Namco Museum Battle Collection


Namco Museum Battle Collection is a 2005 video game compilation developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation Portable. It includes 21 games - four of these are brand-new "arrangement" remakes of older Namco games, while the rest are emulated ports of Namco arcade games from the 1970s and 1980s. These ports include an options menu that allows the player to modify the in-game settings, such as the screen orientation and number of lives. Players can send one-level demos to a friend's console via the "Game Sharing" option in the main menu.
Battle Collection was the first PlayStation Portable game to make use of the system's game sharing function. The Japanese version of the game, simply titled Namco Museum, was split into two different volumes - the second volume includes three games not found in international releases, these being Dragon Spirit and two new "arrangement" games based on Pac-Man and Motos. Battle Collection was met with a positive response from critics; reviewers applauded the large library of games, emulation quality and multiplayer features, although would heave criticism towards the Game Sharing option, which many deemed "useless", and for the game requiring a firmware update to boot. In Japan, the game sold 79,572 copies in its first week of release.

Games

Namco Museum Battle Collection includes a total of 21 games; 17 of these are ports of Namco arcade games from the 1970s and 1980s, including Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. They encompass several different game genres, such as maze, shoot'em up and platform. Each of the arcade game ports allow the player to modify the in-game settings, such as the number of lives and screen orientation, as well as access to a sound test and autosave feature. A "Game Sharing" option can be accessed from the main menu, allowing the player to send one-level demos to a friend's PSP system. Alongside the arcade games, four new "Arrangement" games have been included, which are new to this collection. These games include 3D graphics and incorporate new features, such as power-ups, new stages, world maps and boss fights. Despite their similar name, they share nothing in common with the "Arrangement" games found in both Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 and Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2.

Development

Namco Museum Battle Collection was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation Portable.

Reception

Namco Museum Battle Collection was met with a mostly positive critical reception. Many would praise the compilation's multiplayer features, emulation quality and large library of games. It has an average critic score of 74.02% on GameRankings and 73/100 on Metacritic.
IGN gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, praising the game for its multiplayer features, sound, and graphics. However, they criticized the Game Sharing feature for its limited usage and lack of Arrangement games. GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann gave the game a 7.5, praising the game's 21 game titles, various display options, controls, and good emulation. However, he criticized the game sharing demo for its bare-bones presentation, and requiring the PSP to be at the latest firmware before use.