Namco Museum (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox)

Namco Museum for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox is a compilation of Namco games, developed by Mass Media and originally released in 2001 by Namco Hometek. The compilation is notable for featuring three of the Namco Classic Collection "Arranged" games, including Pac-Man Arrangement (1996). This collection was exclusively released on the U.S. market.
== Overview ==
This compilation features all games previously seen in other Mass Media-developed Namco Museum releases (such as Namco Museum 64), alongside the games seen in Pac-Man Collection and three newly-ported titles. The featured games include:
*Pac-Man (1980)
*Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
*Pac-Mania (1987) (Japanese version)
*Pac-Attack (1993) (Namco Anthology 2 “Classic” version)
*Pac-Man Arrangement (1996)
*Galaxian (1979)
*Galaga (1981)
*Dig Dug (1982)
*Pole Position (1982)
*Pole Position II (1983)
*Galaga Arrangement (1995)
*Dig Dug Arrangement (1996)
The majority of games are ported directly from the source code of the variants used in the original PlayStation Namco Museum installments; including using the common "Namco Museum" ports of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, which feature minor differences from the arcade originals. Pac-Attack is ported from the source code of Namco Anthology 2, and Pac-Mania appears to be based on the Namco Museum Vol. 5 version, but plays in a more accurate aspect ratio by default.
The three "Arrangement" games were custom-ported by Mass Media from the Namco Classic Collection source code. The Arrangement titles are quite accurate ports compared to the arcade versions, though they lack the original credits sequences and high score tables; the sound is also slightly pitched up. To date, this compilation marks the only home console release of Galaga Arrangement and Dig Dug Arrangement.
Pac-Mania and Pac-Attack are unlockable games. To unlock them, the player must score 20,000 or more points in Ms. Pac-Man for Pac-Mania, and score 25,000 or more points in Pac-Man for Pac-Attack.
== Trivia ==
*While the earlier Mass Media Namco Museum volumes used Greg Martin artwork of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man (on both the in-game menus and outer artwork), this compilation instead uses the newer Hideki Tanaami artwork of Pac-Man. Every console release of the game features a different posed Pac-Man on the disc artwork.
*The PlayStation 2 version features a different, somewhat more primitive menu design compared to the GameCube and Xbox releases. The PS2 release shows still screenshots of the games on the menu, with game titles scrolling on the lefthand side; the other releases use short videos of the games instead of screenshots, and feature character artwork in place of the scrolling text.
**While the GameCube and Xbox menu layouts are nearly-identical, the GameCube version uses an orange background, while the Xbox version uses a blue background.
*Due to the previous Mass Media compilations removing the games' copyright notices, some games have legal notices present while others do not.
*The versions of Pac-Man Arrangement, Pac-Mania, and Pac-Attack from this compilation likely served as basis for the ports of the games found in Pac-Man Collection. However, Pac-Man Collection was ultimately released first on the market (despite the two releases being developed concurrently).
*This compilation was later used as basis for two Xbox Live Arcade releases: a standalone port of Ms. Pac-Man (included on the original Live Arcade service disc), and a smaller compilation titled Namco Vintage, which featured Dig Dug, Galaga, and Pole Position. Both titles reuse the menu interface of the Xbox version of Namco Museum.
Category:Compilations
Category:Games
Category:Namco Games
Category:Console Games
Category:Namco Museum series