For those of us lucky enough to get Nintendo Switches at this point the selection of games has been limitedly decent with a few AAA titles and a slew of indie games and reproduced classics. While playing a few of those classics has been fun you don’t get any more classic than the titles found in the newly released Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch.
This interesting collection features eleven titles from Namco’s illustrious catalog almost all of which are from their coin operated days. This blast down memory lane features: PAC-MAN, Dig Dug, Galaga, Galaga ’88, The Tower of Druaga, Rolling Thunder, Rolling Thunder 2, Sky Kid, Splatterhouse, Tank Force and the more recently released PAC-MAN VS. By anyone’s first look this appears to be a pretty solid package for the $29.99 dollar price tag. For the most part I absolutely agree with that though a few of the choices seem odd when compared to the other titles.
The Namco Museum starts of pretty strong featuring PAC-MAN, a game that no Namco collection should be without. While my pellet eating skills are woefully lacking it’s hard not enjoy this game until either your fingers or your mind begs for mercy. Following that classic, you have Galaga and Galaga ’88 both of which are solid classic top-down space shooters where pattern learning and hand eye coordination is king. Next up is another classic Dig Dug, a game that is so simple it can be frustrating at times. This isn’t out of difficulty though more out of player error and a tiny bit of unluckiness instead.
From here the offerings enjoyment may vary for some. I always found myself going back and forth between three games in particular: Rolling Thunder, Rolling Thunder 2 and Splatterhouse. Splatterhouse itself almost needs no introduction as it pixelated gore filled halls make it one of the most violent sidescrolling beat ’em ups in gaming history but it’s no less a classic for it. Caution should be used around young ones for those not familiar with this one. Following in the sidescrolling genre is the Rolling Thunder franchise. These two games trade melee for guns as you shoot your way through enemy-filled environments which like other series in this genre was quite enjoyable and still just a challenging as it was years ago.
Another sidescrolling entry in this collection is Sky Kid, one of the few questionable titles found within this Museum’s walls. This aerial sidescroller’s premise has you taking off in each stage shooting down other planes or ground troops via diagonally aimed shots. Each stage has a target that can be eliminated but as far as I could tell isn’t mission critical. The only thing that seems to matter is that you land the plane at the end of the stage.
The other game that meets my odd choice category is The Tower of Druaga. This top-down dungeon crawler of sorts has you searching each floor for a key that unlock a door to the next level. Along the way you defeat slime monsters and spell casting wizards. Timing with both your sword and shield are key to survival as you make your way through this adventure. Both Sky Kid and Druaga aren’t bad games to be fair but for me they don’t really fit the overall pacing compared to the other titles in this collection. That leaves two games to go. The first, Tank Force, takes us back into top-down shooter territory with a pretty straight forward goal of defeating all the other enemies in each level before they destroy your base.
The final game in the collection, PAC-MAN VS., is the only one that steps away for the coin-op as it was originally created back in 2003 on the GameCube. This was interestingly the most enjoyable in the set from a mostly multiplayer perspective. Allowing up to 4 players this multiplayer oriented title pits Team PAC-MAN and Team Ghosts (my unofficial names) against each other in a fun spin on a classic game. After selecting a determined point limit and stage, the Ghosts must catch PAC-MAN as quickly as possible before he eats all the pellets. PAC-MAN is awarded points for every pellet and ghost defeated like the original while Ghosts players only earn them for catching PAC-MAN as many times as they can.
As PAC-MAN VS. is the only game in the collection to feature up to four players it requires two Switches to really play it with any more than three people. I luckily had the opportunity play with a few people and after we got the hang of the team switching found it to be a lot of fun. The interesting part is that when using two Switches the main console is for the Ghosts while the 2nd one is for the 2nd or 4th player depending on number of players who take control of PAC-MAN. The Ghost players viewing area is significantly reduced adding a level of intensity to the gameplay as you have no idea where either the AI or player-controlled PAC-MAN is at any given moment. Best of all the gameplay was fluid as could be between the wireless local play.
Of course, all the games in the Namco Museum allow for multiple players varying in some degree of simultaneous or alternating play. Showing off the versatility of the Switch everything contained within Namco Museum works great in both handheld and docked capacities though the portable option affords you with more options with a little care. The biggest feature for the portable configuration is the ability to rotate both the Switch and the screen display to play in portrait mode ala Arcade presentation at the press of a button.
Every game, minus PAC-MAN VS., also features beautiful arcade cabinet artwork viewable in either screen configuration while playing. While the overall package looks best on the Switch’s smaller screen, even the pixelated game graphics look decent on my large TV. Playing in in docked mode would also be probably the best option for most of the simultaneous 2 player games as it’ll be easier to see instead of being huddled in front of the smaller screen. Audio for the games that I’ve played before also sound on point so there are no complaints in that area.
With many old-school classics being brought back in collections such as the Namco Museum, there has always been room for enhancement. In all but one title they have added Challenge mode that puts your skills to the test to get the highest scores possible. You can also alter the game’s difficulty in Normal Mode to make the game easier or harder as well as allowing for more lives or continues if you want to just enjoy the game or put yourself through the wringer.
At the end of the day, the Namco Museum is full of enjoyable and iconic titles that almost anyone can find enjoyment in. Whether the $30 price tag is worth it is ultimately up to the buyer but for me there are titles here that I could literally play for hours so for me the answer is absolutely. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and play the games that paved the way and Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch allows you to do just that wherever you are. For anyone who loves the classics or for someone showing these titles to their kids for the first time this is an excellent addition to the Switch’s offerings.
