Customer Reviews

Namco Original Arcade TV Games Video Game System

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

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.

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.

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

4 of the 5 games aren't that bad. Galaga and Mappy are really well done. Pole Position was baffling until we read the instructions, and now it's ok. I don't remember Xevious that well but it's fun to play.

But we bought this for Ms. Pac-Man, and it's the pits. A bunch of people have already pointed out the almost non-functional joystick. Trying to get MPM to go down is like pulling teeth. And there are many bugs in the program:

1) The ghosts don't "chase" you. They just detect your general where-abouts. Try getting them to follow you so you can chomp them up after eating the big dot. It doesn't happen. Say bye-bye to high scores.
2) The Ms. Pac-Man is too slow in relation to the ghosts, so chasing them when they're blue is very hard, even in the first screen when it's supposed to be easy (and fun).
3) The collision detection is pitiful. In the arcade, if you hit a blue ghost halfway, you still get the points. In Jakk's version, you don't. Sometimes, MPM passes completely and directly THROUGH blue ghosts as if there were nothing there!!
4) Going through the tunnel? Good luck. MPM can get stuck in there, ending up in the "wall" between the two left tunnels, and you cannot move her. The ghosts just circle around her, not sure what to make of it! I'm not sure myself!

I'm a retrogames expert and have played this extensively for the last two months. I understand the games need to be modified slightly from their original code, things like the insert coin and whatnot would need to be eliminated, but there's a lot of sloppy shortcuts with these games that make the end result a disappointing effort that could have been fantastic.

Much has been said about the bizarre responsiveness of Ms. Pac-Man, and I agree. It's true that if you think about the joystick snapping back to the center before turning a corner, it makes it a bit easier to use, but the fact is that the Pac-Man game on the first NAMCO joystick did not have this issue, so why they had to release it without tightening that up is just bad quality control. The game has slightly different sound effects and graphics than the original, too.

Pole Position is great fun, but again, shortcuts were made that take away from the original gaming experience. This was a game I could play with perfection at the arcade, and after adopting the rotating joystick for steering (which I really like) I was able to soon master this version. The problems? For starters, skidding does NOT affect your acceleration, and the puddles have absolutely no effect on your car as well. They're just there for decoration. Why they couldn't have made them reduce your speed slightly, is bizarre. The big crime though, is the finale. In the arcade game, once you get to the big race, once you finish your third extended play, there's a finish line with people cheering you. This has an anti-climactic bug-filled finish that's the result of hasty "hurry up we need to get this product to market" programming. Once you finish, and cross the line, EXTENDED PLAY shows up again, but it forcibly stops your car and makes you wait until your remaining time disappears with no fanfare whatsoever. Bleh!

Galaga is fine, and is about the closest to the arcade original of the bunch. Galaga alone is this stick's saving grace.

Mappy is just a game I never liked much, but it's pretty close to the original as well.

Xevious is pretty close to the original, but some graphic shortcuts make it look pretty sloppy as well.

I like the ability to pause the games, which is a feature missing in the original stick.

I called Jakks to report the bad responsiveness of Ms. Pac-Man and they offered no help at all, save returning it for another, but since it's a design flaw, that won't help.

Whoever designs the joysticks for Jakks needs to go back to college and study ergonomics. What looks attractive in a display case doesnt always work when placed in someone's hands, especally kids, which this game is really desgined for.

This and the Pac Man 5-in-1 are some of the most unconforable joystick controllers I have ever used. They look great and are tough for rough handling by kids, but they are too large and bulky. It looks like they're made for placing on a coffee table and not to be held in your hand. It doesn't have a AC battery adapter port so if you or your kids play this game all the time be prepared to buy a lot of batteries.

Jakks needs to take a look at what Radica games is doing - thier Space Invaders game is more conforable to hold and far superior to what Jakks have cheaply designed and manufactured here.

I agree with others that Ms. Pac Man doesnt have quite the same feel, speed or accuracy as the arcade version thanks to the bad joystick. It reminds me of the old Nintendo NES cartridge version than anything else. Since its the premere game in this box it should have been programmed better or used a origianl aracde rom instead.

Galaga is 100% perfect, it looks, plays and (almost) sounds just like the arcade original, which is still one of the most challenging and super addictive shoot-em-ups in arcade history. That thousands of original 80's-vintage Galaga coin-op machines are still played daily in arcades around the world is testament to Galaga's greatness!

None of my Galaga-Stargate-Asteroids playing freinds back then would touch Mappy - a "kiddie" game with cutsy cartoon graphics and synthesised banjo music. I think thats why it didnt do so well back then, but its become another Namco-Midway classic that will really hook you when you figure out its bouncy gameplay.

Xevious is another classic shooting game, but the joystick's two buttons are placed too far apart for quick one-fingered shooting and bombing which is needed in this game for high scoring.

I never liked arcade racing games, they always felt too unatural with bizzare steering physics that never made you felt you were in total control of the car! Pole Position was one of the first popular arcade racing games, but its fun but only for people who only enjoy crashing and burning into signs and other cars. Adults who have played computer racing games will get fustrated quickly with the joystick's twist-top controller and no way to quickly brake.

I wish this game also had children's settings (slower gameplay, being able to pass through monsters and cars, no bombing aliens) The default settings are a bit too hard for little kids (or even adults), who will get angry at not being able to complete a maze and toss it back in the toy box.

Plus there should be also an option to continue games at higher levels. It would also be nice to have an auto-off feature that would turn the game off in 30 minutes if it hasnt been played to save batteries. And it also should SAVE THE HIGH SCORES when turned off too!

This game is a cheap, fun and disposable gift for people who dont have a Playstation, know nothing about Mame for the PC, or for kids who havent played these games before. But if you're a 80's aracde fan (like me) you will become quickly fustrated with the stiff joystick and the poorly spaced and cheap feeling buttons. Try to get this one on sale.

This would have been a great game but... the joystick is terrible while playing Ms Pac-Man. You can only make her move up or down about half the time. It is not just a timing thing either. Additionally, I have also seen her pass through a ghost. That would have helped my score if I would have kept playing instead of staring at the screen with my mouth wide open. I didn't have any problems with Galaga.

This handheld unit has a great concept. Three of my favorite games: Ms Pac-Man, Galaga and Pole Position in one easy to use and portable unit. Too bad the execution of the concept was done horribly. "Return to Sender"

Wow, I wish I read the reviews were here before I bought this on Amazon. It's such a pain to send stuff back from mail order companies I guess I will just keep the unit and eat the $20 dollars plus shipping.

I too cannot get the joy stick to move up and down in Ms Pac Man as I wish. It does seem to have a mind of it's own as others have said. Major disappointment.

The first try in Pole Position the car went off the road and I could not steer it back. I did notice someone in another review mentioned that you need to 'turn the spring handle' or something although I am not sure what they mean. Maybe the stick needs to be twisted back and forth like a steering wheel or something.

The Galaga game works great on the unit so I guess it's a keeper in this respect.

Well, that's about all I can say right now as I have only used it for less than an hour. Maybe there is some way to operate it properly to get the joy stick to respond in Ms Pacman.

I hope they update the game and fix the problem as it is only good in Galaga. Pole Position and Ms Pacman are handicapped. The other games I can't review as I have never played them before and don't know what I am supposed to be doing in them.

Namco also needs to add a little more detail to the skimpy documentation for those who have never seen some of the games.

Other than that, Five Stars for the concept and execution although with the current flaws I cannot recommend this unless you are a Galaga fan like myself.

I would definately purchase this again if they fix Ms Pacman.

The Namco II: Ms Pac-Man with 5 TV Games is everything it claims to be: it is easy to set up, and the games are authentic. It is the perfect toy for the retro-gamer, especially 30-something gen-xers like myself. It comes with five games: Ms. Pac Man, Pole Position, Xevious, Galaga, and Mappy. I had not heard of Mappy before, but the rest are classics from my childhood. All are fun. To my memory, Ms. Pac Man, Pole Position, Xevious, and Galaga are almost identical to the versions in the arcade.

I am most familiar with Ms. Pac Man. I do not care to estimate the number of quarters I have spent playing it over the years. This Ms. Pac Man is pretty much identical to the one in the arcade right down to the music and poor 80's graphics quality. I have not managed to get to the third act yet, so I cannot be 100% sure everything is authentic, but I can tell you that it is dead on all the way through banana. This must be a straight port of the original because they even duplicated obscure bugs. For example, the collision detection is a bit sloppy. Just like in the arcade version, every now and then it is possible to go through a ghost without dying. There are two minor differences I have noted. First, the scores have moved from the top of the screen to the side in order to make it better fit the 4:3 TV aspect ratio; this does not detract anything from the game. The second is that you cannot play two-player; this is unfortunate, but not fatal. (Ms. Pac Man is a game where you take turns if you play two-player.) Two complaints I have heard are that the speed is off and that the controller is poor. As to the speed, I can tell you that not all arcade versions run at the same speed. I found this version equivalent to some of the faster arcade versions, although I have played faster. As to the controller "not working," I have seen no evidence of that. Ms. Pac Man is a bit difficult to control, but she always was. I do find myself swearing at the controller sometimes, but no more so than I did in the arcade.

One quick comment on Pole Position: Anybody who has played knows the arcade version has a steering wheel and that steering with a joystick never works very well. Namco has come up with a clever solution: you twist the joystick. This actually works surprisingly well.

Despite my overall praise, I do have two complaints about the system. The first is that high scores are not saved when you turn it off. This is really annoying and could so easily be fixed. The second is that I wish it came with an AC adapter or at least had an input plug for a third-party adapter. Sadly, you are stuck with AA's.

A friend got this for his birthday, and everyone had a good time playing it. The one problem was...you got it, the joystick was terrible. It was very, very hard to turn the corners on Ms. Pac Man. That made the game unplayable. But when we bought ours, the joystick worked just fine.

Galaga didn't suffer from the needs of a joystick as Ms. PacMan, and that was very well done, so Galaga was enjoyable, as was Mappy - a game I had forgotten about.

I didn't like Pole Position when it was out, and I don't like it now, so I can't comment on how good that game was.