NamCompendium: Atari 5200 Ports RANKED

There weren't a ton of Namco games on the ill-fated 5200, but the ones that made the cut were usually good to great. Here's how all five of the compare!

List items

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  1. Galaxian

  This conversion kicks so much ass. Scrolling star field in the background, very fast gameplay, punchy sound.

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  2. Ms. Pac-Man

  Once again the clone trumps the original. Faster play and more detailed sprites are the real big differences here. Bummer about the lack of digital controls on original hardware, but that probably won't affect your ability to play this version today, wink.

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  3. Pac-Man

  Not an absolute dumpster fire like the 2600 conversion, this is actually pretty damn good. Even the maze layout is admirable here. The worst thing about the game is sprites that don't pop quite like the arcade originals. Otherwise, all that holds it back from being the best Pac-Man game on the system is the existence of a fine Ms. Pac-Man conversion. See note about lack of digital controls above.

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  4. Pole Position

  It might be low on this list and a little choppy compared to the 2600 port, but this is far from a bad conversion and is well worth seeking out. The analog controls on the 5200 stick actually make a decent case for this being better than the 2600 iteration.

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  5. Dig Dug

  Yeah the gameplay is alright, minus the smushed aspect ratio present in all of these conversions, but this color palette and dreadful clown music sound drag this down quite a bit.