Namco Original Arcade TV Games Video Game System

by Jakks Pacific

Product Features

• Simply plug in your Namco unit, select a game from the menu and hit the fire button
• Twin RCA cables connect it to your TV - the easiest hookup of any game system
• Includes the following games - Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy, Pole-Position and Xevious

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• ASIN: B0001GBROQ
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,531 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)

Product Description

If you like gaming action but don't have the time for the involved role-playing and shooter games that are so popular nowadays, the Namco Classics TV Plug-And-Play Controller is exactly what you need. All you have to do is hook it up to your TV. It's even designed to look like an old-school arcade controller!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Galaga" works well enough, September 10, 2004

By 

John A. Dodds (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Namco Original Arcade TV Games Video Game System (Toy)

I got this primarily for Galaga and secondarily for Ms. Pac-Man. As others have indicated, the joystick has "issues"; specifically, turning corners in Pac-Man is just as likely to send you careening back the way you came (into pursuing ghosts in my case) as it is to actually turn the corner.

So why did I give it three stars, instead of one? Entirely for Galaga. I was one of those geeks that could spend a half-hour playing Galaga using one quarter. The nostalgia value of that alone is worth $20 plus shipping.

Even for just Galaga, there are issues. It is hard to hit the fire button in the rapid, staccato shots needed for "challenge" stages in Galaga (and helpful elsewhere). You have to use your thumb because of the small size of the unit. On the arcade Galaga, I use the tips of my fingers on the fire button, which is placed several inches away from the joystick.

Some intrepid video game maker needs to make a "universal" video game. It would look like an '80s stand-up or table-top game, but would be able to play many (say, 50) classic '80s games. The software issue would be trivial; the hard part would be having buttons, joysticks, knobs (Tempest), trackballs (Centipede, Missile Command), etc. able to handle the different games. Perhaps there would be modules that could be plugged in to the controls area as needed for different games.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 4 out of 5 ain't bad (if that 1 wasn't Ms. PacMan), October 31, 2004

By 

Ivan Shepperd (Richardson, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Namco Original Arcade TV Games Video Game System (Toy)

This thing is a lot of fun but if you're buying it solely for Ms. PacMan you will be bitterly disappointed. The first one I bought was defective and you couldn't move Ms. PacMan vertically at all. The replacement was better but moving her vertically is still very eratic. Completely unacceptable in that sort of game.

The remaining games seem to work just fine and are a blast to play.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I got a Revision 2, because controller is A+, November 26, 2004

By 

Remington "Rem" (Sacramanento, CA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Namco Original Arcade TV Games Video Game System (Toy)

I read the reviews from previous reviewers, but asked my GF to buy me this anyway.

The controller works perfect! Mrs. Pacman, Pole Position, everything works great.

I was most surprised and impressed at how true to the classics the games really are!!! They even have the demo modes if you don't touch the controller. The Sound Effects are just like the original games, as best as I can remember.

The graphics quality is as perfect as the original coin opperated arcade games. This is no Atari home system. This is just like the stand up arcade machines I used to play at "Pizza Hut" back in the early '80s.

Either I got lucky and got a properly made unit, or they redesigned and improved the joystick by the time mine was purchased on 11/26/04. This thing is well worth the money. I am impressed for the price paid ($20.00).

Thanks,
Rem