The Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch is out now as a downloadable collection with a suggested retail price of $29.99 and includes 10 arcade/retro games like Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, Galaga 88, The Tower of Druaga, Rolling Thunder, Rolling Thunder 2, Sky Kid, Splatterhouse, Tank Force and Pac-Man VS which was previously released on the Nintendo GameCube.
The Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch offers an interesting spin on things as it will allow you to play games in vertical mode (when handheld) to mimic the original arcade display for games like Galaga and Pac-Man. You’ll need to prop your Nintendo Switch up against something or use a third party stand to help you achieve a proper viewing angle. The menus inside the game offer plenty of customization for viewing so you can help optimize the experience. Playing classic games on the go is a fun novelty but ultimately you may prefer having the Switch docked and playing on your TV which works perfectly fine as well. The emulated sounds and images from the Namco Museum all harken back to the golden age of video games circa the 1980s and beyond.
Pac-Man VS came was originally on the Nintendo GameCube (2003) and is a mildly entertaining party game where you can control ghosts to chase down and capture Pac-Man. You’ll need an additional Nintendo Switch to take full advantage of the four-player option but the Namco Museum comes with a free downloadable app which will allow you to patch into someone else’s game – we haven’t seen it in practical use yet.
Namco Museum Nintendo Switch Review Final Thoughts:
The Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch offers a great chance to try some classic arcade games like Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and some not-so-classic games like The Tower of Druaga and Sky Kid. It’s strange to see one of the all-time best games ever made Ms. Pac-Man not making it into this collection or even another classic gem like Galaxian. For $30 the Namco Museum on the Nintendo Switch doesn’t give you much bang for your buck – it should have included at least 20 or 30 games for this price point. While there is plenty of charm to be had in this collection you may want to wait for a sale on the Nintendo Store before considering this purchase.