Want to a trip into some nostalgic gaming title? Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch allows players to do just that. Featuring 11 classic title for the price of $29.99 players will get the joy of experiencing some of the best older titles from Namco all without having to spend hundreds on arcade cabinets or going to an arcade and using quarters. All games have been made to play well with the Nintendo Switch whether you have the Switch docked at home and you’re on the couch or you’re sitting on a train seat somewhere. Even if you never gotten the chance to play some of the classics featured in Namco Museum, you’ll have fun thanks to simple controls, the ability to play with any of the Switch’s various controller set ups and a quick ability to switch between any of the games featured on the fly.

Depending on your age of gaming history—some of us here at Honey’s Anime remember these titles quite well—expect titles from the earlier days of gaming. Relive the classic Pac-Man and Galaga or try out Rolling Thunder 2 which release in 1990. With 11 titles built into Namco Museum, players are sure to find a title they can jump into. Each title comes with in game instructions in case you need to know how The Tower of Druaga played and or just need some hints on how to master Splatterhouse. Every game in Namco Museum can be played in two modes, classic or challenge mode for different levels of entry. Plus with infinite coins you don’t have to beg your parents for more quarters like the original arcade cabinets.

Namco Museum has obviously no story other than to show off titles from Namco that date back to 1980. Each title on this list has been kept in its original form but made to be played on the Nintendo Switch regardless if you’re portable or have the system docked. The games included on Namco Museum are as follows Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig-Dug, The Tower of Druaga, Sky Kid, Rolling Thunder, Galaga ’88, Splatterhouse, Rolling Thunder 2, Tank Force and Pac-Man Vs. Each title contains in-game instructions so ever a newcomer can tell how to handle Dig Dug or Galaga ’88 and in the case of The Tower of Druaga you even get a helpful hint button to show how to get items on each level so you don’t need to look up in an old magazine or online for clues. Namco Museum is meant to allow old and new players the ability to see Namco classics and enjoy them the way they were meant to be played.

Since Namco Museum is obviously 11 different games saying how each game plays would take us here at Honey’s Anime several pages and we know you don’t want to read a review for that long. Thus we figured the best way to approach a game like Namco Museum is to talk about it as one giant package—which is what it is—detailing the pros of the game as a whole and the negatives as a whole. With 11 classic Namco titles we were worried that one of these titles would suffer somehow but we are happy to report that each title on this list runs smoothly and flawlessly.

Let’s begin by talking about the controls and the various options. Namco Museum can be played with all current Nintendo Switch control schemes and each of them plays quite well. We particularly loved that each games feels amazing in portable mode which will most likely be the selling point for most Nintendo Switch owners. Each of 11 titles in Namco Museum can be altered with screens being zoomed in, the ability to put the scan lines giving each title a truly original look and or have the wallpaper in the back changed from one of three options available. This means that players won’t have any issue finding the perfect setting for any of the titles within Namco Museum.

We here at Honey’s Anime loved the fact that each game could be played in standard mode or challenge mode. Standard mode means playing the game as it was meant to be—though we do want to mention the ability to suspend any game and switch to another without any score or progress lost—which is expected. However, the challenge mode is where Namco Museum shines brightly. Similar to NES Remix—a title we would love see on the Switch just saying—players will enter a game of their choosing and be told they have a specific goal to accomplish within a time limit. This allows for friends to try to out match each other and gives each title another means of being multiplayer. Also we want to mention some of the challenges can get pretty brutal so be prepared.

Visually and sound wise we were very impressed with how developer BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. made sure to keep everything from the original titles. These games don’t have altered music or altered sound effects but just that original retro music sound and look and that works wonders for those who want the games unaltered. These titles aren’t just emulation games either, as we played we noticed no missing sound or odd glitches in any of 11 titles which is always a worry with any title that has so many classic games within. The background wallpapers are sharp and look great and if you don’t like that you can always change them with three options for what suits your tastes.

Now it seems as if Namco Museum is just a perfect title but there are a few caveats that honestly can be seen as more personal nitpicks than huge issues. The first issue is that we wish Namco Museum had a few more titles on it to make it truly the best version of this series to come out. Maybe it could have had Galaxian and or Rally-X included but again it’s not a huge issues. Then let’s be honest, while we here at Honey’s Anime love all gaming eras—as we have writers from all gaming eras—this is going to be hard to sell to everyone unless you’re really itching to get another game added to your Nintendo Switch or in this case 11 games. These are classic nostalgia driven titles that adhere to gamers who love or loved the old gaming era and most modern gamers would rather have a new shiny FPS or RPG than Rolling Thunder 2. Namco Museum is going to essentially be a niche title for those who are desperate for the classic gaming that only it could deliver and we completely understand.

Namco Museum is first and foremost for those who love the older gaming era. With titles that date back to the 1980s it’s understandable that the newer crowd may not find these titles as endearing as those of us who lived during these classic releases or have a fondness for nostalgic gaming. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out Namco Museum seeing as how these 11 titles included are amazing and with in- game instructions and many ways to play, it’s hard not to see a newer age gaming getting addicted to Splatterhouse or Rolling Thunder 1 and 2. We here at Honey’s Anime loved the way these games looked on not only the Nintendo Switch’s screen but on our HD TVs and were so glad to see none of these games were altered. Honestly, even if you’re a newer gamer who hasn’t ever played Dig Dug or Sky Kid, we recommend picking up Namco Museum to not only expand your Nintendo Switch library with technically 11 games but also to see why gamers from the yesteryear thought these classics were the best of the best in gaming history.

We honestly love Namco Museum for the Nintendo Switch. The amount of games on here for the price isn’t bad at all but we wished there were a bit more titles in comparison to the older Namco Museum entries. Despite those small issues, Namco Museum is geared towards those who love the classic titles and needed them in the newer age of consoles. Obviously if you’re not into vintage titles Namco Museum won’t be for you but for those who miss Galaga and Pac-Man then you’ll be happy to shell out $29.99 for 11 of the best Namco titles created. What are your thoughts on Namco Museum, we would love to hear from you beautiful folks out there on the internet. As always folks keep checking back with Honey’s Anime for more gaming reviews and articles soon to approach.