Namco Museum

""A very fun game, especially for those of us who have never played them in the arcades!""

Intro
Hello, my name is Josiah and this is my review for Namco Museum for the GameBoy Advance. Namco Museum is obviously not like the other games for the GBA, since it is based upon classic arcade games that have come to be known as legends from their time. These wonderful legends have been brought back to life with more colorful pixels, more options and much more funfilling excitement all in one little cartridge called Namco Museum.
Now, the one best thing about Namco Museum is that the games featured in it are taken exactly how they were in the arcades. This factor is very important as it adds much excitement to the gameplay and it brings back memories from going to the arcades and playing the classic games such as Ms. Pac-Man, Pole Position, Galaxian, etc. Being able to play the games the same way you were able to in the arcades is very fun.

The Games
Totally, there are 5 games featured in Namco Museum. They are as follows: Ms. Pac-Man, Pole Position, Dig-Dug, Galaga and Galaxian. Each game has its own individuality and fun factor, although every game (in my opinion) are all equally fun to play. For most of the rest of the review, you will be reading the different categoric characteristics for each individual game.

Ms. Pac-Man
The Objective : The main objective in Ms. Pac-Man is to eat all of the small, white pellets that are distributed among each maze-like level. While you are attempting this task, different colored ghosts will continuously chase you until they either kill you, or until you eat all of the pellets in that certain level. Apart from the regular pellets, there are bigger ones that, when eaten, make the ghosts vulnerable to you and they will run away from you. While they are running away, they will be blue and you will be able to eat them for big points. This effect only lasts a limited amount of time.
Objective Score: 9/10
The Gameplay : Ms. Pac-Man is very fun to play. Not only is there the challenge of the ghosts constantly nagging and chasing you, there is also the challenge of eating all of the pellets. Ms. Pac-Man is a considerably difficult game. It becomes very hard after the first couple of levels. Along with the previously mentioned difficult tasks, there is also the fact that you should save and conserve your super pellets (the ones that let you eat the ghosts) since you may need them in the future while on that level. Note that you do not need to eat all of the super pellets to beat a level, only the regular pellets.
Gameplay Score: 8/10
The Controls : The controls in Ms. Pac-Man are not too difficult to learn. All you have to do is move up, down, left or right using the D-Pad (the directional pad that is black). No other controls are present except pressing start to pause the game and bring up the menu.
Controls Score: 10/10
The Story : Although there is no actual story, I will try to come up with one that fits with the objective. You, Ms. Pac-Man, have been given a mission to eat all of the pellets in each given maze and accumulate as much points as possible. Along the way, ghosts will try to capture you. Do not let them do this. Collect as much points as possible and stay away from the ghosts.
Story Score: N/A (that was my made-up story).
The Graphics : The graphics in Ms. Pac-Man are not at all great, they are just as they were in the arcade. But that isn't a bad thing, that's a good thing. The lack of detailed graphics brings back the memories of playing Ms. Pac-Man in the arcade and is much fun to play since the levels are so basic and so concise that you will never get confused or dizzy by bright colors and spectrums all over.
Graphics Score: 10/10
The Sounds : The sounds in Ms. Pac-Man are very distinct and fun to listen to. You can hear the classic sound when you die, the beeping noie when you collect a pellet and the 'power-up' noise when you eat a Super Pellet. All of the sounds also add to the classic memories from the arcades.
Sounds Score: 9/10
The Music : Although you may not hear the music playing in Ms. Pac-Man, there is a faint music theme. You do, though, have to listen carefully as it is actually only a slight humming noise not much worth listening to. I think the programmers of Namco Museum should have added a decent music theme.
Music Score: 1/10
Replayability : Ms. Pac-Man has much replayability. Once you get a game over the first time, you will want to start the game up again and see if you can beat your old score, or just try to get to a higher level. Despite the terrible music theme, Ms. Pac-Man is a very fun game to play.
Bonus Feature : Ms. Pac-Man for Namco Museum has an added feature. On the main menu, you can press A for a Full Screen view (where you see the entire level on the screen), or press B to Scroll. On the Scroll screen, the level will take up the entire screen and as you move, the screen will move with you so that you see more of the level. This is a fun feature to try out.
Ms. Pac-Man Overall Score: 8/10

Pole Position
The Objective : The objective in Pole Position is to pass the qualifying lap and finish the final laps. The difficulty with this, is that there are sharp turns along the racetrack and if you drive into a sign or another car, your car will blow up and you will lose precious seconds.
Objective Score: 9/10
The Gameplay : Pole Position is very fun. Despite the fact that it is rather hard since you have to actually drive and steer maturely, you also have to dodge other cars, make sharp turns without running off of the road, watch out for water puddles, etc. The difficulty of this game makes it fun. It is very thrilling trying to beat your old record over 10/10
The Controls : The controls are very fun and exciting to master. You must know when to hit the brakes and turn immediately when you come to a turn and you must know how to maneuver between the other cars that are on the racetrack. Simply driving, turning and going straight will get you in an accident and will get you a very low score. You must master the controls to be better. Use the D-Pad to move left or right, and the R Button to switch from low gear to high gear. As always, you can press start to bring up the menu.
Controls Score: 9/10
The Story : I know of no known story for Pole Position, so I will make up my own. You have been ordered to participate in the national race. You will be racing on one racetrack and will be racing against countless others. There will be sharp turns, water puddles and other whatnot along the way. You will have to avoid these obstacles and finish in first place. You are also ordered to accumulate as much points as possible.
Story Score: N/A (that was my made-up story).
The Graphics : The graphics in Pole Position are classic. The simple green for the grass, the blue for the sky, brown for the distant mountains and other colors for the track, signs and racecars. The graphics, like Ms. Pac-Man, are not great, which adds to the excitement of memories from the arcades.
Graphics Score: 10/10
The Sounds : There are many sounds in Pole Position. The beep of the lights, the vroom of the accelerating racecars and the crash of the colliding cars. The sounds are very distinct and fun to listen to.
Sound Score: 9/10
The Music : Sadly, there is no music theme for Pole Position.
Music Score: 0/10
Replayability : Pole Position has a lot of replayability. You will definitely want to play this game over and over and over again. Pole Position is too good to be played only once.
Pole Position Overall Score: 8/10

Dig-Dug
The Objective : The objective of Dig-Dug is to defeat all of the enemies in the levels by pumping air into them until they blow up, or just let them run out of the level like sissies. You can also drop rocks on them, and collect various food items that will appear if you drop two rocks.
Objective Score: 9/10
The Gameplay : Dig-Dug is a very fun game to play as it has many aspects and characteristics. You can drop rocks on enemies and even blow them up by pumping air into them. Plus, you can collect extra food items to gain more points. After a level is completed, a flower will grow on the ground. After enough flowers have grown, a huge one will grow, then little ones again, etc.
Gameplay Score: 10/10
The Controls : The controls for Dig-Dug are very easy to master. Move up, down, left or right using the D-Pad and blow the enemies up with the air pump using the A or B Buttons.
Controls Score: 10/10
The Story : Again, I need to make up my own story, so here it is: you have been assigned to burrow deep beneath the ground and destroy all the life that you will encounter along the way. You will be allowed to drop rocks, and we will occasionally bring you food if you drop two rocks. Remember to destroy ALL life forms and you will be able to grow a flower.
Story Score: N/A (that was my made-up story).
The Graphics : The graphics for Dig-Dug are very detailed and very clear to see. The ground becomes darker the lower you go and the flowers and enemies have very good graphics as well. The graphics are very, very good for an arcade game. The best classic arcade graphics I have ever seen.
Graphics Score: 10/10
The Sounds : The sounds you will hear in Dig-Dug are you walking, the enemies, the enemies' attacks, etc. The sounds are very distinct and fun to listen to. They will definitely make you want to keep on playing.
Sound Score: 9/10
The Music : There is no music for Dig-Dug (although some may think of the sounds of you walking as the music theme).
Music Score: 10/10 (the sound of you walking greatly makes up for no music theme).
Replayability : Dig-Dug is very addicting. You will want to play it over and over again. Play it once, play it twice, this game is nice! You'll definitely want to play it more often.
Dig-Dug Overall Score: 10/10

Galaga
The Objective : The objective for Galaga is simple: you have to shoot every single alien being that flies onto the screen to their doom. Not only do the aliens shoot at you, they will fly down and attempt to smash into you, and even shoot while flying.
Objective Score: 10/10
The Gameplay : Galaga is the most fun game to play out of Namco Museum (in my opinion). You get to move around shooting aliens and whatnot. Is it very hard though once you get to the higher levels. Galaga's gameplay's fun factor is inevitably awesome.
Gameplay Score: 10/10
The Controls : The controls for Galaga are simple. Move left or right with the D-Pad and shoot using the A or B Buttons.
Controls Score: 10/10
The Story : Once again, no story, so my made-up one. You have been given a high-quality spaceship and have been assigned to destroy every known lifeform of alien scum. You will be given additional spaceships once enough points have been accumulated.
Story Score: N/A (that was my made-up story).
The Graphics : Galaga's graphics are amazing. Not as good as Dig-Dug's graphics, but they are very well-done. Each enemy is well-designed as well as your spaceship. The stars in the background darkness of space sets the mood for alien hunting.
Graphics Score: 10/10
The Sounds : There are many sounds in Galaga. You will hear your spaceship being blown up, your spaceship shooting, the aliens dying, the aliens shooting, etc. All of the sounds are very fun to listen to.
Sounds Score: 10/10
The Music : Sadly, there is no music theme for Galaga.
Music Score: 0/10
Replayability : Galaga is more addicting than Dig-Dug, it is very fun to play and difficult and it is fun to try to beat your old scores. You will definitely be playing Galaga and LOT.
Galaga Overall Score: 8/10

Galaxian
The Objective : The objective is the same for Galaga. You have to kill all of the alien life-forms and proceed to the next level, being granted an extra ship after certain amounts of points have been accumulated.
Objective Score: 10/10
The Gameplay : Galaxian is very fun to play. You get to move around shooting aliens and whatnot. Is it very hard though once you get to the higher levels. Galaxian is the prequel to Galaga and therefore, Galaxian's gameplay is, of course, slightly worse than Galaga's, yet still just as fun to play.
Gameplay Score: 10/10
The Controls : The controls for Galaxian are simple. Move left or right with the D-Pad and shoot using the A or B Buttons.
Controls Score: 10/10
The Story : Once again, no story, so my made-up one. You have been given a high-quality spaceship and have been assigned to destroy every known lifeform of alien scum. You will be given additional spaceships once enough points have been accumulated.
Story Score: N/A (that was my made-up story).
The Graphics : Galaxian's graphics are not good but that is a good thing since it brings memories back to our heads of the arcade times.
Graphics Score: 10/10
The Sounds : The sounds in Galaxian are simple: your ship shooting a missile, an alien dying, an alien flying, etc. All of the simple sounds make you wonder why such a simple game is so much fun.
Sounds Score: 9/10
The Music : There is no technical music theme for Galaxian, but, like Ms. Pac-Man, there is a slight humming which is pretty cool to listen to.
Music Score: 8/10
Replayability : Galaxian is a very fun game to play as it brings arcade memories, so, of course, it will have tons of replayability. Galaxian is very fun and the fun never ends.
Galaxian Overall Score: 10/10

Namco Museum Overall Score: 9/10

After reading my rather long review for Namco Museum, I hope that you like it a lot and that you are planning to go buy it because it is very fun. If my review, at any point, seemed rushed, please forgive me since it is 1:00 in the morning and I am pretty tired.

Buy or Rent?: BUY!!

You will definitely love this game if you buy it, trust me!

Final Word: Namco Museum is not only an accumulation of video games, it is a museum of very awesome classic arcade MASTERPIECES!! .

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/02, Updated 07/30/02