Following the successful Namco Museum series of retro compilations for the Playstation, Namco released a pair of discs featuring remakes of console games from their back catalog. The first Namco Anthology included Haou no Tairiku, Babel, Star Luster, and Wrestleball, and this second - and somewhat more rare and expensive - disc includes Valkyrie no Bouken, Pac-Attack, King of Kings, and Namco Classic II. Each game present has received a graphical makeover and had its gameplay modified to some extent, with some overhauled more than others. And while it's arguable that every original remade here could have used some polish, the execution of the tweaks applied turns out to be fairly inconsistent in quality.
The compilation's interface is a sort of kitschy imitation of a website, with a "mouse" cursor, image links, scrollbars, a Back button, a Home button, and so on. Background information, artwork, and the original version of each game are organized as web pages, and there's a "news" section that is filled in over time as the games are played further and more of the unlockable features (which include a music player and video gallery) are opened. I can't tell if the original versions included are ports or emulations, but while Pac-Attack's Megadrive version seems exact, the sound reproduction in the Famicom games is off by quite a bit.
Namco Classic II is a golf game originally released for the Famicom. The remake brings updated, sometimes-3D graphics, character portraits, selectable players, and a stable of female caddies to choose from, complete with voice acting. It plays exactly like the original - which, surprisingly for Famicom-era golf-game mechanics, isn't such a bad thing. The power gauge the game uses for shots uses a two-click system that works very similarly to that used in the current Hot Shots Golf series, though it's not nearly as refined here. In general, compared to HSG and other modern golf games, Namco Classic II feels unrefined and unpolished, and so this remake is really only of any value to fans of the original (rare though they may be).
Pac-Attack, originally released on the Genesis, was part of Namco's attempts at pushing Pac-Man into diverse game genres during the early 90s. This time, it's a falling-block puzzle game with ghosts, pipes, and Pac-Man himself dropping instead of puyos or Tetrads. The goal is to construct clean chains of ghosts that Pac-Man can consume entirely before he reaches the lowest point in the stage, without pipes blocking the path or pits for Pac-Man to get stuck in. The remake sports new play modes, new music, and new prerendered graphics, and while fans of the original should eat this up, I can't confess to finding much enjoyment in the game. It feels too complicated and obtuse for what it should be: easy to learn, hard to master.
Valkyrie no Bouken, or Valkyrie's Adventure, is the game this compilation is known for, and it's largely responsible for the current value of the disc. To date, it's the latest game in a series of top-down action games featuring a petite blonde valkyrie who's sent from the heavens to right wrongs and vanquish evil. The first game in the series is what's been remade here, and the original is a rather clumsy and primitive take on the original Zelda that replaced interesting exploration with level-grinding drudgery. Namco knew that there wasn't much about the original worth saving, and so the remake uses the basic gameplay and graphical style of the later arcade game, Legend of Valkyrie. The sprites and backgrounds are entirely new, however, and everything is more smoothly shaded and animated than in that game. The structure is original, as well, and while its flow resembles Legends's linear paths, backtracking is now allowed, and there are towns full of villagers to speak to.
There are no longer numbered stages, but the game is still divided into several distinct areas with different terrain and enemies. To try to handle this in the Bouken remake, the developers took away all of the permanent weapon powerups found in Legend and instead made them temporary items, good for fifty shots or so, and by increasing the strength of the main weapon enough to ideally make it safe to use for most of the game.
The original King of Kings (not the Wisdom Tree game) is a fantasy strategy-RPG very much in the mold of the original Famicom Wars (as well as the recent Advance Wars games), and was released only four months after that pioneer. The player controls the king of a small province that initially consists of only a single city on the stage map. The king can hire soldiers or summon mythical creatures, like elves, goblins, and harpies, in his capital city, and soldiers can capture other cities, increasing the king's per-turn income. There's a complex paper-rock-scissors relationship between the different unit types, with each unit being more effective at attacking and defending against some unit types than others. Conveniently, both versions of the game here include an in-game chart that displays the relationship. Each unit is able to exert influence and prevent enemy units from passing through adjacent map tiles through a zone of control effect, which works similarly to that found in the Famicom Wars and Nectaris series.
While the original version feels clunky and experimental, the remake's graphics and interface have been reworked and refined into something that resembles the modern Advance Wars games closely - accounting for the different in setting, of course. Battle scenes take place on a 3D stage, with nicely-animated sprites acting out stat-based skirmishes in a satisfying manner. These scenes have different settings based on the terrain types each unit inhabits, and may show, for example, a squad of blonde, female elves firing arrows up onto a mountaintop at helpless sword-carrying infantry. Of course, these scenes can be switched off for speed's sake, as can the 3D flag-waving animation that's played when a force takes over a city.
Unit movements can be cancelled from just before the decision to move or attack is made, all the way back to a neutral state. When an attack is being set up, a little bar shows the potential outcome of the battle, based on the combatants' relative strengths and how much their numbers have been depleted. There's no story at all, but none is necessary: the game feels well-balanced and is speedy and pleasing to play. I'm not sure how many maps there are in scenario mode, but a multiplayer mode is included, and it supports up to four players, just as in the original.
Manufacturer's description:
2nd collection of luxury game variety recorded four titles together for home use classic Namco games, also added an element arrangements. Puzzle Action Pack "panic" of Pac-Man, has recorded "The Adventures of the Valkyries" famous, "Namco classic" golf game, a simulation "King of Kings" as RPG masterpiece.
Features:
- Third & First person perspectives
- 2D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Pacman, Golf & Medieval Fantasy themes.
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