Namco Museum Vol. 1

Namco Museum Vol. 1 is a compilation of seven Namco-developed arcade games from the 1980s — Pac-Man (1980), Rally-X (1980), New Rally-X (1981), Galaga (1981), Bosconian (1981), Pole Position (1982) and Toy Pop (1986). Players can modify in-game settings, such as the starting number of lives, while Galaga and Pac-Man allow support for vertical monitors. A "lounge" area can also be accessed in the main lobby containing other bits of Namco-related marketing material, including pamphlets, product catalogs and front cover scans of their Japanese video game magazine Namco Community Magazine NG. ==Development and release==

Namco Museum Vol. 1 was released in Japan on November 22, 1995, in North America on July 31, 1996, and in Europe on August 17, 1996. Development was directed by Shinichirō Okamoto and produced by Galaga creator Shigeru Yokoyama. The Namco Museum name was originally used for a chain of Namco-operated department stores in the 1980s, which sold goods based on Namco game characters and had many of the company's earlier arcade games available to play. Each of the included games use JAMMA emulator running the game's original source code, making them near-perfect ports. ==Reception==

Namco Museum Vol. 1 was met with mostly mixed to favorable reviews from critics, who praised its virtual museum, exhibits and replay value, although some would criticize the lack of appeal towards modern demographics and long loading times. It holds a 74% on aggregator website GameRankings. Next Generation praised the collection's 3D museum and interchangeable features, although noted of the game's long loading time for viewing the promotional items. They recommended the compilation to fans of the included titles, concluding that it "is good as this sort of thing gets." IGN stated that the included titles "really have stood the test of time", saying that they still remain fun years after their original release. In a more negative light, Maximum found most of the included games to be "well past their expiration date", particularly comparing Pole Position unfavorably to Namco's own Ridge Racer Revolution. He did, however, say it was worth owning for fans of the original arcade games, and at least worth renting. ==Notes==