Namco 50th Anniversary and Space Invaders DS is out

[MegaDrive20XX]

I saw this and I wanted to find out what 80's music was added to the soundtrack.

Only downside is, PS2 verison comes in an ugly Red Greatest Hits Case, while Xbox and Cube is in a normal casing.

As for the DS Space Invaders, I see it includes the original game as well.

[zmweasel]

I saw this and I wanted to find out what 80's music was added to the soundtrack.

Only downside is, PS2 verison comes in an ugly Red Greatest Hits Case, while Xbox and Cube is in a normal casing.

As for the DS Space Invaders, I see it includes the original game as well.

There are only three or four '80s songs in 50th Anniversary, and they only play on the game-select screen, which makes 'em pointless--unless I missed a menu option. Anyone?

-- Z.

[Graham Mitchell]

Don't know about the music, but I've got a question myself. The game says you need to score 40,000 on Galaga to unlock Galaga '88. Well, I scored 3 times that on my first try, and Galaga '88 didn't unlock. Is there something specific you need to do to unlock it?

[buttasuperb]

That's all I did, and it's unlocked.

Galaga 88 is the shit.

[kainemaxwell]

Namco 50th worth buying if you don't or do have some of the other Namco collections they put out?

[DigitalSpace]

There's more about Namco Museum 50th Anniversary in this thread:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=59610

As I said in that thread, it's the compilation Namco should've released the first time around.

Btw, the GBA version is useless if you already own the first. It features almost every game it had, replacing Pole Position and Galaxian with Pac-Man and Rally-X. And no high-score saving again. For shame.

[roushimsx]

I'll pick it up just for Galaga '88 :(

I'm a little bummed by Namco's collections..they always offer too little and cost too much, imo. Even the new namCollection is a little on the weak side. :(

[zmweasel]

I'm a little bummed by Namco's collections..they always offer too little and cost too much, imo. Even the new namCollection is a little on the weak side. :(

50th Anniversary has 16 games, including several of the best coin-ops ever made, and costs $20. Battle Collection has 21 games and costs $40. You could argue that Battle Collection should've been $30, and I'd back you up, but 50th Anniversary delivers plenty o' value for money.

My complaint is that 50th Anniversary and Battle Collection lack the historical extras of the Activision, Atari, and Midway collections. No programmer interviews, scans of promotional materials, etc.--the stuff that makes the American collections feel like more than just fancy MAME interfaces.

-- Z.

[Tron 2.0]

Namco 50th worth buying if you don't or do have some of the other Namco collections they put out?
Good question i all ready have, Namco Museum 1-5 for my PS1 and, Namco Museum Encore as well.

Plus again for my PS2 with the arrange mode.

Btw i all ready have Galaga 88 too for my DUO.

Can any body give me a reason.... why i should pick up the 50th collection?

If not then the hell with it :roll:

[Dire 51]

Let's see... is Namco 50th Anniversary worth buying?

Every game on this disc released on previous compilations by Namco? Just about.

No Splatterhouse? Of course. God forbid they ever include a Splatterhouse game in a compilation.

No Phelios, Burning Force, or just about any other game that Namco could have stuck on here along with the same old stuff they keep giving us? Check. But hey, I guess no one remembers those games - so why include them? It's not like anyone but us cares about them, after all. </sarcasm>

Yay. Namco's regurgitated practically the same package all over again. I'll stick to my PS1 Namco Museums for the games included on the 50th anniversary disc, and stick to MAME for the games Namco won't give us.

So no, if you already have any previous Namco comps, it's not really worth buying - unless you really, really want to play Rolling Thunder on a U.S. system. Or you can get it really cheap.

[Tron 2.0]

Let's see... is Namco 50th Anniversary worth buying?

Every game on this disc released on previous compilations by Namco? Just about.

No Splatterhouse? Of course. God forbid they ever include a Splatterhouse game in a compilation.

No Phelios, Burning Force, or just about any other game that Namco could have stuck on here along with the same old stuff they keep giving us? Check. But hey, I guess no one remembers those games - so why include them? It's not like anyone but us cares about them, after all. </sarcasm>

Yay. Namco's regurgitated practically the same package all over again. I'll stick to my PS1 Namco Museums for the games included on the 50th anniversary disc, and stick to MAME for the games Namco won't give us.

So no, if you already have any previous Namco comps, it's not really worth buying - unless you really, really want to play Rolling Thunder on a U.S. system. Or you can get it really cheap.
Well that answer my questions then.

As for, Rolling Thunder i can all ways play that on my copy of, Namco Museum Encore for my PS1 8-)

I agree it's a shame the "splatter house serise" isn't on the 50th collection :angry:

[MrSmiley381]

I. WANT. SPLATTERHOUSE.

At least Midway had the balls to get their collections M-Rated with Mortal Kombat.

[Dire 51]

I. WANT. SPLATTERHOUSE.

At least Midway had the balls to get their collections M-Rated with Mortal Kombat.

Namco could get around this if they'd just listen to me... but noooooooooo. Seems they want to forget Splatterhouse ever existed.

[Graham Mitchell]

There's Skykid. The arcade version hasn't been released on a console before (I thought, anyway. I suppose it could be on Namco Museum Encore).

50th anniversary is kind of lacking in extra features. It makes you realize just how awesome the first 5 Namco Museums really were.

[slownerveaction]

There's Skykid. The arcade version hasn't been released on a console before (I thought, anyway. I suppose it could be on Namco Museum Encore).

You suppose right. :) It was on Encore.

[MegaDrive20XX]

16 games?

If it has 14 with it....Galaga 88 is the 15th...then what is the 16th?

If it's got Galaga 88'..then damn I'm picking it up!

Besides that, I wanted Mappy. I luvs dat crazy mouse critter runnin around!

In Fact one time, my cat freaked out...I was playing Mappy on the Namco 5 in 1 joystick...and he started batting at the TV screen as the lil cats were falling down....

[kainemaxwell]

My complaint is that 50th Anniversary and Battle Collection lack the historical extras of the Activision, Atari, and Midway collections. No programmer interviews, scans of promotional materials, etc.--the stuff that makes the American collections feel like more than just fancy MAME interfaces.

-- Z.
What's battle Collection?

if anything might get 50th for the games and maybe Museum for the PS2 also cause I really like the arranged versions of Pac-Man and Dig Dug.

[MegaDrive20XX]

My complaint is that 50th Anniversary and Battle Collection lack the historical extras of the Activision, Atari, and Midway collections. No programmer interviews, scans of promotional materials, etc.--the stuff that makes the American collections feel like more than just fancy MAME interfaces.

-- Z.
What's battle Collection?

if anything might get 50th for the games and maybe Museum for the PS2 also cause I really like the arranged versions of Pac-Man and Dig Dug.

Battle Collection for PSP has 21 games on it...reason why they call it battle, because it uses the WiFi features to have competition modes for some of the games.

[zmweasel]

I. WANT. SPLATTERHOUSE.

At least Midway had the balls to get their collections M-Rated with Mortal Kombat.

Namco could get around this if they'd just listen to me... but noooooooooo. Seems they want to forget Splatterhouse ever existed.

Midway Arcade Treasures 2 was M-rated, but the main draws of that collection were MK and MKII. It wasn't a matter of "balls."

Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are what sell the Namco collections, not an obscure franchise that would scare away casual/female gamers.

How would you propose Namco "get around" this?

-- Z.

[DigitalSpace]

16 games?

If it has 14 with it....Galaga 88 is the 15th...then what is the 16th?

Pac-Mania, which you have to unlock.

And the lack of extras is a shame, and a missed opportunity.

[Xexyz]

Since I only have Vol. 1 and Vol. 3 for the PS1 (which I bought each used for less than $5) I guess I will finally pick up a real Namco compilation up for the GCN. I see some redeemable reasons why to own this, but man, Namco's compilations don't offer much compared to other companies. Look at Taito's and Capcom's collections. They put this 50th thing to shame. 50 years and Namco can't release anything newer than 1986? No Splatterhouse, Phelios, or any other late 80's-early 90's namco arcade games? For shame Namco... giving us Pac-Man, Pole Position, Dig Dug, and Galaga AGAIN!!!?

[roushimsx]

Look at Taito's and Capcom's collections. They put this 50th thing to shame. 50 years and Namco can't release anything newer than 1986? No Splatterhouse, Phelios, or any other late 80's-early 90's namco arcade games? For shame Namco... giving us Pac-Man, Pole Position, Dig Dug, and Galaga AGAIN!!!?

As much as I love Taito Memories, I almost didn't pick them up because I thought I'd get fucked over again like I did with Space Invaders 25th Anniversary. Seriously, it pretends to cover 25 years but in reality it's just everything up to right before Space Invaders 91...which = a whole lot of the same shit over and over again. At least with the Taito Memories packs we finally got Space Invaders 91 (AWESOME!) and 95 (more awesome!)

[MegaDrive20XX]

16 games?

If it has 14 with it....Galaga 88 is the 15th...then what is the 16th?

Pac-Mania, which you have to unlock.

And the lack of extras is a shame, and a missed opportunity.

Ah okay...so let's see..compared to the last one on PS2/Xbox/Cube...it's missing Pac-Man Arrangement, Galaga Arrangement, Dig Dug Arrangement, and Pac-Attack...Why couldnt they just add those?

[Dire 51]

I. WANT. SPLATTERHOUSE.

At least Midway had the balls to get their collections M-Rated with Mortal Kombat.

Namco could get around this if they'd just listen to me... but noooooooooo. Seems they want to forget Splatterhouse ever existed.

How would you propose Namco "get around" this?

-- Z.

Oops. :embarrassed: I must have been thinking of something else when I typed that. What I meant to say was this:

"If Namco would just listen to me, we could have a Splatterhouse compilation disc, but noooooooooo. Seems they want to forget Splatterhouse ever existed."

What can I say? I'd been awake for about 30 hours when I originally posted that...

[zmweasel]

Oops. :embarrassed: I must have been thinking of something else when I typed that. What I meant to say was this:

"If Namco would just listen to me, we could have a Splatterhouse compilation disc, but noooooooooo. Seems they want to forget Splatterhouse ever existed."

That'd have to be an el-cheapo compilation, certainly no more than $15, and I don't see Namco bothering with such a low-rent project.

I don't see Namco resurrecting the franchise, either, given their recent corporate decision to imitate THQ and pick up a bunch of kiddie/cartoon IPs.

Unless GameTap picks up the Splatterhouses, they'll never be officially, legally available.

-- Z.

[SlayerOfFurbies]

it would be nice if namco would stop publishing the same five games in each collection LOL

[Dire 51]

That'd have to be an el-cheapo compilation, certainly no more than $15, and I don't see Namco bothering with such a low-rent project.

Neither do I, but it's a nice dream. *sigh* Oh well.


I don't see Namco resurrecting the franchise, either, given their recent corporate decision to imitate THQ and pick up a bunch of kiddie/cartoon IPs.

They've done WHAT?!?


Unless GameTap picks up the Splatterhouses, they'll never be officially, legally available.

Aside from the games as they were originally released, anyway.

BTW, what's GameTap?

[zmweasel]

They've done WHAT?!?

You haven't noticed Namco's recent surge of E-rated licensed IPs? This year, Namco has announced or shipped games based on Gumby, Popeye, Berenstain Bears, Hello Kitty, Atomic Betty, and Peanuts.

Not that I fault Namco for emulating THQ's approach, which has worked extremely well, and allowed them to fund adult-oriented titles.


BTW, what's GameTap?

It's an all-you-can-download emulation/subscription service, headed up by a gin-u-wine media conglomerate. Check out http://www.gametap.com. It's a great idea in theory, but it won't work in practice, for a variety of reasons.

-- Z.

[GarrettCRW]

One issue I have with the Namco 50th disc (at least for Gamecube) is that the game doesn't give the player the option of turning their TV on its side for the games with upright monitors. The original Namco Museum discs had this, which is quite helpful for those of us with dinky montors. (Plus, the Ms. Pac-Man sound emulation on that collection was pretty bad, truth be told. It'd be nice to play a proper-sized version of it on my TV.)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

One issue I have with the Namco 50th disc (at least for Gamecube) is that the game doesn't give the player the option of turning their TV on its side for the games with upright monitors.
Yeah, I found this out with the original, pre-anniversary Namco Museum released for PS2, and it's pretty much put me off of purchasing any further reissues from Namco. Unless a PSP suddenly lands in my lap; I might get it for that, but that'd be about it. Y'see, I actually bought myself an extra LCD monitor, in somewhat less-than-cosmetically-perfect shape, specifically so I could mount it in a kind of roll-cage arrangement and play vertical games on it with my PS1. (For what it's worth, the PS1 Namco Museum series wasn't the only retro collection that offered this capability; I've got at least two import retro collections that also have vertical modes.)

I keep the PS2 Namco Museum around for the unique "Arrangement" games, but other than that...ick. I hate how the games wind up being squished or, worse yet, shrunk down and "framed." So it sounds like I can pass on the anniversary reissue. :/

[Nature Boy]

[My complaint is that 50th Anniversary and Battle Collection lack the historical extras of the Activision, Atari, and Midway collections. No programmer interviews, scans of promotional materials, etc.--the stuff that makes the American collections feel like more than just fancy MAME interfaces.

That's my biggest complaint as well (although I also didn't like Midway's stuff being split into two collections - I want it all at once!)

Why haven't we seen a decent retro collection for DS or PSP yet? I'd buy AA for DS if it played faster than my GBA version (I was pretty disappointed in that).

[zmweasel]

Why haven't we seen a decent retro collection for DS or PSP yet? I'd buy AA for DS if it played faster than my GBA version (I was pretty disappointed in that).

I saw a post by Activision producer Ken Love in the AtariAge forums, asking what the retro-gaming community would want from a DS/PSP version of Activision Anthology, so I presume that'll happen at some point.

(In the meantime, there's a rough-but-playable port of Stella for the PSP; the sound is waaaaay off, but it runs everything full-screen and full-speed. With some tweaking, it'll totally rock.)

There's also a version of Intellivision Lives! for the DS under way, which was being demoed at CGE. Looks pretty good, but no publisher yet.

-- Z.

[Nature Boy]

I saw a post by Activision producer Ken Love in the AtariAge forums, asking what the retro-gaming community would want from a DS/PSP version of Activision Anthology, so I presume that'll happen at some point.

(In the meantime, there's a rough-but-playable port of Stella for the PSP; the sound is waaaaay off, but it runs everything full-screen and full-speed. With some tweaking, it'll totally rock.)

There's also a version of Intellivision Lives! for the DS under way, which was being demoed at CGE. Looks pretty good, but no publisher yet.

Seems to me the DS would make a good emulator machine, since the touchpad would make a good paddle/INTV keypad. I hated the INTV emulation on the PS2.

All the PSP emulation *totally* makes me want to run out and get one, but I'm being good and holding off. Maybe I'll get lucky and get one for Xmas, maybe they'll drop in price soon :)

[Dire 51]

You haven't noticed Namco's recent surge of E-rated licensed IPs? This year, Namco has announced or shipped games based on Gumby, Popeye, Berenstain Bears, Hello Kitty, Atomic Betty, and Peanuts.

No, I haven't. Then again, I haven't been paying attention to recent or upcoming releases for a while now.


It's an all-you-can-download emulation/subscription service, headed up by a gin-u-wine media conglomerate. Check out http://www.gametap.com. It's a great idea in theory, but it won't work in practice, for a variety of reasons.

Very interesting, indeed.

[ubersaurus]

So, uh, how's Space Invaders DS?


INTV Lives for DS? I've been arguing from the get go the touch screen would make the keypad a breeze to work with. Good to see someone else had the same line of thought.

[djbeatmongrel]

i just found a copy of space invaders DS. not a lot of content but what is there is pretty solid and its a good arcade port. the presentation is nice