Namco Museum Game Boy Advance
Namco Museum is a 2001 compilation of classic arcade games for the Game Boy Advance (GBA), developed by Mass Media and published by Namco. The collection features five faithfully emulated versions of arcade classics, making them available for play on the handheld system.
Included games
The GBA version of Namco Museum includes the following five titles:
- Ms. Pac-Man (1982): Navigate a maze, eat all the pellets, and avoid the ghosts. The GBA version features a toggle for different display modes to adapt to the screen’s size.
- Galaga (1981): A fixed shooter where you pilot a starship to destroy incoming alien formations. It features the signature ability to recapture a captured fighter for a double ship.
- Galaxian (1979): The forerunner to Galaga has players shoot at waves of dive-bombing aliens.
- Dig Dug (1982): Use a pump to inflate and pop enemies or drop rocks on them while digging through underground tunnels.
- Pole Position (1982): A car racing game where you must qualify for a race and then compete against other computer-controlled vehicles.
Gameplay features and limitations
- Faithful emulation: The included games are largely faithful ports of the arcade originals, featuring their original graphics, sound effects, and gameplay.
- Pick-up-and-play fun: The collection is well-suited for short gaming sessions.
- Display options: In games like Ms. Pac-Man, players can choose between a full-screen view with scaled-down graphics or a scrolling mode that shows the original-sized graphics.
- No high-score saving: A major drawback for some players is that the game does not save high scores. Your score resets every time the system is powered off.
- Control issues for Pole Position: The original arcade version used an analogue steering wheel, which does not translate perfectly to the GBA’s digital directional pad.
Comparison with other versions
- Less content than console versions: The GBA version of Namco Museum contains fewer games than its counterparts on home consoles like the PlayStation and GameCube. For example, it lacks the original Pac-Man, which was released separately on the GBA in the Pac-Man Collection.
- Namco Museum 50th Anniversary (GBA): Another GBA compilation exists, titled Namco Museum 50th Anniversary. This version replaces Galaxian and Pole Position with the original Pac-Man and Rally-X, but also does not save high scores.
