Customer Reviews

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The GBA version of Namco Museum 50th Anniversary has only 5 games, not 14 -- Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, and Rally-X is all you get. The other games mentioned in Amazon's description are not present. Wouldn't gripe about that if the games it has were playable, but control is awful. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man require being very precise with up/down/left/right. Dig Dug actually jerks and pauses with the music cutting out during gameplay. Galaga is worth playing, so I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. Also, hitting [select] rotates the graphics 90 degrees for arcade aspect ratio; maybe that's an important feature for some.

A better collection for the GBA is the regular Namco Museum (NOT 50th Anniversary). No Rally-X, no Pac-Man, but you get the other three games plus Galaxian (quite good) and Pole Position (quite lame). The version of Ms. Pac-Man has more forgiving control, and its Dig Dug plays great.

The 14 games that are advertised do not exist on the GBA edition--only five! Apparently, 14 games are available for other platforms, and hence the confusion. Also, if you already own the Namco Museum for for the GBA, you will only get two new games (Rally-X and Pac-Man). Both the Museum and Museum 50th Anniversary versions include Ms. Pac-Man, DigDug and Galaga. The Namco Museum includes Pole Position which is not in the 50th Anniversary Edition. In my opinion, many of the games in the Namco Museum seem to play better, but the 50th Anniversary Edition permits you to rotate the games sideways (not sure it helps much).

In short, it's three or four star buy if you don't have the Namco Museum and a one or two star buy if you you already have it.

First off I'm writing a fair review and hardcore fans of these games that expect near to perfect stay away! Firstly I bought this game not expecting a perfect emulation of the arcade's why two reasons. One being it's a GBA game and I would be playing it on my DS. GBA games are meant to be played with or/with out a back lit screen. To be fair the original GBA didn't have a back lit screen so the graphical glitch in Pac-man in the arcade view for me is forgivable. Secondly this is the 50th anniversary edition meaning these games aren't necessarily exact clones. I remembered playing these in arcades and they did play different than the older versions of these games (so not expecting perfection going into playing). Originally I wanted to give this game 4 stars, however it didn't seem fair the main issue dig dug has a sound glitch it only plays the music when you move. Also the game doesn't capture the excitement of the originals. I mean pac-man's maze is widen to fit a horizontal screen and the screen orientations you can flip to using select are pretty bad (and one doesn't even seem to work). Here is the plus and the minus that made this game just average. The game shows that they can make a near perfect version of Galaga on the GBA and then ruin all the other titles. If you aren't picky and just like the characters and general game play or just want Galaga portable buy this. If you want good arcade ports keep searching I find that Namco only has from what I can see made 4 star remakes mostly of arcade games, with the exception of this. All and you may enjoy of for the money or you may hate if I find many will be one way or another.

It's great to see these classic arcade games are still around. My 10yr old plays them for hours.

Namco may be 50 years old, but the games in this collection aren't even half that.

Not that it matters. Pac-Man and Ms.Pac-Man are the two definitive video games of the 80's.

Galaga: the best of the space-invaders type games.
Pole Position I and II: the first modern racing games.
Dig Dug: the only digging tunnels and pumping enemies up game
Xevious: futuristic top-down scrolling shooter
Plus Rolling Thunder, Rally X, Bosconian, Dragon Spirit, Sky Kid, Mappy and Galaxian.

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection is a must-buy, it completes the trilogy of classic arcade compliations, along with Atari Anthology and Midway Arcade Treasures.

I always seem to know what makes a classic video game, a legendary one these days. Nevertheless, it seems like those old eras with the exciting arcades and video game halls have been considered a thing of the past. It is sadly a constant in what is around us right now. Nevertheless, it still is great to actualy see what makes classics still stand. That has been the case with classics like Pac-Man, who've recently been brought around as newer rendidtions like Pac Pix for the Nintendo DS, and Pac-Man World 3 which has been light years away from the previous edition back in the mid 90's. Now, those classics can be made in the palm of your hand.

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance consists of a only a fraction of the outrageous arrangement of great games the console editions have. Here on this one, you have 5 of the 14 total games here that are highlighted: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Rally X, Dig Dug and Galaga. The graphics for these games have been restored well, and the games are each very enjoyable to play. Unfortunately, on the handheld you don't have games like Pole Position, Pac-Mania, which was highlighted before on the previous Namco Museum edition for the GBA system. Although the games still remain addictive, you just could've hoped for more.

Nevertheless, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection fairs well for the Game Boy Advance, but you're just better off going for the editions for the Gamecube, Xbox, Playstation 2, or the Personal computer. Largely, because you's get more great games at the exact same price.

Graphics: B-

Sound: B

Control: C+

Fun & Enjoyment: C

Overall: C 1/2+

I don't like the way the games play. I don't think they are really like the arcades.