0:00 - Bootup
Xbox Live Arcade Games:
0:57 - Dig Dug (1982)
8:57 - Galaga (1981)
30:46 - Mr. Driller Online (2008)
35:03 - Galaga Legions (2008)
39:37 - Ms. Pac-Man (1981)
47:11 - New Rally-X (1981)
59:22 - Pac-Man (1980)
1:08:20 - Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007)
1:15:09 - Xevious (1982)
Museum Games:
1:33:17 - Baraduke (1985)
1:39:52 - Bosconian (1981)
1:52:23 - Dig Dug II (1985)
2:01:19 - Dig Dug Arrangement (2005)
2:31:40 - Dragon Buster (1985)
2:35:19 - Dragon Spirit (1987)
2:48:11 - Galaga '88 (1987)
3:02:32 - Galaga Arrangement (2005)
3:34:59 - Galaxian (1979)
3:42:40 - Grobda (1984)
3:49:20 - King & Balloon (1980)
3:56:33 - Mappy (1983)
4:12:50 - Metro-Cross (1985)
4:20:58 - Motos (1985)
4:27:38 - Pac & Pal (1983)
4:35:32 - Pac-Man Arrangement (2005)
4:46:24 - Pac-Mania (1987)
4:55:19 - Pole Position (1982)
4:59:09 - Pole Position II (1983)
5:02:06 - Rally-X (1980)
5:07:07 - Rolling Thunder (1986)
5:25:56 - Sky Kid (1985)
5:36:43 - Sky Kid Deluxe (1986)
5:44:02 - Super Pac-Man (1982)
5:53:46 - The Tower of Druaga (1984)
6:04:15 - Credits

(Emphasis on "long". Yes, this was all done in one sitting. It was fun but tiring. Don't judge me.)

Well, this is certainly an unexpected video, is it? Here, we have what is perhaps the pinnacle of Namco Museums, released for the Xbox 360 in 2008, and after years of dreaming about owning this compilation, it's finally mine. To date, Namco Museum Virtual Arcade contains the largest collection of Namco games, at 34, edging out the Pac-Man's Pixel Bash cabinet by 3 (2 if you have a version with Ms. Pac-Man). In fact, both compilations actually share a decent number of games, but it's much easier to get this for your gaming room than an arcade machine that costs thousands of dollars and is hundreds of pounds.

Virtual Arcade splits its massive catalog into two massively unequal categories. Of the 34 games on the disc, 9 of them are already available on the Xbox Live Arcade market (the first 9 that I play in this video). So, what Namco did for those 9 games is that while you have the disc in your Xbox 360, the games will be playable from your XBLA menu as if you had downloaded them (if you take the disc out, though, they go away unless you download them separately), and those games get their own menu. The remaining 25 games are in the "Museum" category, which is only accessible via the disc. While the XBLA games do allow for multiplayer, achievements, and leaderboards, all of the Museum games are simply emulations (and very well done emulations, at that) of the original arcade games and are all 1 player only. Even the 3 Arrangement games, taken from Namco Museum Battle Collection as opposed to the arcade versions, are 1 player only.

That's really all there is to say with this one. The games run exceptionally well, the only complaints I have regarding porting/emulation are minor and nitpicky, and obviously the catalog of games to choose from is massive and wonderful. I don't believe a single one of these games doesn't deserve to be on this disc. Unfortunately, my ignorance in how this system works led to me buying a console that doesn't have enough storage space on its own for this game, and for some reason, none of the Museum games load unless I'm not saving to any device. This sadly means that none of the high scores or progress I made in this video was saved, but for now that's a minor sticking point. The Xbox 360 controller isn't horrible for the games, but it isn't without its issues. The joystick's actually better for these games than the d-pad is, something I don't usually say with most controllers.

Obviously, you don't need to watch this entire video. My performance in all of these games was all over the place, and while I wish some games had gone way better (I didn't even 1CC Pac-Man Arrangement, for crying out loud), the amount of time that this took is enough on its own for me to be pleased with just having this done at all. I look forward to playing on this collection more, and will definitely cherish it for as long as I can. To any die-hard Namco enthusiasts out there, this is a must-have.

Played on an Xbox 360 using Composite output.

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