Pac-Man Championship Edition is getting an NES-inspired demake on Switch
Japan-only for now.
Pac-Man Championship Edition - Bandai Namco's wonderful reimagining of the arcade classic - is getting a retro redo, courtesy of an official NES-style demake that's heading to Switch soon.
Pac-Man Championship Edition arrived to much acclaim when it launched on Xbox 360 in 2007. Designed by Toru Iwatani, the man responsible for Pac-Man's original outing, Championship Edition reimagined the arcade classic's iconic maze-based action into a wonderfully compelling time attack frenzy, tasking players with scoring as many points as possible within 5-minutes, with the speed ramping higher and higher as the clock ticked down.
It's a reimagining that, despite its pounding, pulsating presentation, remains remarkably faithful to the arcade original, tweaking, rather than re-inventing the familiar formula. And so in that regard, a retro demake doesn't sound all that absurd - which (as reported be Game Watch and spotted by The Verge) is exactly what Switch owners will be getting when Bandai Namco's new Namcot Collection arrives soon.
The Namcot Collection is a ten-strong bundle of 10 nostalgia-tickling NES titles - currently only announced for Japan - that'll feature Battle City, Dragon Spirit: The New Legend Pac-Man, Family Jockey, Galaga, Mendel Palace, Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, Star Luster, The Tower of Druaga, Wagan Land, and Yokai Dochuki.
The Pac-Man Championship Edition demake will be included as a bonus, re-imagining the re-imagining as if it were released alongside the other NES games in the bundle.
There's no word of a western release for the Namcot Collection just yet, but it's due to launch physically and digitally for Switch on 18th June in Japan.