Jakks / Namco Arcade Classics Plug and Play TV Games Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Being a nostalgia freak, I'm always on the lookout for products that allow you to bring the arcade classics into your home.While this device gets major points for convenience (just plug it into your TV or VCR and go), I found the actual gameplay disappointing...and considerably different from the original arcade versions.
All of these games have the difficulty kicked WAY up.If you remember the arcade versions of Pac-Man, Galaxian, and Rally-X, you will be amazed at the speed of your pursuers.And if you remember the patterns that "expert" Pac-Man players employed to get high scores, don't bother.They don't work here.
This wouldn't be such a big deal if there were some configurable options, such as difficulty level and bonus thresholds.However, the manufacturer has solidly locked these games down - you can't even specify a two-player game.
Visually, the games look like the real deal, although there has been some reformatting of the screens to fit the aspect ratio of your TV screen.You'll recall that the original Pac-Man and Galaxian games featured long vertical screens.Here, they are squared off and the score counters moved from the top to the right side of the screen.No complaints there.But the attract modes of the games are not consistent with the arcade versions.Pac-Man and Galaxian are faithfully recreated, but Dig-Dug has only a static title screen.No character animation or instructions are provided.And, to my ear, the game sounds and music (for all of the games) are not authentic.Close, but not quite.
Pac-Man, Galaxian, and Dig-Dug were released a while back by Microsoft in their "Return of Arcade" product.While you need a Windows PC to play these, they are much more authentic recreations of the original games than what is provided here.Plus, they are fully configurable.
Regarding durability - I see some folks have issues, but my unit has held up fine.The only fit/finish issue I have is that the small metal cap at the base of the joystick is not fastened to anything, and slides up and down.Perhaps that is by design, but it seems flimsy.
If you just want to put the kids in front of the TV and keep them quiet, these issues probably don't matter.However, I have my doubts that young kids will show much interest in these antiques.I suspect the real target audience for this toy is people like me who remember the originals and want to recreate them at home.And for me, this falls short.

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Product Description:
Now you can relive some of the classic video games of the 80s with the Namco TV Games Video Game System. It's so easy to use -- just plug the handheld joystick into your TV or VCR and you're ready to play Pac-Man, Galaxian, Rally-X, DigDug or Bosconian. Requires 4 "AA" alkaline batteries (not included).

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