"Another good arcade collection, but why only a few games?"

Anyone out there played Konami Classics for the DS? If you have, starting up Namco Museum DS will result in quite a bit of deja vu. Be it the cute intro movie, the menu screen, or the variety of game options, Namco Bandai certainly doesn't try to hide their blatant copying. This is far from bad, as this means no real gimmicks to hinder play.

Please note that all games that are included do include a variety of ways to customize the screen display (to flip the screen 90 degrees for lefties or righties, or to have it squished), controls (rapid-fire, what button does what), various game settings (how many lives, points for lives, difficulty, etc), dip switches (for managing the actual arcade board), and toggling patches for glitches (!!!).

So! What games are included in this US$19.99 package?

First up is Galaxian (1979), which is best described as a colorful Space Invaders clone. If you have somehow missed all other Namco Museums and/or have no idea what Space Invaders is (if so, shame on you), you control a single ship at the bottom of the screen, moving left to right to fire at the rows of foes at the top of the screen. Said foes will dive bomb you, firing missiles while you dodge and fire back. Once a whole wave (ie - all foes on a screen) is defeated, a new wave appears. No real frills here, and there shouldn't be. The whole goal is to simply get the high score before being eliminated. VERY primitive by even it's more popular sequel (which we shall get to in a moment), but still nice for a nostalgic trip.

Pac-Man (1980) should be known by almost the entire gaming world, but quickly summed up: you are a yellow circle with a mouth, who must gobble up all dots in a maze. Four ghosts seek to stop you by chasing you around the maze, and one touch from these fiends will slay you. Note that four special dots will allow you to (briefly) defeat the foes, at least until they respawn. Easily one of the better games in this collection, this game MUST be played with the DS "book-style" (read - flip the screen) to really enjoy it.

Galaga (1981) is the direct sequel to Galaxian (see above), and to this day, is still one of the most easily found arcade game in the world, not to mention available on virtually every concievable game system in existance. Like its prequel, Galaga sees you flying a ship at the bottom of the screen, firing at waves of foes. Later waves feature special foes that will spawn into new foes (usually with multiple parts), as well as the odd "Challenge" mode (where you can fire at foes for points as they dance around). One popular feature of Galaga is the Dual ship trick: at times, the "boss" vessels will fly down and shoot a tractor beam. Said beam, if it snatches your ship, will capture it. If you still have a life left, you can shoot the boss as it flies down, earning your ship back. But not as an extra life, but to fly along side you. While not as amazing today as it was back then, it does add a large ammount of strategy to the game to keep both ships as long as possible, with all the bullets on screen.

Xevious (1982) is a game that is fun for a bit, but easily outclassed by so many other top-down shooters (where you view the action from overhead). Flying a ship above ground and water, you shoot various objects in the air while dodging bullets AND bombing ground foes. To top it off, the challenge ramps up the further you go, and after dying lowers a bit to let you back into the groove. While amazing for its day, it's nowhere near as fun as Galaga (in this package), and only makes you wish SNK would port Aero Figthers II to the DS.

Mappy (1983) is a game that many seem to enjoy, but only serves to baffle me. Basically, you control a mouse cop that bounces on trampolines to rise up floors upon floors, open doors, dodge foes, and defeat said foes by catching them in waves made by doors opening. I've never been a huge fan of this game, and unless you are already one, even an arcade-perfect port will not sway you. Not unplayable, but just...boring.

Tower of Druaga (1984) may look like Gauntlet, but is more of a top-down dungeon maze. You move your character through a maze, collecting keys and items, killing foes, and making it to the exit before the timer runs out. Not the best game on this cart, but a nice inclusion, considering it is usually passed over for other Namco classics (ie - Pole Position).

Dig Dug II (1985) caught me off guard. I might catch flak for this, but I liked it. Where in the original Dig Dug you...digged into the ground, slew foes by inflating them, then moved on. Dig Dug II changes the formula a bit, to where you still inflate foes, but instead of going underground, you do so on islands. Each island has stakes that can be hammered in, which cause the island to rip in the direction you face. If you aim right, you can make chunks of the island sink, killing foes (and you if you are on there) that are stranded. Or, if you don't want to sink the land, you can make rifts to block your foe's paths, as they cannot travel over them. Usually dismissed as a lame sequel, I personally found it suprisingly fresh and challenging. Actual fun mileage may vary.

Pac-Man VS. (2003, I think) was originally concieved as a big project between Namco and Nintendo for the Game Cube, where one player was Pac-Man, and three others were ghosts, chasing player one. This game is multiplayer only, and as yet, I have not tested it. Still, it is a very welcome addition.

Also of note for this card are the Demo mode (where you can send demos of games to other DS systems, akin to the DS Download Station) and Library Mode (where you can learn how to play a $19.99 only makes it better. The biggest gripe is the lack of games, as there are other classic Namco titles that could have been added (Dig Dug, Pole Position, Galaga 88/90, among others).

Still, a very nice package. And it is nice to see that both Konami and Namco Bandai have respect for both their games and gamers, to make their respective games so well designed. Heck, both even have sound tests at the beginning!

Score: 8 of 10

+ Best Featuers: Galaga and Pac-Man in one package, inexpensive price, multitude of options, an actual port of Dig Dug II, single-card multiplayer support, saves high-scores

- Worst Features: Mappy and Xevious are not the greatest games of their type, no recording feature (a la Konami Classics DS), where is Galaga 88/90?

* If You Liked: Konami Classics DS, Namco Museum (GBA, GC, PSX, PS2, Wii, XBOX)

* Guilty Pleasure: While playing Galaga, remembering all those quarters that I spent on it at a Mexican restaurant as a kid, waiting for the food to be served. Nothing like chips and dip with a side of Galaga...

+ (Great) Reality: Apparently Namco Bandai shares Konami's respect for their games, having taken time and care to craft DS compilations that do not alter their products, but preserve them. Here's hoping for sequels...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/24/07

Game Release: Namco Museum DS (US, 09/18/07)