PixlBit

You know how when you're a kid and you use your imagination a lot to come up with some crazy things?  You might imagine a really cool treehouse to live in, or what kind of superhero you'd be, you know, things like that.  Well when I was a kid, I imagined my own 'dream arcade.'  It would be like an arcade mixed with a museum.  Each room would have arcade machines based around a theme, like every Pac-Man game in the series, space games, racing games, etc.  Each room where these arcade machines would be, they would be decorated in that theme.  So the room with all the Pac-Man machines would be decorated like Pac-Man, for instance.  Each arcade room would also have memorabilia, toys, and products based on that arcade franchise in that room.

So how cool do you think it was years later when I popped in the Namco Museums on my PSOne, and saw what I had imagined in my childhood come to life almost exactly how I thought it would on the TV screen!  It was truly magical.  These Namco Museums also helped kickstart me learning all I could about Namco games, because I realized that most of my favorite arcade games back in the day came from them!  Keep in mind that when these games first came out, the Internet was still just kind of getting started and it wasn't as informative as it is today, and 'multimedia' was still a buzz-word.  Because of how much the Namco Museums on PSOne shaped who I am as a gamer, they are one of my top five favorite games of all time.  OK I know they are technically five games, but I'm combining them all into one for my list.  I know that's cheating, but it's my list so I'll do what i want. :)

I could write whole blogs on the Namco Museums, and I think I did back in the 1up.com days.  I hope you get to play the other volumes, too.  They have some of the best presentation of any arcade collections out there, even to this day.  The only collection that I think rivals the Namco Museums on PSOne is Activision Anthology, a collection of Atari 2600 games from Activision.  It had a lot of games and cool extras, like commercials of the games and such.  I had it on PS2.  I would suggest tracking it down when you can.

One more thing, there was one thing in my childhood 'dream arcade' that wasn't in the Namco Museums.  I imagined my arcade would have rides based on arcade games, too.  Like a Centipede roller coaster or a Pole Position race track.  At the end of this week, make sure to check out my blog as I'll have a 'museum' related announcement to make!  --Cary

They're fun even in single player.

Yeah you'd THINK it would be like that, but it's actually not.  My review of the Midway Arcade Pack will post at the end of the week, so be sure to check back then and find out!

Yes, Sadame is a 3DS e-Shop only title.  I'd like to encourage you to read my review, and if you have any other questions, feel free to holler at me.

I'm suprised how much intereest Sadame is getting initially here.  Thanks for reading!

I'm working on my review of the LEGO Midway Arcade pack right now.  It's not what I expected it would be!

I remember the comics in Nintendo Power but I never got into them that much for some reason.  I did read them, but I preferred reading the reviews and previews more.  I did like Howard and Nester, though, because it was so stupid.  I am proud to say that I did meet Howard Phillips once in person.  Nintendo should bring back Nester.  I know he's been in some games in the past, like Nester's Funky Bowling, Pilotwings 64, and NES Play Action Football. 

Super Dodge Ball on the NES is one of my favorite sports video games ever.  In fact, it was my number one favorite sports game until Wii Sports came along.  I did get that All-Star Slammin' D-Ball game when it came out.  The neat thing about the PSOne is that right before it faded away, lots of companies put out cheapy little games for it, and sometimes they could be fairly decent.  Unfortunately, the D-Ball game was not one of them.  It wasn't near as good as Super Dodge Ball on the NES. 

If you want to play a GOOD Super Dodge Ball game, I recommend tracking down the NES version.  They also made a Game Boy Advance one called Super Dodge Ball Advance that I liked a lot as well.  There is also one on the DS, but I didn't like it as much for some reason.  A lot of people like the Super Dodge Ball game on the NEO GEO, but I'm not a fan because you have to input fighting game moves to make the ball do stuff, so I'm not as good at it.  On the Xbox 360's indie game section, you can also download a game that plays like Super Dodge Ball called Downtown Smash Dodgeball, but I don't know if it's still there.  The thing about all these dodgeball games that I've mentioned is that they were made by Technos or former employees of Technos, so they all play the same and are very good.  Technos also made the River City Ransom games and the same characters are also in Super Dodge Ball.

Yup, good to see you. Miss hearing from you!

I never met Reggie but I must've passed close by him at E3 one year because I StreetPassed him on my 3DS.  This was when the 3DS first came out, so later when they sent out Special Miis via Spotpass, Reggie didn't count as a Special Mii for me because I had already got him!  I think that same E3 I also StreetPassed Yuji Naka.

A few E3's later, I did get to see him and Miyamoto up on stage at the Nintendo press conference where they announced Wii U games like Nintendo Land.

I did get to meet two other Nintendo greats in person, though.  Howard Phillips and Charles Martinet.