Namco Museum Remix

Description

Namco Museum Remix is a part of the Namco Museum series of arcade compilations. In common with them, it includes a collection of classic arcade titles; however, these are ports, rather than being emulated, and are presented in the same style as in Namco Museum Battle Collection for the PlayStation Portable (see that article for details). Remix also adds five titular "Remix" versions, with updated graphics and gameplay, which differs from the originals, in some cases significantly (for example, in Galaga Remix, players not only have to protect themselves, but also protect Pac-Man as he rolls through space). The "Remix" games feature Miis, and each minigame is presented as an "attraction" in an amusement park—in fact, when released in Japan, the compilation was retitled Minna de Asobou! Namco Carnival (みんなで遊ぼう! ナムコカーニバル, lit. "Everyone Plays! Namco Carnival").

This collection marks the first appearances of the arcade versions of Super Pac-Man and Gaplus since Namco Museum Vol. 2 for the PlayStation, as well as the first ever Namco Museum appearances of Cutie Q (which appeared in the Japanese version of Namco Museum Vol. 2) and Pac & Pal (which was released in arcades in Japan only) in North America.

Galaga Remix on this compilation is not the same as the Galaga Remix iOS application.

Namco Museum Megamix

A enhanced version, entitled Namco Museum Megamix, was released on November 16, 2010 in North America only. Megamix features all of the titles from the earlier version, and adds a "Remix" version of Grobda, the original versions of the "Remix" titles (excluding Pac 'n Roll and Gator Panic), plus Bosconian, Dig Dug II, Galaga, Grobda, King & Balloon, Motos, New Rally-X, Pac-Man, and Rally-X. Megamix features a level select feature for all original arcade games with the exception of Cutie Q (something that was done only in the Japanese version of Namco Museum Remix, as the U.S. version of Remix only had a single level select feature for Dig Dug).

Reception

Namco Museum Remix received mixed reviews with a score of 55.05% on GameRankings. Criticisms focused on a lack of classic arcade games such as Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, the inclusion of largely obscure titles such as Pac & Pal, Cutie Q, and Super Pac-Man and for the "Remix" games being "almost unplayable". Namco Museum Megamix also received mixed reviews with a score of 60.33% on GameRankings. The Megamix version was criticized for not including a wider variety of Namco games, such as Dragon Buster, Dragon Spirit, The Tower of Druaga, Rolling Thunder, Ms. Pac-Man, The Legend of Valkyrie, and Dragon Saber, as well as being little more than just a repackaging of 2007's Namco Museum Remix with slight changes and with one reviewer mockingly hinting at an eventual "Gigamix release, with Ms. Pac-Man included". Both Remix and Megamix were also criticized for the unnatural and awkward control schemes with the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and Classic Controller, as well as the lack of GameCube controller support. Other criticisms include that the visuals of the "Remix" games are pale in comparison to other Wii titles, for the Megamix version lacking the Mii feature of the original Namco Museum Remix (despite that Megamix actually does have the Mii feature) and the hub world (which was heavily based on Pac 'n Roll), for being confusing when toggling between games, along with the lack of bonus content and leaderboards for both versions.