Namco Hand Held Unit...

[Aswald]

Yesterday, at a town-wide garage sale, I picked up one of those Namco 5-In-One game units.

This is the one that has:

Pac-Man.

Galaxian.

Dig-Dug.

Rally-X.

Bosconian.


For the few dollars I paid for it, it was worth it, but it isn't quite what you'd expect in this decade.

Pac-Man is very good, but it is easier than what I remember. The 5200 version is much harder, has better sound, and the movement of the ghosts less predictable.

Galaxian, again, is good- but there is just something about it (sound, again?) that somehow makes the CV version better.

Dig Dug is lacking- like the flowers to indicate screen number. The 7800 version is much better, overall.

Bosconian is odd in that the joystick only allows four directional movement, and the scanner is sort of on the playfield itself- unlike the arcade. I like it, but if Opcode ever did a version for the CV, it would be better.

Rally-X is something of a letdown, largely because the scanner is on the playfield, and this is very awkward. Again, if Opcode produces a CV version, it will be better. Still, it does capture something of the arcade game.

It is interesting how a weaker system can have a version of an arcade game that is just somehow, "more like," or has more of the "feel," of the arcade version. The 5200 Pac-Man vs. the NES version is an example.

Anyone else have one of these? If so, what do you think of it?

[Superman]

Actually, I was doing some rearranging last night and I came across it. I was tempted to play it, but it was late and I needed to get some work done.

For a few dollars, I think one of these is worth it. If nothing else, for the fact you have a few quick games at your disposal.

Personally, I didn't compare any of the games to the arcade version or any other version in detail. After you mentioned some of them, then I noticed the difference. For a quick gaming session, it doesn't make much difference though.

Bosconian is probably the only game that I hadn't played before I got this setup. It is also probably my favorite game in the set. I did think the directional controls were somewhat odd, but I just figured that was the way the game was.

[Aswald]

Well, the odd part is this: there isn't a single game on it I haven't played in the arcade.

This is important to someone like that. Unless you have played these kinds of games "back in the day," then no emulator, nothing- not even time travel- can replicate the experience. The whole "atmosphere" of the arcade and pop culture scene was entirely different.

If you are too young to have been around in that era, but old enough to have been around for the Street Fighter 2 era, think of what it was like the first time you played it. The entire way things were in those days. The tournaments around that game.

Could a 10 year old today truly understand it? Nope- no more than I can truly understand what it was like when the Beatles first hit it big, or when Prohibition ended.

Therefore, any home version of an arcade game just has to have that certain something, something that recaptures that feeling. The game doesn't even have to be 100% accurate. CV Ladybug, Venture, Carnival, and Pepper 2; NES Elevator Action and Galaga; 5200 Berzerk and Qix; 7800 Joust, Dig-Dug, and Xevious, all manage to do this. The games on this thing, while pretty good, often lack it.

[FrakAttack]

Not the best translations. The collision detection in Mappy on the Ms. Pac-Man PnP is off, so you can't get 100% in some of the bonus rounds. They aren't exactly comfortable to hold, either, but the portability can't be beat. Older chicks really dig the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga one, BTW.

[Aswald]

Here's an interesting update...

One of the biggest complaints about Bosconian on the handheld is the fact that you can only point in four directions: Up, Down, Left, and Right.

I was curious about why the title mode shows the ship pointing diagonally.

When you move the joystick, you can hear distinct "clicks" (caused by the sort of switch used inside- similar to an NES lightgun). I guessed that diagonal movement would be caused by two contacts being closed at once- such as left and up to move diagonal left and up. I noticed that it was impossible to get two "clicks" at once.

The feel of the joystick is similar to four-direction arcade games.

So, carefully peeling away the corners of the side stickers, I removed the screws, the yellow plastic sides, the white plastic holding pieces, and sure enough, inside was a plastic piece that makes the joystick move the way it does- it does NOT allow two contacts to be pushed close at once.

By using a garbage tie with the ends bared (don't you love my high-tech equipment?), I made the ship go down with the joystick, and then connected the contact point for LEFT and GROUND (they all use a common ground) together.

The ship moved DIAGONALLY!!!

It was just then a matter of filing away the triangular pieces until diagonal movement is allowed.

So- Bosconian is much, much better.

[Aswald]

I have to say that, overall, it is pretty good, largely for Bosconian. Pac-Man is good, too, but the hard-to-see scanner in Rally-X is a problem, and why do the stars in Galaxian scroll UP instead of down? And why is the sound so much better in the CV version as well?

And the 7800 version of Dig Dug is better, although this version is good enough.

[Neil Koch]

IIRC, isn't the version of Bosconian missing the voice samples from the arcade game?

I have a few of these sorts of units, mostly stuff I bought on clearance. They're fun novelty items, but I find the joysticks to be pretty uncomfortable on them, especially the one on Konami Arcade Advanced.

Though I must say that the Mortal Kombat one has a very solid translation of the aracde game; it plays much better than the poorly-emulated version on MK Deception.

[NoahsMyBro]

I bought what I think was the same exact Namco unit, specifically for Rally-X. But, I thought mine had Pole Position on it and you don't mention that, so maybe ours aren't the same one?

As soon as I tried Rally-X I was disappointed with it, and haven't played it since then. I honestly don't remember what was different. I think the control was just off somehow, and whenever I tried a quick maneuver I'd end up turning around 180 degrees and dying, which quickly killed any sort of fun I might have enjoyed.

And I liked Bosconian when it was new, but haven't played it for a very long time.

Side Note - Aswald, I'm guessing we are very close in age, given your post above. What year were you born in, if you don't mind the question?

[Aswald]

I bought what I think was the same exact Namco unit, specifically for Rally-X. But, I thought mine had Pole Position on it and you don't mention that, so maybe ours aren't the same one?

As soon as I tried Rally-X I was disappointed with it, and haven't played it since then. I honestly don't remember what was different. I think the control was just off somehow, and whenever I tried a quick maneuver I'd end up turning around 180 degrees and dying, which quickly killed any sort of fun I might have enjoyed.

And I liked Bosconian when it was new, but haven't played it for a very long time.

Side Note - Aswald, I'm guessing we are very close in age, given your post above. What year were you born in, if you don't mind the question?

1) There are at least two handhelds with five Namco games: The first has Pac-Man, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Rally-X and Bosconian; the second has Ms. Pac-Man, Mappy, Xevious, Galaga, and Pole Position.

2) Rally-X on the handheld starts out much faster than I remember the arcade version. The biggest problem, though, is the scanner: it is on the playfield itself, making it hard to see, and when you are over to the right side of the maze, it is next too impossible to see, because of the scenery. Because the enemy cars are so fast and intelligent, this handicap proves fatal time after time.

3) 1966.

[NoahsMyBro]

Shoot. I know my unit has Pole Position. I also know I have a plug-n-play at home with Rally-X. Maybe I have both? I'm going to have to check when I get home and see what I really have there!

I'm a '68 vintage myself.

[Aswald]

Is it just me, or were there more arcades years ago, especially small ones?

[josekortez]

Is it just me, or were there more arcades years ago, especially small ones?

No, there are definitely fewer arcades left in the U.S. Who's going to pay 50 cents when they've got a 360, Wii or PS3 at home...other than us?

[NoahsMyBro]

An AA member PM'd me with some additional, and very extensive info on the various NAMCO Plug'n'Play units. He doesn't have a DP account, and told me I could feel free to post his response here.

And, as it works out I've got the revision with:
Ms. Pac-Man
Pole Position
Xevious
New Rally-X
Galaga
Mappy
Bosconian.

(this one: - Wireless Ms. Pac-Man TV Games (2004 or 2005))
Bosconian seems to play perfectly fine. The Radar is off to the right, just as I remember it. My only issue with Bosconian is that after under 10 minutes of playing, my left hand was in pain - my left thumb knuckle ached, and my left palm was rubbed raw from the corner of the joystick base.

New Rally-X does have the radar on the right.

Yes, that's fine. FYI, I own all of the models listed with the exception of the portable variation of the Namco 1, the GameKey-enabled Namco 2, and the wireless variation of the Namco 2 (although this last one was a gift to my father, so I do have access to it along with my Namco 4, which is stored at my parents' place alongside it; the GameKey-enabled Namco 2 has also been a gift to some friends, though they don't live nearby, so I don't have easy access to them). I don't actually collect these plug-and-play games, instead just buying the specific retro ones which I'm interested in playing (and which don't disappoint me enough to return to the store).

There are actually some semi-variations as well:

- the Namco 1 had a revision partway through its life span, where Jakks Pacific apparently responded to complaints about players accidentally hitting the reset button. The revision molds the reset button to be flush with the surrounding surface, so that it is harder to hit by mistake.

- the Namco 2, while generally well received, had much criticism about the Ms. Pac-Man control issues, and some customers didn't bother to read the instructions and could not figure out how to play Pole Position by twisting the stick's knob. Later revisions of the Namco 2 (such as the GameKey-enabled one) labeled the twist motion on the stick itself and also apparently altered the stick internals to try to mitigate the Ms. Pac-Man issues, with partial success. You can feel a difference when using the stick versus the initial release. One wonders if they should have avoided the issue at the outset by not including Xevious, which was the only game in the set that needed an 8-way stick . . . but then, it's a very good port of it, even including the EVEZOO easter egg and the buried citadels.

onmode-ky

Wow - that's a pretty thorough post. Thanks for the info.

I assume you won't mind if I post it over on DP, verbatim?

-- Steve

Hi, I'm writing to you under the assumption that NoahsMyBro at AtariAge is the same person as NoahsMyBro at DigitPress. I read through the Namco Hand Held Unit... thread and thought I could contribute some helpful information, but I didn't feel like opening an account at DigitPress just to do so. If you would pass this info on to the thread, it might answer some questions.
Here is the breakdown of Jakks Pacific's line of Namco TV Games:

- Namco TV Games ("Namco 1"; 2003): Pac-Man, Galaxian, Rally-X, Dig Dug, Bosconian. Stick is 4-way.

- Namco Portable TV Games (2003 or 2004): same as above, but in a smaller form factor, and with more of a nub instead of a stick.

- Ms. Pac-Man TV Games ("Namco 2"; 2004): Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Mappy, Xevious. Stick is 8-way, which causes some problems with Ms. Pac-Man control.

- Wireless Ms. Pac-Man TV Games (2004 or 2005): same as above in new, two-part (base and wireless controller) form factor which looks nothing like the non-wireless version, with 2 added games: New Rally-X and Bosconian. Bosconian has been revamped in this and is more arcade-accurate, including voice (I believe the map is off the playfield, as well). Also, the 8-way stick makes this the only 8-way TV Games rendition of Bosconian.

- Ms. Pac-Man TV Games with GameKey slot (2005): 2 GameKeys were available for this, though neither was ever sold separately from the TV Games controller. There was a controller/key bundle with 1 GameKey (I believe it was the Pac-Man and Dig Dug key) and another bundle with both GameKeys (Galaxian and New Rally-X, I believe). Of course, this means the second key is much rarer than the first. All of the games on these keys were revamped and more arcade-accurate than the original 2003 TV Games versions (e.g., improved sound in Pac-Man, flowers in Dig Dug).

- Super Pac-Man TV Games ("Namco 3"; 2006): Pac-Man (revamped version), Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Pac & Pal. Stick is 4-way, with a tangible notch plate in the base of the stick to prevent diagonals.

- Pac-Man Arcade Gold TV Games ("Namco 4"; 2007): really just a combination of Namco 1 and Namco 3, with Pac-Man, Galaxian, Rally-X, Dig Dug, Bosconian, Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, and Pac & Pal. ALL the games from Namco 1 are the revamped versions here, closer to the arcade originals (however, Bosconian is still 4-way due to the stick again having the notch plate inside the base). The controller is noticeably different in design styling from the previous Namco TV Games; while the earlier models went for a retro arcade vibe, this one is much more "kiddy," with Pac-Man character moldings.

I hope this helped.

onmode-ky