|
Namco Museum vol.
1
PSX release
Developer/US
Publisher: Namco
 Shortly after the PSX took off
Namco released a six-volume set of their classic games for the
system. The first of the six volumes, of course, included the
original Pac-man game. Since the Museum is essentially a
hardware emulator, the original arcade roms were actually
used, so there is no new Pac-man code on this disc per se, but
it's being listed anyway.
Namco Museum
vol. 2
PSX release
Developer/US
Publisher: Namco
For the second Museum disc, Namco
gave Ms. Pac-man a pass (for now) and went straight to Super
Pac-man. Like Pac-man, this is the original game played on an
emulator.
 Return of
Arcade
PC release
Developer/US
Publisher: Microsoft
We all know how evil Microsoft
is, they DO deserve credit for bringing us the first decent
home version of Tempest in their Microsoft Arcade pack. This
sequel to their successful title included Pac-man. I've never
tried this version, though I assume it ran perfectly for
people who owned 300MHz computers at the time. =P
Ms. Pac-man
Super NES
release
Developer: Digital Eclipse (?)
US
Publisher: Williams
Hmmm... First of all, Midway's
ties with Namco have been long but severed at this point.
Second, this game is EXACTLY like the Genesis and GG versions,
right down to the flashy title screen, and yet a different
developer is credited. This may be why the game has been
extremely hard to find, even online in ROM format.
 Pac-man
VR
Arcade release
Developer/US
Publisher: Virtuality
This is a rather hokey VR
game you may find at Dave & Buster's or some arcades in
Vegas. Like most VR games, it's too expensive and doesn't last
very long. You get a time limit instead of lives. When ghosts
touch you, you lose time, and when you eat them (which is
almost impossible) you gain it.
Still, it's worth playing
once just to see what it must have been like for Pac-man. I've
discovered this kind of thing is a lot harder when you can see
in only one direction. ^^; Having the cord wrap around you
when you try to make a complete turn doesn't help
either...
Namco Museum vol.
3
PSX release
Developer/US
Publisher: Namco
 Ms. Pac-man, the most popular
Pac game, finally got its turn at being emulated on the PSX. I
wonder what its museum entry was like?
Namco Museum vol. 4
PSX
release
Developer/US Publisher:
Namco
Pac-man's gay romp through Pac Land gets emulated
this time around.
Namco Museum vol.
5
PSX release
Developer/US
Publisher: Namco
And finally, Pacmania. So all five
volumes in the collection have one Pac game each. How
quaint.
Namco Anthology vol.
1
PSX release
Developer:
Namco
US Publisher: none
Yet another
collection of Namco games! This one never got a US release,
and is listed here because Pac Panic was one of the games
included. Yup.
 Revenge of
Arcade
PC release
Developer/US
Publisher: Microsoft
The third and (so far) final
Microsoft Arcade pack included Ms. Pac-man.
Namco History vol. 3
PC
release
Developer: Namco
US Publisher:
none
Yes... it's a collection. This series was released
by Namco for the PC, for Japan only. The games are probably
emulated, and the difference between this and the PSX Museum
series is that the games are categorized in groups this time.
Volume 4 included all the Galaxian games, and this one
includes all the Pac-man ones. Specifically, Pac-man, Ms.
Pac-man, Super Pac-man, and Pac & Pal. Why, it's the first
official home version of Pac & Pal!
Pac-man
Game Boy Color
release
Developer/US Publisher:
Namco
With the advent of the Game Boy Color, Namco
re-releases their Pac-man games, this time in.... color
(woooo). I've also read in reviews that 2-player simaltaneous
play is now featured on the Pac-man release, and was shocked
to hear Namco actually made some kind of improvement to the
game itself. They also packed an extra game on each cart to
increase the value somewhat. In this case, Pac Panic was
included.
Ms.
Pac-man
Game Boy Color
release
Developer/US Publisher:
Namco
...and in this case, Super Pac-man was included.
But there is no 2-player simaltaneous option for either game.
I guess Namco remembered that people are stupid enough to keep
buying the same games over and over again whether they had
improvements or not, and stopped bothering.
 Pac-man
Neo Geo Pocket
release
Developer/US Publisher:
Namco
...and Neo Geo Pocket players don't even get
2-player play OR an extra game. Just a portable version of the
original Pac-man. Nothing new, nothing remotely exciting...
Just the same old fucking Pac-man yet AGAIN.
Namco Museum 64
Nintendo64
release
Developer/US Publisher: Namco
Namco took the more popular
games from their 6-volume PSX series and emulated them on one
N64 cart (ummm... looking at the pic Jess provided, maybe it
WASN'T emulated. What the hey?). Again, this is JUST the
original Pac (and Ms. Pac). There are no real additions. It
doesn't look like we'll EVER get a home version of Pac-man
Arrangement. Namco's just just trying to fill their goal of
making Pac playable on EVERYTHING. I can't be the only one
who's finding this a little tiring...
Pac-man Desktop
PC
release
Developer: Namco
US Publisher:
none
Pac-related mini-games and desktops goodies from
Namco, apparently. Can't say much else 'cause I don't live in
Japan.
 Pac-man World
20th Anniversary
PSX
release
Developer: Namco
US Publisher:
Namco
Released a year before his 20th Anniversary,
actually. Can't really review this one, being that there ain't
a video store around me which seems to want to carry it as a
rental. I hear it's not too bad, and it actually sticks to the
formula better than, say, Pac in Time did. Hope I can find it
eventually...
 |
|
|
|
|