Pac-Man Collection (GBA) - Longplay
10100:00 - Bootup
00:30 - Pac-Man (1980)
08:50 - Pac-Man Arrangement (1996)
34:42 - Pac-Mania (1987)
47:43 - Pac-Attack (1993)
When Namco Museum originally came out for the GBA in 2001, I'm sure many people were asking where in the name of power pellets the original Pac-Man was. So I can imagine the shock that must've came out when this game was announced.
I'm sure most of you watching this have fond memories of playing this compilation growing up, but for those who don't I'll give a brief rundown. Pac-Man Collection is a collection of four Pac-Man games for the Game Boy Advance. (Sounds kinda obvious.) I'll be the first to admit that the game choices here are a bit odd, and nothing like the Pac-Man lineups that would appear in future compilations to come (until Pac-Man Museum+, anyways).
The star of the show here is very clearly Pac-Man Arrangement. Originally released in arcades as part of Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 in 1996, this is widely regarded by many (myself included) as the superior version of Pac-Man Arrangement compared to the 2005 PSP version. It's very well known for its maze design, gameplay mechanics, power-ups, and music (which is heavily compressed to fit on the GBA). This would've been the first time people got to experience this game outside of arcades, and it probably helped that it was portable, too. It's nowhere near a perfect port of the game (sound compression is an obvious setback, screen scolling is required, the ending sequence is removed, and there's no two-player mode), but aside from the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube Namco Museum that came out shortly after this, it was basically all we had (unless you wanted to use MAME) until Pac-Man Museum+ came out earlier this year, which features a much more accurate port of the game.
Pac-Attack is also an interesting one. It's essentially Tetris, but with Pac-Man. This is the only console-exclusive game on the collection, and interestingly, the version this port is based on might not be what you expect. In 1998, Namco Anthology Vol. 2 for the PS1 came out, which featured an "enhanced" version of Pac-Attack as well as an "original" version based on the Sega Genesis port. That "original" version is what was used in both this compilation as well as the 2002 multiplatform Namco Museum. Despite lacking the Versus mode and each song being shortened, it's a very faithful port, and one that also brought a lot of entertainment for GBA players in the early/mid 2000s.
And aside from that, you have the original Pac-Man, which everyone and their mom knows about, and Pac-Mania, a 1987 upgrade to Pac-Man that most were likely introduced to with this collection. Both play alright on this collection; Pac-Mania is based on the original Japanese version and again has shortened music and a more restricted viewing field. Pac-Man can be played either full-screen or with scrolling, and I chose the less graphically pleasing but easier full-screen option for this video. Like the GBA Namco Museum, all games have settings and tips that are of little use, and high scores aren't saved.
This collection has aged alright; I'd say. There's certainly a few other Pac-Man titles I feel they neglected (Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal), but for the time this was just remarkable. All four of these games would go on to be included in the 2002 Namco Museum, with a lack of portability but improved port accuracy and higher quality. This was probably the go-to compilation for Pac-Man games before Pac-Man Museum and its Museum+ upgrade. There's probably no need for it now, but it's always nice to dive back into history and see how these games were played back then.
Played on my Wii U using the Wii U Virtual Console version. I don't presently own a cartridge for this game (I would like one, though), but even if I did, I can only play it on a DS Lite, which currently has no capture abilities (I also can't do Namco Museum DS for the same reason). Still, recording it this way feels much more authentic to me than using a GBA emulator.
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