointment. Mainly because the Online part doesn’t work! Namco said they were going to make a patch for it, but I don’t think they have yet. I thought maybe they might with Virtual Arcade’s release, but nope. I guess the one player mode is still alright, but why put Online in the title if that part is broken? I wish Namco would port Mr. Driller: Drill Land to the US.

Baraduke
Hey what’s this doing in the Dig Dug section? It’s a space shooter! A lot of people compare Baraduke with Metroid because under all that armor, the main character underneath is actually a woman nicknamed “Kissy.” But I think Baraduke actually plays more like the NES game Air Fortress. So why is Baraduke here? Well, when the Mr. Driller games became popular and Namco wanted to give some personality to the characters, they had the main character’s (Susumu’s) dad be the same guy from the old Dig Dug game, since both games share similar aspects. But who was Susumu’s mom? Later Namco said it was Kissy from Baraduke! That’s why you can see Kissy in cameos in Mr. Driller Drill Land. According to the story, Taizo and Kissy divorced, and they even squabble in Namco X Capcom. Hopefully we won’t have any domestic disputes in this end of the Namco Museum wing!

Reiko Nagase Wing
The area housing the racing games on this collection is named after the Ridge Racer lady.

Pole Position 1 and 2
These are two separate games. But they’re both pretty much the same except the sequel has a few more tracks. They were actually pretty revolutionary for their time, but not as much now. I have a special memory of these games as when I was little and my dad and I went to arcades, if they had a sit-down Pole Position or other racing game, he would always let me sit in his lap while we played.

New Rally-X (and Rally-X)
Actually I don’t really consider these racing games. You drive around a maze and collect flags while avoiding other cars. Really it’s just Pac-Man with race cars. I’m not sure why anyone would want to play the original Rally-X, though, since the updated New version is much better and more playable. New Rally-X is a Live Arcade game and I got most of the achievements in one playthrough!

Metro-Cross
Most people probably wouldn’t consider this a racing game, but it kinda is. You race against the clock in an obstacle course with hurdles, pits, and other hazards. Your little man is trying to make it to the end before the course explodes! The music sounds like “Hit the Road, Jack.” I specifically remember seeing this game in an arcade once. It was right next to the Jr. Pac-Man machine at a Tilt arcade. I usually remember the games next to Pac-Man titles in arcades, and it’s hard NOT to forget a game where you jump over giant rolling cans of Coke.

Valkyrie Wing
Any game on this collection with a fantasy theme gets put in the Valkyrie wing. Strangely enough, The Legend of Valkyrie isn’t on this collection, but I decided to name a wing after it anyway because the game is cool.

King & Balloon
This is basically Galaxian. You have to shoot at rows of balloons that shoot you and swoop down. You don’t die if you get hit, though. A seemingly inept king walks back and forth below you. If a balloon takes him off the screen, then you lose a life. It also had some voice clips as the king said, “Help! Help!,” “Thank You!,” and “Bye, Bye!” You can also play King & Balloon on the PSP Namco Museum.

Tower of Druaga
I can never figure out why they keep putting this on Namco Museums in the US. I guess it’s so they can sell it in Japan, too. It never was in the US originally. It’s a dungeon maze game, but it’s really not that good. In order to get the treasure on each floor (some essential for beating the game), you have to do weird things that you have no clue how to do. But strangely enough, even though I don’t like the game, I’m intrigued by it anyway. Why was it so popular in Japan? It’s VERY loosely based on the oldest piece of Sumerian literature: The Epic of Gilgamesh. It also has tons of spinoffs and cameos in other Namco games, even to this day. And now I hear there’s a generic online PC game in Japan and an anime to go along with it based on Druaga as well. So yeah, Tower of Druaga is definitely an interesting piece of Namco lore.

Dragon Buster
I like to describe this game as an arcadey, proto-Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link game. There’s a mini-game version of Dragon Buster on the Namco Island in Tales of the Abyss.

Dragon Spirit
It’s a shooter that’s a lot like Xevious in that you shoot both air and bomb ground targets. Except here you’re a dragon instead of a spaceship. And it’s really hard!

Solvalou Wing
Games in the Xevious series go here. The spacecraft you pilot is called the Solvalou, but I have the hardest time trying to remember how to spell it!

Xevious
This top down scrolling shooter doesn’t look like much now, but it was probably one of the first of its kind. For some reason, when I was little I was fascinated by this game and one time I even got in trouble when I drew Xevious maps on a ream of dot matrix printer paper my dad bought! In Japan they even wrote extensive books on Xevious’ backstory! I liked it when Namco released Xevious 3D-G+ in the US. It’s the most comprehensive Xevious collection out there, and even had Xevious Arrangment from the arcade on it! I think it’s kind of funny that in the game, it looks like you’re flying over a golf course the whole time!

Grobda
This tank game reminds me of a fast paced version of Atari’s Combat. I do like how you can chain explosions together to get a high score. So why is it paired with Xevious in my Solvalou wing? Well, the tanks in Grobda are the same ones from Xevious. Personally, I would’ve rather had Assault on this collection. It was a tank game that used Mode 7 graphics and was on Namco Museum vol. 4. It would be perfect on the 360 with the dual analog controls.

Mappy Wing
All the rest of the games are put in this wing. Miscellaneous type stuff.

Mappy
I LOVE the Mappy game. It’s pretty much Pac-Man with gravity, as you are Mappy the police mouse and must collect treasures stolen by Nyamco (Goro) and the Mewkies (gangs of cats). You jump on trampolines to move around. You can really boost your score if you collect matching treasures. And the music’s pretty catchy, too. I like most of the games in the Mappy series, except for maybe Hopping Mappy. I really enjoyed the two player arcade Mappy Arrangement game. I wish that was on here.

Motos
It’s basically like bumper cars and sumo wrestling…IN SPACE! I liked the Pac-Motos update on Namco Museum Remix on the Wii. I wonder why they didn’t put the PSP Motos Arrangement on here. It was on the Japan-only Namco Museum PSP sequel.

SkyKid (and Deluxe)
SkyKid is a pretty fun and cute shooter. You scroll from right to left this time and you’re a cute little biplane and must shoot cute little planes and tanks and bomb a target at the end. I love the music in the game, I even had it as a ring tone on my old cell phone. Deluxe is the same game, except harder. Oddly enough, the pilots of the planes, Baron and Max, are birds! Plenty of Ace Combat cameos, too.

Rolling Thunder
And last but not least, it’s the spy themed platform shooter Rolling Thunder. I never really liked this game in arcades that much. But after playing it again on the recent Namco Museums, I’ve come to appreciate it a little more. It certainly had a lot of style for a late 80’s arcade game!

Conclusions
And that’s all there is to the Namco Museum Virtual Arcade tour. I guess it’s a pretty decent collection of games but I don’t think that they took full advantage of the Xbox 360’s capabilities. No achievements in the non-Live games, no online two player support or leaderboards for any of the co-op games, and the fact that there’s really nothing new on here. It’s still definitely worth it if you don’t have Pac-Man CE or the other good Namco Arcade Live updates. But I still think they could’ve done so much more.

I’ve read people’s blogs about their favorite games like Street Fighter or Mega Man and they all seem to do nothing but complain. But I guess I kind of do that, too, with the Namco Museum games, as they are some of my favorites. In a way, it’s bad to complain because it appears as though you’ll never be satisfied. But it’s also good to complain about stuff like this because I think it can be a good idea to expect the best from things sometimes. Good encouragement for improvement is the way I see it.

In future Namco Museums, I’d like to see them do more. Exhibits with artwork and facts like in the PSOne Namco Museums. Or put in even more rare games that haven’t gotten much attention. I would LOVE to play Libble Rabble on the Xbox 360, as the dual controls would be great for that. Or maybe put in a few of Namco’s arcade games from the 90’s, like Lucky N Wild, The Outfoxies, Marvel Land, Orydne, Star Trigon (which I hear you can play on iPhones now) or the Japan-only Tinkle Pit. Or dare I say it, even Wonder Momo. Come on, Namco, take a chance every now and then. It worked with Katamari Damacy, didn’t it? What obscure Namco games would YOU like on a Museum? –Cary

Tags: Game Reviews