| Introduction
With everything Retro seemingly spiraling out of
control at present here we have yet another collection
of arcade classics repackaged for the GBA. Like it or
not this is where it all started when for most of us
the only way to get your weekly fix of electronic gaming
was a trip to your local arcade. As for people enjoying
this type of title, gamers seem very split, and while
some regard it as a nostalgia trip others see it as
a waste of time. We, here at EAGB, remain completely
open minded but by the end of the review we hope to
let you know if it's worth your time and, more importantly,
your money.
GamePlay
What NAMCO Museum delivers here is five arcade 'classics'
from a menu system and as this is purely a functional
part of the title we'd better concentrate on the important
part - the games. All round favourite Ms. Pac-Man starts
things off and is a truly wonderful conversion as it's
managed to retain its simplicity and addictive qualities
after all these years. It's also the only game here
that has two modes of play so you can either have a
static or scrolling screen. Pole Position was one of
the first Formula 1 titles to hit the arcades and although
this is really showing its age, with even the GBC now
featuring technically superior titles, it's still surprisingly
playable. Dig Dug is another gaming style that's seen
much emulation over the years as digging underground
whilst trying to crush enemies with boulders will really
never go out of fashion.
The inclusion of both Galag and Galaxians is a strange
one as they're almost the same space-based shooting
game. Graphically they're identical with only some slight
changes in the bonus scoring and captured ships to define
them as unique titles. Pausing any of the games brings
up a tips menu. This feature will magically transport
you to the arcades where there was always someone behind
you who knew the blind spots or how to get the most
points in the least amount of moves. It is, however,
a helpful little option as fine tuning your skills in
order to beat your last hi-score was the main objective
of playing these arcade games in the first place.
Controls
This really is back to the good old days so control,
as with the games, is deadly simple and most use only
the directional pad and a single button. As a result
of this it's all very intuitive which will allow you
to expend more grey matter on tackling the various games
instead of fiddling with a frustrating layout of buttons.
Graphics
As with everything else retro things are kept very
simple not by design but the technological restraints
of the time. Everything is blocky, using a handful of
colors with usually a simple black backdrop. Pole Position
is possibly the most ambitious but even this utilises
a GBC pallet rather than the Advanced one. There's nothing
cutting edge here but remember this is the early 80's
and nothing else was then either.
Sound & Music
Everything has been ported from the original arcade
sound effects which is short for "it could have
all been done on a GBC" and after a little playing
you'll realize it could have been with very little effort.
This is all part of the package though and suits the
gaming styles perfectly. the fact is that three colour
blocky sprites accompanied by sampled explosions and
a full stereo soundtrack would be a little too much.
Final Comments
Whilst NAMCO Museum is fun for a time it's by no
means the best Retro compilation out there and the recently
released Atari package offers far better value for money.
The highlight is without a doubt Ms. Pac-Man which is
still incredibly addictive and while the ideas behind
the other titles still work, the presentation is very
dated. Overall though if there are games that you remember
here with affection so it's probably worth a look as
they're all perfect arcade conversions, and in that
respect this title is a great success.
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