Evercade 06: Namco Museum Collection II

This week on the Evercade I've been playing the 6th cartridge - The Namco Museum Collection II. I absolutely loved the first collection so couldn't wait to get stuck into this second set. And what a fantastic pack of games it is. This has been without a doubt the hardest collection to list and I found myself going back to almost every game over and over, and I know I will continue to in the future. 

Here is the countdown to my favourite game on the Evercade 06: Namco Museum Collection 2. As always I'm not always listing the best games, only the ones I enjoyed and replayed the most. Here is the video including in-game footage of all the titles, or look beneath for my thoughts on each one:

11  The Tower of Druaga - 8 Bit - Maze Action Roleplaying Game - 1985

I love the idea of this game, every time you play the items and enemies are randomly placed at the start. I also love exploring mazes and dungeons, finding keys and unlocking doors to go deeper and deeper. The problem is your character walks oh so slow, and his attack is even slower, making it very hard to kill the monsters roaming around the maze. All I can say is thank you Evercade for the save state option!

10  Weapon Lord - 16 Bit - Fighting - 1995

There is so much I love about this game, the art style and animations; the music; the story and theme; and the fact you get to use weapons. However, I found the game so hard, even on the easiest setting I struggled to get through the first fight. Once your opponent gets an attack in they can get several more at speed until your life bar is all but spent. I do keep going back and try to learn the timing and moves but so far I have not seen enough of this game to place it any higher in the list. 

09  Warp Man - 8 Bit - Multi Directional Shooter - 1985

Such a fun simple game where you shoot the enemies circling the arena, what was a great surprise was when you collect an icon and enter the glowing warp, you are taken to a completely different type of stage where you drop bombs to kill enemies. It had a very Dynablaster/Bomberman vibe to it, which was an unexpected delight.

08 Pac Attack - 16 Bit - Puzzle - 1993  

I love Pac man and I love puzzle games, so this was always going to be a winner. Originally this game was much higher in my list, but as the week went on other games took my interest more. That's not to say this game isn't good as its a brilliant Tetris type game with a Pac Man twist. It's just that the quality of games is so high on this cartridge.

07 Splatterhouse part 2 - 16 Bit - horizontal scrolling horror beat em up - 1992

I had heard of the Splatterhouse game over the years but never got round to actually playing them, so I was happy to see two entries in the series included in this collection. Splatterhouse 2 is a fun horizontal scrolling beat em up with a horror themed twist. It has good graphics and animation, with great little gory details throughout. I especially liked the animation when you hit enemies with the bat and they splattered onto the walls into the background. 

 

06  Dragon Spirit - The New Legend - 8 bit - vertical scrolling shooter - 1989

I have a weakness for shooters, especially vertical shooters - and this one has dragons! 

One of my favourite details about this game are how the power ups actually change your appearance. Unlike in most vertical shooters, here when you gain the power up to double shoot, your dragon grows a second head to shoot out of both.

05 Phelios - 1990 - 16 Bit - Vertical Shooter - 1990

So happy to be treated to more than one vertical shooter in this collection. I found myself enjoying this game more than Dragon Spirit in the end. I just adore the style and theme of this shooter, and love you can hold down the fire button to charge up a more powerful shot. I could not stop playing this excellent game.

04  Galaga - 8 Bit - Fixed Shooter - 1985

I am a sucker for the classic shooters, and none are more classic than Galaga. This game has aged so well and is as much fun to play now as it always was. Far less restrictive than Galaxians and with more depth. The game is hard but always feels fair, and trying to get perfect on each challenge round will never grow old. 

03  Burning Force - 16 Bit - 3D Shooter - 1990

Space Harrier! That's all I need to say. If you loved that you will adore this. You play a hover bike for the first two stages of each level, limited to only left and right movement. But once you reach the third stage you can board a huge flying ship that points out the weak points of the end of level boss, and upgrades your vehicle into a mini spaceship, so you can leave the ground and fly around the screen. This was a fantastic surprise as I'd never heard of it before, and I could not stop playing it.

02 Dig Dug II - 8 Bit - Action - 1986

Dig Dug was the first game I ever played and to this day is still one of my favourite games ever made. So it may come to some as a bit of a shock, but I had never played the sequel. Until now that is. I can't believe I waited so long, this game is absolute gold. Instead of looking in from the side as you dig down, the game is now viewed from above. You can still dig, but now you have to be careful where you dig - weak areas can give way sending you to a watery doom. But get it right and you can clear most of the screen of enemies, pumping up the remaining stragglers until they pop, just like before. This really is wonderfully addictive and a worthy sequel to Dig Dug. 

01  Splatterhouse 3 - 16 Bit - Horror Beat em up

The main reason Splatterhouse 3 gets the number one spot this week is the presentation. I cannot get enough of the B-movie horror story on show here, the cut away story clips that pop up between rooms really add atmosphere and a sense of urgency to the game. Unlike part 2, here you can freely choose your path through each floor of the mansion. You can look at your map after you've cleared a room to plan your next move. There is also a strict time limit for each floor, if you don't reach the target room before the time expires... well, time isn't the only thing that'll expire! I couldn't stop playing this game, each time trying a different route through the building, sometimes I liked to search every room; nook; and cranny, whilst other times I aimed to get the end in the quickest time possible. Also, the intro music is an absolute delight! (and included in the video) 

Final thoughts
This might be my favourite collection so far. there's such a great selection of addictive games. I think only 2 of them I wouldn't go back to that often, but the rest are gold. It will take quite a pretty special collection to beat this set I think. No pressure on the cartridge I'm checking out for the next week then, Evercade 07: Interplay Collection II. I can't wait to get stuck in. 

Until next time my friends, be seeing you x