Namco Museum Essentials

PlayStation 3 version screenshot.

Namco Museum Essentials consists of six games - five of these are Namco arcade games from the 1980s, while the sixth, Xevious Resurrection, is exclusive to this collection.[1] The arcade games allow the player to start on any stage the player had previously been to, as well as featuring a score attack mode where the player is to gain as many points possible before dying.[1][2] In-game options allow the player to change the number of lives and border artwork. Multiplayer is excluded from each game, with the exception of Xevious Resurrection.[1]

By completing certain objectives in each of the games, players are rewarded with stamps that were redeemable for items in the now-defunct PlayStation Home service, such as shirts, hats and arcade cabinets;[3] the game includes over 50 unlockable items.[2] Stamps also award points when unlocked, which can increase a player's account level;[2] reaching new levels can also unlock items such as wallpapers.[1] Online leaderboards are also present, allowing players to view scores from other users around the world as well as from friends.[1] Players also have access to a sound test and the ability to record a friend's progress.[4]

Namco Museum Essentials was published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3. Development was outsourced to Cattle Call,[5] and titled Namco Museum.comm for its Japanese release - the ".comm" believed to mean "community", in reference to the game's online services.[6] To help promote the game, Namco Bandai created a custom PlayStation Home hub area,[7] which was also used to promote their other digital-only games - players could unlock additional items for their PlayStation Home upon visiting the space and could also play a demo of Essentials,[8][9] which was titled Namco Museum BETA[lower-alpha 2] in Japan.[10] The game was one of the earliest titles to utilize PlayStation Home's rewards system.[11] Essentials was released in Japan on January 29, 2009,[10] in North America on July 16, 2009,[12] and in Europe on April 1, 2010.[12] The game was pulled from the PlayStation Store on March 15, 2018.[13]

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 66.25%[14] Metacritic 64/100[15] Review scores Publication Score GamePro 3.5/5[16] IGN 7.5/10[1] Push Square [12]

Upon release, Namco Museum Essentials was met with mixed to positive reviews from critics. Although criticism was drawn towards the small game library and lack of online multiplayer, praise was given to the game's presentation, emulation quality and unlockable extras. It holds a 64/100 on Metacritic and a 66.25% on GameRankings.[14]

In their review, IGN called the overall presentation "top-notch", praising the game's use of PlayStation Home and bonus content, which they noted added replay value to the games.[1] Push Square stated that the unlockable extras and leaderboards "brings the classics into the 21st-century", as well as praising the emulation quality.[12] GamePro complemented the addition of the stamp system, claiming that it gave the game more depth.[16]

Despite this, reviewers were critical of the small game library and lack of multiplayer. GamePro criticized the game library for being too small and lacking any updated visuals or features, as well as criticizing the lack of multiplayer and “unnecessarily large” large file size.[16] Similarly, IGN expressed disappointment that multiplayer was excluded from the games except Xevious Resurrection, as well as being critical of the small game library.[1] Although GamePro disliked the game's price point, advising readers to "choose wisely" before purchasing,[16] Push Square contested this, saying that it was "worth the chance" to fans of Namco's game catalog.[12]

• Official website (Japanese)