Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1996 & 1997

Like I said in the first King of Arcades competition, 3D gaming was in full swing in the latter half of the 1990s thanks to the Playstation and Nintendo 64’s polygon rendering abilities.  As evidenced by last time, Namco was already on that by this point, but for Midway, though they did dabble in 3D polygons in the past, the usual pre-rendered visuals were their reliable aesthetic, though even that started to change.

Both Namco and Midway were taking advantage of the new capabilities offered by Sony and Nintendo’s consoles in the homes.  I credited The King of Fighters 98 as being the first “Dream Match” game, because it’s where that moniker came from, but arguably Midway had already done the concept with Mortal Kombat Trilogy, a console-exclusive game that took everyone from previous games in the franchise and put them all in one PS1 disc or N64 cartridge.
 
Not only did Midway have Mortal Kombat Trilogy to maintain Mortal Kombt mania, but they also released the sequel to their hit 1995 Mortal Kombat movie.  People didn’t like it.  Personally I think it's a hoot.

Namco was also chugging along in the console space with PS1 ports of their arcade games, most notably Tekken and their new Namco Museum compilations.

Since home consoles were catching up to the technical capabilities of arcade games, they started taking the attention and arcade game development started slowing down, resulting in this competition having fewer games in both competitor’s arsenals and thus another double year round.  I might’ve skipped 1996 altogether, but I was able to find one game from that year and it’s a pretty important one.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1995

1995. The peak of Mortal Kombat mania.  Last year may not have had a Mortal Kombat game in arcades, but those home versions of the games were selling like hotcakes and the franchise was getting merchandised to hell and back.  There was the movie, which is widely regarded as one of the best video game to movie adaptations to this day, there was the promotional VHS of the movie and there was the live tour.

Mortal Kombat got so much attention that other companies were trying to get in on the digitized actors and violence, usually to poor results.

Oh yeah, Namco is in this.  They released games mostly in Japan and not in America so they got left in the dust, although Tekken was shaping up to be their heaviest hitter in arcades.  1995 was also the debut of the first Time Crisis, but I have never in my life seen that game.  I've only ever played the sequels.  Here in this competition, popularity, public recognition and hype means nothing.  All that matters is who made the best games.  The current score has Midway in the lead, 7 to 5.  Namco isn’t far behind and still has a few years left to take the lead.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1994

1994 was a slow year for our two competitors, for arcades at least.  Midway was busy with the home ports of Mortal Kombat 2 and as usual Namco was not releasing games in English because… Because.  Both companies did put out at least one game each in 1994 though.  On Midway's side is a tried and true rail shooter that sticks to a lot of its companies established conventions and a stop motion fighting game.  On Namco's side is the beginning of one of the biggest names in fighting games.  It’s a one-on-one.  We shall see which game carries their company to victory.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1992 & 1993

It’s 1992.  Last year Street Fighter 2 kicked off fighting games in a big way and every company was jumping in on the new competitive martial arts gameplay, Namco and Midway included.  At least, Midway did in America.  It’s even slimmer pickings for Namco arcade games than last time.  Their 2D fighter Knuckle Heads didn’t come out in English, just like the majority of their games around this time.  There was the first Ridge Racer that came out…

However, I’ve never seen a cabinet for the original Ridge Racer in my life.

I could only get my hands on one Namco game and it’s from 1993 so you know what that means: another 2 year judgment time span.  They’d better hope Midway drops the ball again, but considering what I know is ahead, I don’t think they are going to.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1990 & 1991

We’re back from my Sengoku Basara detour and our contest picks up in 1990 and 1991.  Since I can’t get any Namco games from 1990, this is a judgement for a 2-year time span, where most of Midway’s games are from 1990 and Namco’s games are in 1991.  Once again, Namco’s failure to release arcade games in English has them going in with a very low ammo count.  Technically one of their games for this year, Tank Force, didn’t even initially come out in English at all, but since they would otherwise only have one game for entry, I need to throw them a bone.  Maybe it will be the game that comes in clutch.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1989

How did it come to this, Namco?  An entire year and nothing to show for it in English.  Namco officially has nothing for me.  They made arcade games, but not for America.  Valkyrie Densetsu looks like fun, but we didn’t get to play it.  Finest Hour looks like potential game of the year material and so does Burning Force, but the most we got of the latter was the inferior Genesis port.  The only game they might’ve had an entry with is Dangerous Seed, but it’s never seen a re-release and I’ve never been to any arcade that has it.  In fact, going to local arcades to play more games is to Namco’s detriment because there are far more Midway games at them than Namco ones.

That’s why I’ll be fudging the rules just a bit and giving them the only game of this year I was able to play: Rompers.  Similarly to Tower of Druaga, the game got English re-releases later with a full translation.  Since it technically never came to American arcades, like Tower of Druaga, any victory the game might give them will be a soft one.  That is, if there’s a tie, it will not win.  I’m not expecting another Splatterhouse miracle this time.  Maybe this will be a lesson in the importance of English releases.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1988

As I pointed out in the previous post, Namco has a lot riding on just one game for 1988.  It’s not that they didn’t make a lot of arcade games that year or that they weren’t even making good ones.  I mean they had an even better arcade board for even better games.  It’s just that almost none of their games came out in American arcades.  They made games that appear to be strong contenders like Ordyne, Marchen Maze and Phelios, but none of that was for America.  From what I can tell the only games from this year that came out in English are Splatterhouse and Metal Hawk, but since Metal Hawk heavily relied on a fancy motion simulator machine it means it never got re-released for new consoles with standard controllers.  None of my local places have a Metal Hawk machine either so Namco is placing all their bets on Splatterhouse.  It had better be the game of the year if they want to win.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 1987

So far Namco has been losing pretty badly and they needed to step it up to keep up with Midway’s constant technological innovations.  Good thing then that in 1987 they did just that.  I’m not sure exactly what kind of arcade hardware Midway was using, but 1987 marked the debut of the Namco System 1, an upgraded arcade machine capable of better sound and graphics, not unlike what the CPS-1 was for Capcom.  Midway’s arcade offering so far have left me in awe with their presentation, but new dedicated hardware might be the boost Namco needs to start racking up more wins.  Let’s see if they can get out of their losing streak.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: 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 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 isn'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.

Namco vs. Midway: The King of Arcades 2: Intro & 1979-1981

The Capcom vs. SNK: The King of Arcade series I did was a lot of fun.  The advancement of technology, culture and game design through the games themselves was fascinating to see unfold and I even discovered a few hidden gems I didn’t know I liked, all while making an observation of what both companies were pulling off at the time.  I should hope that trip down the annuls of arcade history was also entertaining to read and maybe got people to try out some of the games for themselves.

It was so much fun, in fact, that I’m doing it again.  The only problem is there isn’t any arcade gaming rivalry quite like that of Capcom and SNK.  I mean they made multiple games in which they fight each other, for pete’s sake.  Who else then would make for an entertaining head-to-head competition that only exists in my mind?

The real question is what game companies have an extensive arcade catalogue that can come close to that of Capcom and SNK that’s also viable for me to play.  Some people see a rivalry between Sega and Namco, but that was mostly during the 3D era and Namco’s biggest games date back to the 80s, something Sega doesn’t have the prolific catalogue for.  There’s also arguably Taito and Midway, but it has the opposite problem, where Taito stopped making arcade games in the 90s as Midway continued to do so until 2001.

 

I found the best idea was to make it between the two default winners of those aforementioned rivalries: Namco and Midway.  One company Japanese, the other American, both with a big back catalogue of smash hit arcade games, from the most primitive of the 80s to the more advanced polygonal ones of the 90s.  Sure, they don’t have a series of crossover games like our previous contestants; in fact, Midway wasn’t exactly a fierce rival to Namco, considering Midway published some of their games for American distribution, but that didn’t last forever.

The rules are the same as before.  While not as much as with Capcom and SNK, I have a big catalogue of arcade game collections for both companies as well as a series of old-school arcades at my disposal with which to play as many of each company’s games as I can, much like last time.  As I do I’ll once again be writing my thoughts and judgements, then deciding on a victor on a year-by-year basis.  Games from Namco will be marked as “NAM” and games from Midway will be marked as “MID”.