Namco Museum Battle Collection

Namco Museum Battle Collection
Developer(s) Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s) Namco
SCEE (Europe)
Series Namco Museum Edit this on Wikidata
Platform(s) PlayStation Portable
Release
  • JP: February 24, 2005
  • NA: August 23, 2005
  • EU: December 9, 2005
  • EU: May 6, 2009 (Platinum)
  • EU: April 8, 2011 (PSP Essentials)
Genre(s) Action Compilation
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer, Game Sharing

Namco Museum Battle Collection is a collection of Namco arcade games such as Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Galaga and was developed by Namco Tales Studio Ltd.. It was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on February 24, 2005 and contained eleven classic games from Namco's game history. The North American and European versions contained an additional ten games and was released on August 23, 2005. The Europe version, which was published by SCEE, was released on December 9, 2005 and was again as a Platinum and PSP Essentials hits on May 6, 2009 and April 8, 2011 respectively.

The compilation also contains four variants of several of Namco's more well-known properties, known as Arrangements. These games (Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga and New Rally-X) have an updated presentation and also introduce a number of new gameplay concepts to each arranged title.

The classic games have the option to rotate the screen by ninety degrees to display the original arcade resolution alongside other size options typically not found in the Namco Museum series. The game also takes advantage of the PlayStation Portable's game sharing feature to allow other players who don't have a copy of the game to play any of the classic titles' first levels.

Additionally, the games in this collection are ports, rather than true emulations, denoted by the fact that in the original modes, the "waiting for start" screens (occurring after inserting a credit, but before starting the game) have been replaced by modern "console-style" options rendered in the style (font, etc.) of the original games. The options include "1P PLAY", 2P PLAY", and "OPTIONS". Also added is the ability to select any level that the player has already played. The only games without an added level select feature are The Tower of Druaga and Grobda due to the former's option to continue the last game on any level reached and the latter already possessing a stage select feature.

Games

Namco Museum Battle Collection contains the following games.

Arrangements

  • Pac-Man Arrangement
  • Dig Dug Arrangement
  • Galaga Arrangement
  • New Rally-X Arrangement

Each title has "Arrangement" as part of its name. However, these versions are unique to the PlayStation Portable and should not be confused with the original set of Arrangements (which also included Xevious and Mappy) released in 1995 and 1996 for arcades (See Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 & 2).[1] In the arcade, New Rally-X Arrangement was Rally-X Arrangement. All Arrangements from this collection (except for New Rally-X Arrangement) were released for iOS with "Remix" replacing "Arrangement" in the name and are included in Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for the Xbox 360, but these ports of the Arrangements removed all of the multiplayer features. The originals are also included with most of them for both ports. Pac-Man Arrangement from this compilation was also included in Pac-Man Museum which, like on iOS and Namco Museum Virtual Arcade, lacks the multiplayer features. This version of the game also excludes the fifth ghost, "Kinky" which in the original Pac-Man Arrangement would interact with and enhance other ghosts.

Original

Regional differences

In Japan and Korea, the original release is known simply as Namco Museum for the PSP. It consists of the four arrangements and their respective games of origin, along with the original Rally-X, Galaxian, and in Japan, Ms. Pac-Man. The Japanese version was released on February 24, 2005 while the Korean version was released on May 2, 2005.

In the Korean version of this compilation, Ms. Pac-Man is not included. Also in the Korean version, Galaxian, Rally-X, New Rally-X and New Rally-X Arrangement are called Old Galaga, Banggoo, New Banggoo and New Banggoo Arrangement respectively.

The second volume of Namco Museum for the PSP called Namco Museum Volume 2 was released on February 23, 2006 in Japan and on November 8, 2007 in Korea. Largely composed of the ten extra titles prepared for the International versions (denoted in the list above with an asterisk), Volume 2 also contains a port of 1987's Dragon Spirit as well as a brand-new arrangement of Motos and an updated arrangement of Pac-Man. Pac Man Arrangement Plus, as it is titled, bears no affiliation with Bally/Midway's Pac-Man Plus.

Both volumes of the Japanese version are available on the Japanese PlayStation Store.

Reception

Namco Museum Battle Collection received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, praising the game for its multiplayer features, sound, and graphics. However, they criticized the Game Sharing feature for its limited usage and lack of Arrangement games.[2]

Gamespot's Jeff Gerstmann gave the game a 7.5, praising the game's 21 game titles, various display options, controls, and good emulation. However, he criticized the game sharing demo for its bare-bones presentation, and requiring the PSP to be at the latest firmware before use.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Namco Museum Battle Collection Box Shot for PSP - GameFAQs". Gamefaqs.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Namco Museum Battle Collection". IGN. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (24 August 2005). "Namco Museum Battle Collection Review". Gamespot.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.