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Namcot Collection

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Namcot Collection
Japanese box art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
SeriesNamco Museum
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
  • WW: June 18, 2020
Genre(s)Various
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Namcot Collection[a], also known as Namco Museum Archives, is a 2020 video game compilation published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Originally released in Japan for the Nintendo Switch, it was localized for international territories as two separate collections, Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, for the Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows. Namcot Collection includes a wide array of video games published by Namco for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System, with save states, achievements, and homebrew ports of Pac-Man Championship Edition and Gaplus.

Bandai Namco enlisted the help of M2, a company recognized for its high-quality video game re-releases, to develop the game. Assisting M2 was B.B. Studio, a Bandai Namco subsidiary known for its work on the Super Robot Wars series. The game was released in Japan as a free digital app and a physical release, the former allowing its users to buy individual games or in select packs; as players began receiving the wrong games after purchasing them individually, Bandai Namco was forced to pull it from the Nintendo eShop temporarily.

The localized releases were praised for their emulation quality and game library, particularly Pac-Man Championship Edition, though the lackluster presentation and Bandai Namco's decision to split the collection in two was the subject of criticism from western fans. The Collection received a physical release in Asian regions only.

Games

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The menu interface in Namcot Collection is designed after a collector's shelf.

Namcot Collection is a compilation of video games published by Namcot, the Japanese consumer game division of Namco, for the Family Computer (Famicom) and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).[1] The majority of the game library consists of games developed in-house by Namco, although some were developed by external companies like Game Freak and Atlus.[2][3]

Some of the titles are conversions of popular Namco arcade games, including Pac-Man (1980) and Galaga (1981),[4] while others like Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti (1989) were created specifically for the Famicom and NES.[5][6] The included titles encompass a wide variety of genres, notably action role-playing, shoot 'em up, and platforming.[4] The collection also presents two homebrew ports of Gaplus (1984) and Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007), which were designed by M2 and are exclusive to the package.[5][7][6]

Players can save their progress and "rewind" back a few seconds in gameplay to make certain games easier to play.[1] Certain games, such as Sky Kid, feature simultaneous multiplayer.

In the Japanese Nintendo Switch release, the main menu is designed after a collector's shelf.[5] Players can customize their shelf with boxes, game cartridges, and plastic figurines based on each of the included games.[8] Artwork and manual scans are also included.[5] The way the games are distributed differs from each version: in the Japanese version, players can purchase games either individually or in select packs.[2]

Packs that are purchased are indicated by magazine issues on the player's shelf, designed after the front covers of Namco's Community Magazine NG press literature. The international Archives releases omit this decision, with both volumes containing a varied selection of titles.

Games included in Namcot Collection
Title[9][10] Genre Original release Developer JP INT
Battle City Top-down shooter 1985 Namco Yes Yes
Dig Dug Maze 1985 Namco Yes Yes
Dig Dug II Maze 1985 Namco No Yes
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei Role-playing 1987 Atlus Yes No
Dragon Buster Action role-playing 1987 Namco Yes Yes
Dragon Buster II: Yami no Fuuin Maze 1989 Namco No Yes
Dragon Spirit: The New Legend Vertical-scrolling shooter 1989 Namco Yes Yes
Family Circuit Racing 1988 Game Studio Yes No
Family Jockey Horse racing 1987 Namco Yes No
Galaga Fixed shooter 1985 Namco Yes Yes
Galaxian Fixed shooter 1984 Namco Yes Yes
Gaplus Fixed shooter 2020 M2 Yes Yes
Kaijū Monogatari Role-playing 1988 Birthday Yes No
Keru Nagūru Fighting 1989 Game Studio Yes No
King of Kings Strategy 1988 Atlus Yes No
Legacy of the Wizard Action role-playing 1987 Nihon Falcom No Yes
Mappy Platform 1984 Namco Yes Yes
Mappy-Land Platform 1987 Namco No Yes
Mendel Palace Action puzzle 1989 Game Freak Yes Yes
Metro-Cross Platform 1986 Namco Yes No
Namco Classic II Golf 1992 Namco Yes No
Pac-Land Platform 1985 Namco Yes Yes
Pac-Man Maze 1984 Namco Yes Yes
Pac-Man Championship Edition Maze 2020 M2 Yes Yes
The Quest of Ki Puzzle platform 1988 Game Studio Yes No
Rock 'n Ball Pinball 1989 KID Yes No
Rolling Thunder Platform 1989 Namco Yes Yes
Sky Kid Horizontal-scrolling shooter 1986 Namco Yes Yes
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti Hack'n slash 1989 Namco Yes Yes
Star Luster Space combat simulator 1985 Namco Yes No
Super Xevious: GAMP no Nazo Vertical-scrolling shooter 1986 Namco No Yes
Tower of Babel Puzzle 1986 Namco Yes No
The Tower of Druaga Action role-playing 1985 Namco Yes Yes
Valkyrie no Bōken Role-playing 1986 Namco Yes No
Wagan Land Platform 1987 Namco Yes No
Warpman Maze 1985 Namco Yes No
Xevious Vertical-scrolling shooter 1984 Namco Yes Yes
Yokai Dochuki Platform 1987 Namco Yes No

Development and release

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Namcot Collection was developed by M2, a Japanese studio recognized for its high-quality video game collections and re-releases, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.[11][12] M2 was assisted by Bandai Namco subsidiary B.B. Studio, the development group for the modern-day Super Robot Wars games.[13] The included homebrew port of Pac-Man Championship Edition, designed to work on real NES hardware, was originally the creation of a Japanese ROM hacker from 2008, who out of legal concerns chose not to release his work to the public.[14] For Namcot Collection, Bandai Namco acquired the rights to the hack and provided minor changes, such as altering the soundtrack.[14]

Bandai Namco revealed Namcot Collection during a Japanese Nintendo Direct hosted on March 26, 2020.[8] Originally thought to remain exclusive to Japan, it was revealed on June 4 that Namcot Collection would be localized and split into two separate collections titled Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 and Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 internationally, retrofitted under the company's existing Namco Museum series of similar collections.[3] Namcot Collection and its Archives localizations were released on June 18, 2020.[15]

The former was released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, while the latter was published on the Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam. In Japan, the game was released for free on the Nintendo eShop, which includes Wagan Land as a free game and has players purchase additional games separately or in packs.[2][16] A physical version was published the same day that includes the first wave of games.[16] Bandai Namco pulled the digital version from sale the same day after an error was discovered that gave players the incorrect game after purchasing individual games from the store.[16][17] The game was relisted with the defect corrected on July 8.[16]

Reception

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The localized releases of Namcot Collection drew mixed responses from critics. The PlayStation 4 version of both Archives volumes respectively hold a 62/100 and 61/100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20][21] As of August 30 2020, 11,850 copies of the physical version of Namcot Collection have been sold in Japan.[22]

Critics were particularly disappointed in the Archives releases for their inferiority to the Japanese original.[4][6][7] Nintendo Life was critical of their omission of the collector's shelf from the Japanese version, as without it the collections felt very barren of content.[5] The Games Machine agreed, and added the exclusion of artwork scans and other bonus material made it feel inferior to other similar collections already on the market.[6] The Italian division of Eurogamer believed the Archives games, with its exclusion of artwork scans and bonus content, had no reason to bear the Namco Museum name.[10]

Bandai Namco's decision to split up Namcot Collection for international territories was negatively-received, with critics finding the idea pointless and confusing.[4][6][10] Push Square said that both games' usage of the same menu interface and functionalities "raises the uncomfortable question of why these collections had to be separated into two volumes at all." They believed its method of distribution only made them worthwhile for hardcore Namco fans.[4]

Most reviewers enjoyed the emulation quality and selection of titles, particularly Pac-Man Championship Edition and Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti.[6][10][18] Nintendo World Report showed admiration towards Mendal Palace, Battle City, and Gaplus for their polished design; they especially praised Gaplus for the quality of its conversion, complementing that it made for a nice companion for Galaga.[19] The Games Machine agreed, and felt that the collections hosted a nice selection of quality titles, like Rolling Thunder. However, they argued it would only appeal to players that grew up playing the NES, believing that otherwise they provided little incentive for newcomers to purchase them.[6]

Mappy-Land and Dragon Buster were seen as the worst inclusions, with Super Xevious and Pac-Land also being disliked for their quality.[4][6][18] 4Gamer.net showed disappointment in Namcot Collection for its library consisting exclusively of NES and Famicom games, and believed the collection could have been more interesting had it included games from systems such as the MSX, PC Engine, and Sega Mega Drive.[23] While critics felt that the arcade game conversions were still fun to play, they generally agreed that they were not as good as their coin-op predecessors, and that they should have been included in addition to their console counterparts.[5][6][10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: ナムコットコレクション, Hepburn: Namukotto Korekushon

References

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  1. ^ a b Romano, Sal (March 26, 2020). "Namcot Collection announced for Switch". Gematsu. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Wong, Alistar (March 27, 2020). "Namcot Collection Will Come With Wagan Land, and Other Games Will Be DLC". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Namcot Collection To Be Localized For June 18 Western Release". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Eker, Nathaniel (June 29, 2020). "Mini Review: Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 & 2 - A Basic Trip Down Memory Lane". Push Square. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Scullion, Chris (June 24, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Besser, Paolo (June 24, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 & Vol 2 – Recensione". The Games Machine (in Italian). Aktia srl. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Scullion, Chris (June 24, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Vol 2 Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Doolan, Liam (March 26, 2020). "Bandai Namco Announces The Namcot Collection For Nintendo Switch". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  9. ^ "「ナムコットコレクション」，抽選でファミコン消しゴムが当たる発売記念キャンペーン開催" ["Namcot Collection", launch campaign to win Famicom eraser by lottery]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Cucchiarelli, Daniele (July 19, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 e 2 - recensione". Eurogamer Italy (in Italian). Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  11. ^ Marrujo, Angela (June 8, 2020). "M2 Behind the Development of the Namcot Collection". Nintendojo. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  12. ^ Doolan, Liam (June 6, 2020). "The Emulation Experts At M2 Developed The Namcot Collection". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  13. ^ Russel, Graham (June 19, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives: The 7 Best Games to Play". Siliconera. Curse, Inc. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  14. ^ a b Orland, Kyle (July 4, 2020). "We traced Namco's "new" Pac-Man demake to its source: A 2008 fan ROMhack". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  15. ^ Romano, Sal (June 11, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives: Volume 1 and 2 launch June 18 for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Windows". Gematsu. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d Craddock, Ryan (June 18, 2020). "Namcot Collection: Series 1 Pulled From Japanese eShop After Customers Receive Wrong Games". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Iwase, Kento (June 18, 2020). "「ナムコットコレクション」にてDLC購入後に本編内で解放されるゲームが異なる不具合が発生中" [There is a problem that the game released in the main part is different after purchasing DLC in "Namcot Collection"]. Game Watch (in Japanese). Impress Group. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  18. ^ a b c Ronaghan, Neal (June 22, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  19. ^ a b Ronaghan, Neal (June 27, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Volume 2 (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  21. ^ "Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "Game Search (based on Famitsu data)". Game Data Library. March 1, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "レトロンバーガーOrder 41：「ナムコットコレクション」がFCタイトルだけだったので，FC以外から俺セレクションをクーソーする編". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas. July 4, 2020. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
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