Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades: 1986

Last year Midway only had one game on which to bank their victory, but for 1986, the roles are reversed.  This year there were only 2 games from 1986 I could find from Namco, meaning it’s now them placing their bets on a small chance at victory.  We will see if Sky Kid Deluxe or Rolling Thunder is good enough to make that a winning bet.

I got a little distracted playing the Atari 50 collection while writing this one.  There's a game in there that our contestants are lucky aren't in the competition because it has the best graphics, best gameplay and best music out of anything they've made and quite possibly anything they ever will make.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1985

This competition has not been kind to Namco.  I mean in a historical context it was because Midway and Namco published each other’s games in their respective countries, but as far as this contest to see who made the best games, but as far as this contest is concerned, Namco wasn’t doing so hot.  They started out with some timeless classics, but their brain seemed to slowly degrade as they made consistently made bad game design decisions, reaching a head with Tower of Druaga and Dragon Buster.  Midway, meanwhile, experimented with technology and style, making for memorable games that sometimes came together into great ones like Marble Madness.

For 1985, Namco has the perfect opportunity to score another win.  There’s only one 1985 game from Midway I’m aware of so there’s a lot riding on that one game.  All Namco has to do is make at least one game better than Gauntlet and they’ll win.  Will they?  That it’s even a question is a testament to how badly last year damaged Namco’s reputation for me.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1984

For 1984 it looks like Namco and Midway started moving away from their shooter games and put more of their efforts into the innovation and invention of new styles of play they were also seeing success in.  This resulted in some games that could only exist in that experimental, developmental period of gaming.  Who made the better games in that time is what we’re going to find out.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1983

So far in this competition we’ve seen both companies pushing the limits of 80s technology.  Most notably they’ve been able to flood the screens with enemies or make a 3D effect out of 2D graphics, both things that on their own would still be impressive into the 90s.  We’ll find out how much more these companies are capable of as we go over the games of 1983.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1982

Now we’re at 1982.  Both companies have brought out some impressive arcade tech, but Midway was still only starting while Namco made Pac-Man.  Here in 1982 is where Midway really gets to stretch their wings.  They’ll need to bring their best because 2 of Namco’s more famous games came out this year.

Before I get to it, some people might notice a particular game that's missing.

Yeah, Ms. Pac-Man has a hell of a history that brings it into question as to whether it should count as a Midway game or a Namco game.  Technically Midway published it, but it was developed by a separate company and now Namco owns the rights to it.  I could count it as a Midway game because they're the ones who commissioned its creation, but that creation is a glorified ROM hack of the original Pac-Man, meaning the core of it is still made by Namco.  Since it's kind of both a Namco and Midway game, determining which company gets it for this competition would be like picking sides so I'm excluding it for the sake of fairness.