Namco Museum (series)

Namco Museum (ナムコミュージアム Namuko Myūjiamu) is a series of video game compilations originating in 1995, published by Namco (and later, Bandai Namco) for various platforms. They mainly focus on re-releasing classic Namco arcade titles (with a few brand-new games and console games in between), many of which are from the Pac-Man series.
== Namco Museum installments ==
=== PlayStation series ===
Namco Museum originated on the PlayStation in the form of five volumes. Each volume has a letter on its front case, and spells out "NAMCO" when all five are lined up. An "encore" volume was also released exclusively in Japan, though it does not feature any Pac-Man games. While all volumes were published by Namco themselves, the majority of their development was outsourced to two "ghost developer" companies: Now Production and TOSE.
The original five PS1 games feature many extra forms of content, and are navigated like a true "museum". Each game is accessed through an exhibit hall, with arcade artwork and other memorabilia on display; the hallway leads to a decorated room for each respective game. Pac-Man appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen, acting as a pseudo-"tour guide". Future installments (including Namco Museum Encore) dropped the museum content entirely, instead solely focusing on the included games. Each game also features a 3D animated intro, where Pac-Man travels throughout the different included games' locations.
The actual games included were ported from the source code of the original arcade versions, and are not based on pure emulation. Because of this, the "Namco Museum" versions of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man (alongside most of the other games) feature minor differences from the original titles.
All of the PS1 Namco Museum volumes would later be released for the "PS one Classics" line, a series of digital downloads for the PlayStation 3, Portable, and Vita systems.
====Namco Museum Vol. 1====
Released on November 22, 1995, and developed by Now Production. Features seven games:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* Rally-X (1980)
* Bosconian (1981)
* Galaga (1981)
* New Rally-X (1981)
* Pole Position (1982)
* Toypop (1986)
====Namco Museum Vol. 2====
Released on February 9, 1996, and developed by TOSE. The following games appear across all regions:
* Xevious (1982)
* Mappy (1983)
* Gaplus (1984)
* Grobda (1984)
* Dragon Buster (1985)
The original Japanese version includes Cutie Q (1979); in other regions (including North America and Europe), it was replaced with Super Pac-Man (1982; Bally Midway version). The Japan release also included Bomb Bee (1979) as a bonus game; as with Cutie Q, it cannot be played in the English release.
====Namco Museum Vol. 3====
Released on June 21, 1996, and developed by Now Production. Includes six games:
* Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
* Galaxian (1979)
* Dig Dug (1982)
* Phozon (1983)
* Pole Position II (1983)
* The Tower of Druaga (1984)
There are two hidden games in this compilation - The Tower of Druaga: Another Tower and The Tower of Druaga: Darkness Tower. Both games were seemingly created for Volume 3 itself. Additionally, exclusively in the Japanese version, there is a secret Ms. Pac-Man tour guide icon (used when viewing high scores); it can only appear if certain level thresholds are passed in every game.
====Namco Museum Vol. 4====
Released on November 8, 1996, and developed by Now Production. Features five games:
* Pac-Land (1984) (Japanese version)
* The Return of Ishtar (1986)
* The Genji and the Heike Clans (1986)
* Assault (1988)
* Ordyne (1988)
Assault Plus (1988) is also a hidden game.
====Namco Museum Vol. 5====
Released on February 28, 1997, and developed by TOSE. Includes five games:
* Pac-Mania (1987) (Japanese version)
* Baraduke (1985)
* Metro-Cross (1985)
* Dragon Spirit (1987)
* Legend of the Valkyrie (1989)
====Namco Museum Encore====
Released exclusively in Japan on October 30, 1997; developed by Now Production. Features seven games:
* King & Balloon (1980)
* Motos (1985)
* Sky Kid (1985)
* Rolling Thunder (1986)
* Wonder Momo (1987)
* Rompers (1989)
* Dragon Saber (1990)
While no Pac-Man games are included, both him and Ms. Pac-Man still appear in the opening intro. This volume reportedly has playability issues when played on a PS2 or PS3.
=== "Mass Media" volumes ===
Following the success of the original PlayStation line, several further Namco Museum compilations were produced by Mass Media Games, a California-based developer, from 1999 to 2002. The Mass Media line consisted of several releases; there are no "virtual museum" features in the titles, and they are all largely similar in production and content. All volumes, save for the Game Boy Advance version(s), were released exclusively in North America. The games included are based on their PlayStation 1 Namco Museum counterparts (and the Namco Anthology 2 compilation for Pac-Attack), while the "Arrangement" games are newly ported.
==== Namco Museum 64 ====
Released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, featuring the following games:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
* Galaxian (1979)
* Galaga (1981)
* Dig Dug (1982)
* Pole Position (1982)
==== Namco Museum (Dreamcast) ====
Released in 2000, this release is nearly identical Namco Museum 64, with the same gamelist; however, it adds an additional game for the Dreamcast's VMU unit, titled "PACit".
==== Namco Museum (Game Boy Advance) ====
A Game Boy Advance version of Namco Museum was released in 2001, and features another near-identical game selection; however, the original Pac-Man is not present, only including Ms. Pac-Man. This version was later released for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014.
==== Pac-Man Collection ====
While not directly "Museum"-branded, Pac-Man Collection was released as a counterpart to the Game Boy Advance Namco Museum, dedicated to Pac-Man series games exclusively. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, featuring the following games:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* Pac-Mania (1987) (Japanese version)
* Pac-Attack (1993) (Namco Anthology 2 “Classic” version)
* Pac-Man Arrangement (1996)
This collection is notable for featuring the first console release of Pac-Man Arrangement (1996), which was previously only available from the Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 arcade machine. The collection was later released for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014.
==== Namco Museum (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox) ====
Released in 2001 across multiple platforms. It includes the same games as the prior volumes (including Pac-Man Collection's titles), in addition to:
* Pole Position II (1983)
* Galaga Arrangement (1995)
* Dig Dug Arrangement (1996)
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.
==== Namco Vintage and Ms. Pac-Man (Xbox) ====
Two other Mass Media releases not directly connected to Namco Museum; both were released for Xbox Live Arcade in 2004, and use the same menu interface as the 2001 Namco Museum. Namco Vintage features Dig Dug, Galaga and Pole Position, while Ms. Pac-Man is a standalone release (included on the original Live Arcade service disc).
=== PlayStation Portable series ===
Namco Museum for the PlayStation Portable was released in various forms internationally. In Japan and Korea, Namco Museum was released as two separate volumes, being Namco Museum and Namco Museum Vol. 2, respectively. In North America and Europe, the majority of both volumes' contents were included in a single compilation, Namco Museum Battle Collection.
The collections feature a collection of new "arranged" versions of games; these are not the same as the identically-titled Arrangement games seen in the Namco Classic Collection series (and in some of the Mass Media-developed Namco Museum collections).
The PSP volumes do appear to use some form of emulation, though it is not as arcade-accurate as some contemporary releases (namely Namco Museum 50th Anniversary). Upon inserting a "credit", a menu appears allowing the player to start the game, adjust the game's settings or display options, or continue from the level they last left off on. This menu format would later be used for certain titles in Namco Museum Virtual Arcade, Namco Museum Remix and Megamix, as well as the bonus games in Pac-Man Party.
====Namco Museum (PSP)====
Released in Japan and Korea on February 24, 2005. Arranged games include:
* Pac-Man Arrangement
* Dig Dug Arrangement
* Galaga Arrangement
* New Rally-X Arrangement
And the classic games are:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* Galaxian (1979)
* Rally-X (1980)
* Galaga (1981)
* New Rally-X (1981)
* Dig Dug (1982)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982) is also included in the Japanese version, but not the Korean version.
====Namco Museum Vol. 2 (PSP)====
Released in Japan and Korea on February 23, 2006. Arranged games include:
* Pac-Man Arrangement +
* Motos Arrangement
And the classic games are:
* King & Balloon (1980)
* Bosconian (1981)
* Xevious (1982)
* Mappy (1983)
* The Tower of Druaga (1984)
* Grobda (1984)
* Dig Dug II (1985)
* Dragon Buster (1985)
* Motos (1985)
* Rolling Thunder (1986)
* Dragon Spirit (1987)
====Namco Museum Battle Collection====
The American and European release of the game. Released on August 23, 2005 (in between the other two), it has all games from the Japanese/Korean volumes combined, minus Pac-Man Arrangement +, Motos Arrangement, and Dragon Spirit. Ms. Pac-Man is included in the North American version, but is removed in European releases.
=== Namco Museum 50th Anniversary ===
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Namco as a company (being formed in 1955), Namco Museum 50th Anniversary was released in 2005 across various platforms. The release also featured the "Pac-Man 25th Anniversary" branding on its packaging. The "50th Anniversary" releases were developed by Digital Eclipse, and contained proper emulation of each respective game.
==== Console and PC version ====
The release of Namco Museum 50th Anniversary on PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and PC featured 16 games (despite the packaging's claim of "14 games", though two of them are unlockable). The Japanese release is titled Namco Museum Arcade Hits!, and was PlayStation 2-exclusive. The games included are:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* Ms. Pac-Man (1982)
* Pac-Mania (1987)
* Galaxian (1979)
* Rally-X (1980)
* Bosconian (1981)
* Galaga (1981)
* Dig Dug (1982)
* Xevious (1982)
* Pole Position (1982)
* Mappy (1983)
* Pole Position II (1983)
* Sky Kid (1985)
* Rolling Thunder (1986)
* Dragon Spirit (1987)
* Galaga '88 (1987)
This collection was originally planned to feature Super Pac-Man, but it was not included in the final release.Digital file from the Namco E3 2005 press kit
Pac-Mania and Galaga '88 are unlockable games. To unlock them, the player must score 15,000 or more points in Pac-Man, and 20,000 or more points in Ms. Pac-Man, for Pac-Mania; and score 40,000 or more points in Galaga for Galaga '88. Both games are unlocked by default in the Japanese release.
==== Game Boy Advance version ====
The Game Boy Advance release of Namco Museum 50th Anniversary only featured five games: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Rally-X, and Dig Dug. The compilation was originally planned to feature Bosconian instead of Rally-X.Flyer from the Namco E3 2005 press kit
=== Wii series ===
The Wii saw the release of Namco Museum Remix, a Namco Museum entry that emphasizes a focus on new games that take advantage of the Wii Remote’s motion control capabilities. In addition to the new games, the game also sees the return of several other older titles in a dedicated area known as the Carnival Arcade. A slightly modified version called Namco Museum Megamix was released a few years later, which includes additional Remix and classic games. Most of the classic games feature menu UI designs based on Namco Museum Battle Collection.
====Namco Museum Remix====
Released on October 23, 2007. Remixed games include:
* Pac 'n Roll Remix
* Pac-Motos
* Rally-X Remix
* Galaga Remix
* Gator Panic Remix
Classic games include:
* Super Pac-Man (1982)
* Pac & Pal (1983)
* Pac-Mania (1987)
* Cutie Q (1979)
* Galaxian (1979)
* Dig Dug (1982)
* Mappy (1983)
* Xevious (1983)
* Gaplus (1984)
====Namco Museum Megamix====
Released exclusively in North America on November 16, 2010. Includes all games from Remix, in addition to the new Grobda Remix and the following arcade games:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* King & Balloon (1980)
* Rally-X (1980)
* Bosconian (1981)
* Galaga (1981)
* New Rally-X (1981)
* Grobda (1984)
* Dig Dug II (1985)
* Motos (1985)
=== Other Namco Museums ===
* Namco Museum DS (2007) (Nintendo DS) - Includes a unique version of Pac-Man Vs. not found elsewhere, utilizing DS Download Play for multiplayer; in addition, there are seven arcade games, including Pac-Man. This version also features a museum mode featuring promotional flyers, instruction cards and scans of the PC boards of each game.
* Namco Museum Virtual Arcade (2008) (Xbox 360) - Includes 25 games, a mixture of arcade and the Arrangement games from Namco Museum Battle Collection; Pac-Man titles include Super Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, and Pac-Man Arrangement (2005). Additionally, there are 9 Xbox Live Arcade games, including Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Pac-Man Championship Edition; each of them are based on their previously-released standalone equivalents for the Xbox 360.
* Namco Museum Essentials (2009) (PlayStation 3) - Download-only title; known as Namco Museum.comm in Japan. Includes six games, one of which (Xevious Resurrection) was brand-new. This compilation featured connectivity with the PlayStation Home service. It was removed from the PlayStation Store in 2018.
* Namco Museum (2017) (Nintendo Switch) - Features eleven games, including Pac-Man and an HD remaster of Pac-Man Vs. with a new single player mode.
* Namco Museum Arcade Pac (2018) (Nintendo Switch) - Same as the above game, but with Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus included as well.
* Namco Museum Mini Player (2019) - Tabletop arcade machine with 20 games, as part of My Arcade's "Micro Player" line of handhelds; Pac-Man titles include Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack, and Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures.
== Sub-series installments ==
=== Pac-Man Museum series ===
The Pac-Man Museum series are solely Pac-Man-focused compilations. They also contain many additional features and extras, somewhat closer to that of the original PlayStation Namco Museum line.
==== Pac-Man Museum ====
The original Pac-Man Museum was released on February 26, 2014 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Nintendo 3DS and Wii U ports were planned but cancelled. In addition to the game selections, the collection features an achievement system for all games that add elements to the “Pac-Room”, which is seen in the main menu screen. It features nine games:
* Pac-Man (1980)
* Ms. Pac-Man (1982) (DLC) (Namco Museum Battle Collection version [?])
** Ms. Pac-Man was first released as free DLC until March 31, 2014; it later became an additional $4.99 USD purchase.
* Super Pac-Man (1982) (Japanese version)
* Pac & Pal (1983)
* Pac-Land (1984) (Japanese version)
* Pac-Mania (1987) (North American version [?])
* Pac-Attack (1993) (Namco Anthology 2 “Classic” version)
* Pac-Man Arrangement (2005)
* Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007)
* Pac-Man Battle Royale (2010)
The collection was delisted on July 20, 2020 across all stores. Despite the delisting, the Ms. Pac-Man DLC remains available for purchase via the Xbox Store.
==== Pac-Man Museum + ====
Pac Man Museum + was released worldwide on May 27th, 2022 for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One (and Xbox Game Pass), PlayStation 4, and PC (via Steam). The game features an extensive "Arcade Room" hub world, which the player can decorate to their liking; in addition to the following 14 games:
*Pac-Man (1980)
*Super Pac-Man (1982) (Japanese version)
*Pac & Pal (1983)
*Pac-Land (1984) (Japanese version)
*Pac-Mania (1987) (Japanese version)
*Pac-Attack (1993) (SNES version)
*Pac-In-Time (1995) (SFC version)
*Pac-Man Arrangement (1996)
*Pac-Man Arrangement (2005)
*Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007)
*Pac 'n Roll Remix (2007)
*Pac-Motos (2007)
*Pac-Man Battle Royale (2010)
*Pac-Man 256 (2015) (console version)
The appearances of Ms. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man in Pac-Land, Pac-Attack and Pac-In-Time are altered in the collection, and are replaced with the characters “Pac-Mom”, “Pac-Sis” and “Pac-Boy” respectively, created for the collection. No official clarification has been provided, but several outlets have assumed the changes to be related to Ms. Pac-Man’s ongoing legal disputes with AtGames.
=== Namco Museum Collection series ===
Namco Museum Collection is a duology of games released on the Evercade, a handheld system released by Blaze Entertainment, in 2020. Unlike most Namco Museum releases, all featured games are home console ports; including games from the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis. Both releases featured the "Pac-Man 40th Anniversary" branding on their packaging, and were released on May 22, 2020.
While the Namco Museum cartridges work on all Evercade and "Super Pocket" handheld systems, they do not function on any "home console" Evercade variants, such as the Evercade VS. According to Blaze, Namco's contract for the Evercade was strictly for "handheld use" only; for unknown reasons, Blaze were unable to renegotiate terms with Namco, resulting in both games later being pulled from production.
==== Namco Museum Collection 1 ====
Includes 11 games:
* Pac-Man (1980/84) (Famicom/NES)
* Galaxian (1979/84) (Famicom/NES)
* Mappy (1983/84) (Famicom/NES)
* Xevious (1983/84) (Famicom/NES)
* Dig Dug (1982/85) (Famicom/NES)
* Star Luster (1985) (Famicom/NES)
* Mappy Kids (1989) (Famicom/NES; English translation)
* Quad Challenge (1991) (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)
* Battle Cars (1993) (Super Famicom/SNES)
* Metal Marines (1993) (Super Famicom/SNES)
* Libble Rabble (1994) (Super Famicom/SNES)
==== Namco Museum Collection 2 ====
Includes 11 games:
* Pac-Attack (1993) (Super Famicom/SNES)
* Galaga (1981/85) (Famicom/NES)
* The Tower of Druaga (1984/85) (Famicom/NES)
* Warpman (1985) (Famicom/NES)
* Dig Dug II (1982/86) (Famicom/NES)
* Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (1989) (Famicom/NES)
* Phelios (1990) (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)
* Burning Force (1990) (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)
* Splatterhouse Part 2 (1992) (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)
* Splatterhouse Part 3 (1932) (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)
* Weaponlord (1995) (Super Famicom/SNES)
=== Namco Museum Archives series ===
Known as Namcot Collection in Japan, Namco Museum Archives is a sub-series to Namco Museum. Rather than focusing on arcade games, the series only includes Famicom/NES titles. Namcot Collection is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch; Namco Museum Archives is available on multiple platforms. All versions were released on June 18, 2020.
====Namcot Collection (download version)====
The downloadable version of Namcot Collection is free, but only includes one game - Wagan Land (1989). Other games can be purchased individually for roughly $3 USD; among these games are Pac-Man, Pac-Land, and Family Pinball. If ten games are purchased, the player will unlock the homebrew Famicom port of Pac-Man Championship Edition.
====Namcot Collection (cartridge version)====
The physical version of Namcot Collection includes eleven games:
*Pac-Man (1980/84)
*Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007/08) - official release of homebrew port
*Galaga (1981/85)
*The Tower of Druaga (1984/85)
*Battle City (1985)
*Star Luster (1985)
*Family Jockey (1987)
*Yokai Dochuki (1987/88)
*Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (1989)
*Quinty (1989) - same as English "Mendel Palace"
*Wagan Land (1989)
As with the downloadable edition, other games can be purchased separately.
====Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 & 2====
Volume 1 includes:
* Pac-Man (1980/84)
* Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007/08) - official release of homebrew port
* Galaxian (1979/84)
* Mappy (1983/84)
* Xevious (1983/84)
* Dig Dug (1982/85)
* The Tower of Druaga (1984/85)
* Sky Kid (1985/86)
* Dragon Buster (1984/87)
* Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (1989)
* Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (1989)
Volume 2 includes:
* Pac-Land (1984/85)
* Galaga (1981/85)
* Battle City (1985)
* Dig Dug II (1982/86)
* Super Xevious (1982/86)
* Mappy-Land (1986)
* Legacy of the Wizard (1987) - released in Japan as "Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family"
*Dragon Buster II (1984-89)
*Rolling Thunder (1986-89)
*Mendel Palace (1989) - released in Japan as "Quinty"
*Gaplus (1984/20) - new homebrew port
Unlike the Japanese version(s), the Namco Museum Archives collections do not feature any downloadable content and streamline the menus.
== Trivia==
*Some Namco Museum releases have been noted as featuring strange alterations or inconsistencies with Pac-Man-related artwork, particularly in the selection menus or as screen borders around the games. The reasoning for this, at least in some cases, is seemingly connected to the Pac-Man artwork style guides issued during the compilations' time of release. Examples of this include:
**The common "Namco Museum port" of Pac-Man, as debuted in Namco Museum Vol. 1, uses a recreation of the original Puckman bezel artwork around the screen; however, Pac-Man's nose is made considerably shorter compared to the original.
**When shown at E3 2005, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary used recreations of the original North American artwork for every arcade machine, as well as mimicking their cabinet shapes. In the final release, however, each machine is greatly simplified in design; removing most artwork of the characters, and using the same shape for every machine.https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Namco_Museum:_50th_Anniversary_(PlayStation_2,_GameCube,_Xbox,_Windows)
**Namco Museum Remix and Virtual Arcade feature artwork resembling the original Tadashi Yamashita Pac-Man illustrations, but are redrawn to resemble the 1998 Pac-Man character design by Hideki Tanaami. This is likely due to the strict requirements of the 1999 Pac-Man Character Manual, which is further evidenced by all instances of the Ghosts remaining unaltered (as the Ghosts do not appear in the 1999 character manual at all). 
*** Contrarily, the versions of Pac-Man included in Namco Museum Essentials and Namco Museum Megamix use Yamashita-styled Pac-Man artwork on its screen border. However, Pac-Man Party repurposes this artwork to use the general 2010s merchandising artwork for Pac-Man.
**Namco Museum DS and the Nintendo Switch Namco Museum solely use pixel artwork for Pac-Man; despite that all other games in the compilations use at least some form of artwork from the original arcade machines.
*Shortly following the original PlayStation series, Namco released a similar, Japan-exclusive line of Namco Gallery compilations for the Game Boy. The Namco Gallery series features ports of various arcade and Famicom titles, such as Mappy and Battle City; no Pac-Man titles were included in this line.
*Between Namcot Collection and the Namco Museum Archives series, there are many games that are only present in one series or the other. Some titles exclusive to one set were later added to the Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online app worldwide.
== Gallery==
For this page's full gallery, see Namco Museum (series)/Gallery.
== References==
== Related compilations==
*Pac-Man Collection
*Plug & Play TV Games
*List of Pac-Man compilation releases
Category:Compilations
Category:Games
Category:Namco Games
Category:Console Games
Category:Namco Museum series