Even if the rom's been slightly modified for newer hardware... this... this is just beautiful to see. This is what I wanted to see since the beginning of these machines. A rom that comes as close as possible to being 100% faithful while still being mindful that it's going into newer hardware than it would have during the late 1970s through the early 1990s. If the Galaga offering comes as close to being as good as this, I am definitely grabbing both.
I hate to say it, but it seems like this is actually a version of Ms. PAC-MAN that's a homebrew made specifically for these types of products. I could be wrong about it, but the reason I say this is because at 8:03 you ate two ghosts at once which on the arcade version would have you eat them both individually, going 200 then 400. Here when you eat the Power Pellet and eat Blinky and Inky, it skips the 200 and shows 400. The PAC-MAN Pocket Player ROM also did this, and was also a homebrew Namco contracted be made. Actually, that version of PAC-MAN can also be found on the Arcade1Up PAC-MAN Collectorcade as well. I could be completely wrong, but this is my speculation. If you're curious, the developer of the PAC-MAN homebrew is Shiru.
I've done a ridiculous amount of research into how the original game works and can confirm this is a remake, not a port of the original. If it is a port, then they have gone in and deliberately changed things that just don't make sense for them to have changed. Some of the more obvious signs are the title, "MS. PAC-MAN" now has the S in lowercase, the ghosts don't react to reversals properly for some reason, Clyde and Inky also do not go the their scatter targets and instead move randomly like Blinky and Pinky. I did an analysis on the game and found about 18 major differences in this port based on the footage GenXGrownup showed.
The ghosts being eaten incorrectly is physically impossible with the way its coded on the original, and I don't see why they would change it since it's a core part of the collision detection.
I noticed two important differences: a) In the original ROM the Ghosts always change direction when you eat a power pellet. This game does not always do that (at 8:49 they don't, but at 9:01 they do) b) At 9:14 immediately before you eat the power pellet, the pink and cyan ghosts turn 180 degress - this should never happen
For sure. This is clearly modified in lots of ways. Like when you eat two ghosts at the same position you get only one "eat and score" pause for the greater value. 8:05 The score registered properly, though.
The monsters sometimes change direction on their own -- periodically they go from "scatter" mode to "attack" mode (or whatever they're called) -- is it possible that perhaps the energizer was eaten just at the moment the monsters were changing mode, and ergo they were essentially changing directions twice?
I wanted the original Ms. PAC-MAN from My Arcade But after I found out this exists my mind has been changed for me.🎉 ( Looks like the company is finally stepping up their GAME.)
As an owner of a Numsull cabinet (a Galaxian one, but I can confirm the quality of those machines) and imagining these units as available machines at the moment when I oredered that version, I think I would have get this instead of the way more expensive Numskull version. The difference is so close that I can't be bothered about.
This is the most impressive improvement I've seen from a My Arcade cabinet. Although the drawback I pointed out with the shape of all new cabinets being the same as Dig Dug *(I call it the Winged shape)* I could look past that and focus on just how much better the game itself is than its predecessor.
I just played the real arcade Ms. Pac-Man at a diner in Ocean City, NJ and LOVED it!! This was my game in the 80s ❤ Your review is fantastic! I appreciate your thoroughness and your enthusiasm! Thank you 😊
If I didn't already own the previous version I would definitely pick this up as it looks good with the pink highlights. The biggest problem I have with this is they continue to put the joystick on the left when it should really be in the center.
Looks so good! I am spotting a couple of gameplay differences from the arcade though. In the arcade, the ghosts immediately change direction when the power pellet is eaten, but it looks like there is sometimes a delay here. Also in the arcade, there are a limited set of fixed paths the fruit takes when moving around the maze. The paths are different here! For example, when the fruit comes in at the upper left in stage one, it should immediately travel up, not down (about 9:03). Strange.
For sure. This is clearly modified in lots of ways. Like when you eat two ghosts at the same position you get only one "eat and score" pause for the greater value. 8:05
Don't forget there are many variations of the original ROM out, some might have different ghost behavior. As for the sound, I wouldn't judge it based on those tinny speakers. Sounds pretty close to me. In any case, at least it's not an NES on a chip.
Glad to see that My Arcade is using the actual arcade ROM now. I remember when they originally released Pac-Man and being so disappointed when I found out that it was just the NES version. I hope they revisit Pac-Man and give it the same arcade ROM treatment.
This is actually not the arcade rom, but it’s a very close replica that’s built off of the pocket player version of pac man that runs on sega genesis hardware.
Great review, looks a vast improvement on the last model. I wonder though what people think of the positioning of the joystick? Could it not have been more central? I’m thinking people might rather play with their right hand - if it was central you would have that choice.
Very nice improvement of a copy cat Ms. Pac-Man, from the original version. Technology has come a long way, releasing mimics of the original arcade game, and even though a lot of the copies had cheezy graphics, they were still a lot of fun. I'm a 45 year old Gen X man, and these games never get old for me. Thank you for posting this! I want one now!!
Pre-ordered the second I saw these on Amazon UK. I have all the previous wave and aside from them being awesome shelf candy they can be played. Can't wait for mine to turn up in October.
@@frankmcelhill9379 On the first wave I tend to use the USB micro to play the mini arcades, so can't really help with an answer I'm afarid. However the first set of Pocket Players run on 4 AAA and last ages, 8-12 hours easy using a decent brand.
As for the sounds on any of these players, I've always found them to sound best through headphones. Did you try it that way to see if there was an improvement in sound? I suspect that it will be fuller, in general. This isn't the most common choice for amplification, I'm assuming, but for someone who has played these mini arcade games in bed for years at all hours of the night, it's an aspect that I think is worth mentioning. Apart from that, this is a great and welcomed addition to the My Arcade family.
@@GenXGrownUp Yes, perhaps it's from my being a musician and recording onto various analog and digital recorders throughout the years, though regardless, if you think of the external speaker of a cell phone, it may be good enough to listen through for various programs and shorts, it's usually limited to various preset amp models for bass, mid, and treble for music. And so, by plugging headphones into that same cell phone, the sounds of that same source are now stereophonic in range due to the higher quality of the amplification.
@@GenXGrownUp Oh, cripes - I apologize. I had the video playing in the car as I was driving and could only look at the screen when stopped at red lights. :) Now that I just watched the video again in full, with dinner, I see that I completely missed that part - making my comment completely ridiculous. Ha. I'll blame it on not having had coffee at the time. Anyway, thanks for the great presentation as always.
This is as close to an arcade ROM that I can see. Sure some of the sounds aren't the way we all remember them from back in the day, but it will work for what we want to play an arcade version of Ms. Pac-Man that we've all played in the arcades. The only thing I would add to this is to have an option to have the original way this played to switch to the updated ROM where Ms. Pac-Man is going faster which I did enjoy and went further than I ever did with that game in the arcade.
This is really cool. I wouldn't buy it for myself, but if someone got it for me as a Christmas present or something, I'd definitely keep it and play it. The only thing I don't like about it is it forces you to play it left-handed -- as well all remember, the actual arcade cab is ambidextrous, and I've been playing it right-handed since 1982! And yeah, it would be cool if there were a way to save the high score, but it kinda makes sense in a way because when you turn the machine on, you're cold-booting the arcade ROM, meaning the high score would be zapped. It would also have been nifty if it had a speed-up option -- many Ms. machines have the speedup chip installed, and even the Class of 1981 Reunion cab has that option.
I hope Santa brings you one. 🎅 FWIW, I'm right-handed and had no trouble resting my right palm on the deck and controlling with my right thumb and index finger. That being said, a centered joystick would've been a welcomed modification.
Awesome! ❤ The original cabinet combined with its audio speaker added more resonance and deeper bass respectively to the audio, and that can’t be duplicated in a tiny form factor speaker or with direct audio out. It’s close though! 😊
tech inspector here! If I'm not mistaken, this potentially might be a brand new homebrew version of Ms. Pac-Man. Specifically, I'm deducing that this micro player is using a newly converted port of Ms. Pac-Man for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive hardware, which was also previously used on MyArcade's older Pac-Man micro player. This is surprising to me, considering that a Genesis/Mega Drive conversion of the game was already produced back in 1991 by Tengen. I'm currently assuming at the moment until a ROM of this is dumped later, but I will keep eyes on this!
Beautiful presentation on this product. My Arcade steadily getting around to 'knocking it out of the park' at the moment? Would love to get a re-hash of the 40th anniversary of the Pac Man module, with a similar rehash of the original ROM. Keep it all going Jon and GenX.
I love these single game players. The whole design reminds me of this thing my parents had in the 80s that was basically light up LEDs depicting the game in a terrible manner. This is what my kid self wanted that device to be like when turned on.
Terrific review and loving the enthusiasm! I hope you'll review the Ms. P-M pocket player as well even if it's the same Rom in a tinier body, like you did with Street Fighter II. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks, Adam! I will do my best to work through the entire My Arcade 2023 line of releases in the coming weeks. Lots to cover, but exciting time to be a collector!
I must be only one that misses playing the arcade version that was set for fast speed. My favorite thing about this game to OG Pac-Man is how fast some cabinets had her moving. I loved zipping by and beating level after level. I can never find that in any other version unless im missing something...
As you said in your review the only drawbacks are the slightly compromised sound and not being able to save your score. Otherwise totally agree this is essentially the real deal arcade experience in a budget device which is impressive. Also great to hear that the joystick performs nicely. I can’t wait to see how the Galaga Pro unit turns out, if it’s anything like this it’ll be an instant buy (and I’m already very likely to buy Ms. Pac Man Pro, just prefer Galaga more). Here’s also hoping My Arcade does a lot more of these, there are so many great arcade games from Namco and other companies like Taito which would be perfect fits for this new Pro lineup (how about Bubble Bobble and Elevator Action Pro units??).
I cant believe that at this point none or these Ms Pacman mini arcade ports have included the speed up hack that used to be so prevalent. In my experience, that version kept that arcade game alive from the post crash era through the 90s. For 2 decades, every time I saw a lonely MsPacman cab in the wild ad a bar, convenience store, or laundromat... they invariably had the speed up version. But now it's like its lost to time... and those of us who grew up on playing it / mastering it at that speed have to play the molasses-slow version.
😊 this is awesome! This is what I want!! I'm glad I ordered this and it's coming next week! This means Space Invaders is next for me. Does suck the high score doesn't save, but for the price point, it's worth it.
This is not an Arcade ROM, but it looks like it is a VERY close remake on genesis hardware, like the Pac-Man pocket player. It looks like a ground up remake to me, there are some very subtle differences when ghosts are eaten that are physically impossible on an arcade rom because of the way it is programmed, and if it were a port It doesn't make sense why they would change it.
Fun fact: in the Ms pac man and pac man pro units, if you hold the credit button and the player 2 start button upon power on, after the self-test screen, it will open up the service menu from the pac man pocket player!
Ordered this bad boy 🎉 I have recently purchased my Pac-Man deluxe cabinet from arcade 1up and was looking for something to play ms Pac-Man without breaking the bank! This seems a great alternative for now😉
The thing that stands out for me about the audio is that the "bassline" seems to be at the same volume as the "melody line". Perhaps an effect of trying to get optimized audio out of the single, small speaker...? It looks pretty nice, and I know the licensing is a significant portion of the cost of these things, but it's hard for me to justify purchases like this that play only one game when I know just how small the ROMs are and how relatively easy it would be to make the hardware offer a host of games. I'm also curious how the rubber feet hold up to supporting games that need two hands.
Nice, you did Ms. Pac-Man first since your post (unless I missed one. I have so many memories of this game, including when a friend of mine, still a high-school teen at the time, somehow bought one (mid-80s) then eventually gave it to the local teen center. The few off-sounds did bother me too, BTW, but it did seem pretty much perfect other than that.
The intro to the game took me by surprise at it has it's load up screen and arcade style title screen, My Arcade has definitely stepped it up, now if only they would put out a Tempest and Centipede in this style of game!
@GenXGrownUp The Space Invaders was a bad idea since you can't improve on the original my arcade version, and due to size, there is no "ghosting effect".
I have to say, this is a winner. My mom would like this because she used to play it at arcades when i was little. I would love it if My Arcade did a mini arcade of the atari arcade tetris from the late 80s. It was my favorite version of the arcade versiok of tetris, even more than tetris the grand mastee.
We've had Ms Pac Man emulation since about 1996 or 1997. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was in the original release of the very first arcade emulator by Ken something. I think it later became sparcade. I know it had frogger and galaxian and I think a total of 5 games. It's been so long I just don't remember. It required a 486 to run and ran more or less full speed on a high end 486. Point is, the emulation of Pac Man has been around for decades. I think the Coleco original arcade table top machines are much cooler looking.
Visually, perfect. Audibly, it definitely sounds emulated. The sound emulation probably could use a little tweaking. However, that is a solid little device.
It's very nice look indeed. The most Accurate versions that I have that is a perfect replica are on my XBox1 and Pac-Gal from the Android store which they changed the colors on the 1st 2 boards to avoid a lawsuit. But anybody who has ever played Pac-Gal, knows that it's the original Ms. Pac-Man. Certainly moreso than the Namco version on the phones and tablets. But I never play neither one that much because of the horrific controls. So when I want that real Arcade feel, I have to play my Ms. Pac-Man 1up or my Head to Head Countercade. I did notice while you were playing that My Arcade changed the routine pattern of Inky and Sue of them not going to their respective Energizer corners when they exit the box at the start of each board. I will pick it up though whenever Walmart restocks it, simply because I pretty much have like 14 or 15 versions of Ms. Pac-Man. And I was truly disappointed of the Scam My Arcade pulled with the NES version of Ms. Pac-Man after making the mini arcade cabinet so detailed. So I am pleased to what I just viewed in this video. Keep up the good work!!
Quick question, Jon, just in case you see this: if you put in multiple credits, do you return to the level you left off on once you run out of lives? Unlike the 2018 Pac-Man player, the 2018 Ms. Pac-Man does NOT allow you to add any credits, so once you die you always have to go back to the start of the game. I'm hoping this one allows you to continue where you left off, as Ms. Pac-Man has some fun levels later in the game that I'm just not good enough to get to on three lives.
Oh THIS is VERY interesting! I was just lamenting the lack of new mini-arcades recently. But what's REALLY interesting is it says Ms.Pac-Man copyright Bandai Namco. In case you forgot, Ms.Pac-Man had to be excluded and removed from the recent Pac-Man collection on Switch (replaced with Pac Mom) due to legal issues. Guess they cleared those up? Either that or MyArcade might be accidentally skirting some legal nonsense.
The rom on my 40th anniversary arcade 1up Ms Pacman shows the BNEI copyright on the attract screen as well. I think that's just how any legitimately licensed version of the ROM is now. No alterations to the sounds on the Arcade1up though.
Awww, thanks for the review of my review, John! 😀 They'll be coming to Target I think, or you can click in the description and order there (that way I'll earn 3¢)!
Well, well, well... looks like MA have finally gotten around to putting decent ROM ports on 16-bit hardware. Might not be 100%, but certainly a heck of a lot closer than the original Micro Player - be interesting to see if they do v2.0s of the rest!
It's aa close to arcade as I've seen from My"Arcade". My nitpicks: I wish the screen was larger or the cabinet was smaller so there wasn't such a disparity between the two. Also, wish the joystick was centered for more authenticity and a better play experience.
Indeed. A larger screen would be an improvement (I'm thinking the Pocket Player might feel just right), and while a centered joystick makes sense, at no point during the review was I wishing it was relocated, so it doesn't impact enjoyment or gameplay. Thanks for watching!
@@TheLadsBandLive A righty here, though I can play Pac-games with my left hand also. For the majority of the footage in this review I was resting my right palm on the control deck and moving the stick with my right thumb and index finger.
The sounds are not off by a little bit, they're off by a lot. The first intermission almost grinds my ears to a pulp. I'll stick with my Arcade 1Up Ms. Pac-Man Partycade. Plus you get 7 other games with the Partycade, plus the 17 inch screen. I know My Arcade is making budget games, but you get what you pay for.
If it's not the original ROM, that's a bit of a head-scratcher because if they have the license to make the game I can't imagine why they wouldn't be able to use the original ROM, which was probably 32 k or less.
I have this , love playing it. I noticed you're wearing a Mount greylock t-shirt we actually have a Mount greylock Tower which is a war monument dedicated to the men and women of the armed services. Just thought it was a coincidence. Love your videos.
Pretty awesome! I think you nailed it, for sure a modded ROM. The sounds are for sure off in some areas but this could be down to the emulation used. So close. Now if they could just release this with an unmodified ROM, I would absolutely buy this.
@@GenXGrownUphi can you please do reviews on all of them please ? The mega man one , galaga with the big joystick , pacman , I’m in the U.K. and there not available on Amazon U.K. until October 1st
Please do Galaga. I would be so interested if the no bomb trick worked on the new ones. I have the older NES My Arcades and am sad I can’t experience that glitch.
I have an actual pcb and great speakers. Everything sounds different. Every little sound. That is not perse bad or anything, but a bit weird and strange. But still kinda close, but they tried to remix it? Doesn't seem like much work was put into this. Heck as long as the game plays original and the sound might be a bit off, still a win I think Is the joystick four way or is it still possible to hit the diagonals. If someday Seimitsu or Sanwa make a mini joystiick I would go crazy on these things
What more modern-ish game would you like to get the micro player treatment? Me? I would love to see Momoko 120%. It doesn't actually have an US release, but who can resist hearing Lum No Love Song as a chip tune?
I’m more interested in the Namco Bandai attribution on this device. Does this mean the GCC drama was resolved? ALAIK that legal entanglement is ongoing, and GCC had sold the right to AtGames, And Bandai-Namco has been *attempting* to reclaim this character and code and fold it back into their portfolio. This topic in itself would make an interesting video essay…
I wonder if this is a modified arcade rom running on an emulator with components from MAME. I know CAPCOM did that with their CAPCOM Arcade Stadium since MAME is open source and haves a friendly license that allows components of MAME to be used for selling back catalogue of games and have them play on devices that's not the original arcade board.
That is fair. But it's also not a portable with batteries. So along those lines, as long as I keep power to it (batteries in or plugged in), then preserving the high score should be do-able.
What grabs my attention to this unit is the fact that it looks more colorful than the older version that used the NES port.
Even if the rom's been slightly modified for newer hardware... this... this is just beautiful to see. This is what I wanted to see since the beginning of these machines. A rom that comes as close as possible to being 100% faithful while still being mindful that it's going into newer hardware than it would have during the late 1970s through the early 1990s. If the Galaga offering comes as close to being as good as this, I am definitely grabbing both.
That’s fun, yeah I could tell the difference when you plugged it into the computer… I own the Numskull.
I hate to say it, but it seems like this is actually a version of Ms. PAC-MAN that's a homebrew made specifically for these types of products. I could be wrong about it, but the reason I say this is because at 8:03 you ate two ghosts at once which on the arcade version would have you eat them both individually, going 200 then 400. Here when you eat the Power Pellet and eat Blinky and Inky, it skips the 200 and shows 400. The PAC-MAN Pocket Player ROM also did this, and was also a homebrew Namco contracted be made. Actually, that version of PAC-MAN can also be found on the Arcade1Up PAC-MAN Collectorcade as well. I could be completely wrong, but this is my speculation. If you're curious, the developer of the PAC-MAN homebrew is Shiru.
I've done a ridiculous amount of research into how the original game works and can confirm this is a remake, not a port of the original. If it is a port, then they have gone in and deliberately changed things that just don't make sense for them to have changed.
Some of the more obvious signs are the title, "MS. PAC-MAN" now has the S in lowercase, the ghosts don't react to reversals properly for some reason, Clyde and Inky also do not go the their scatter targets and instead move randomly like Blinky and Pinky.
I did an analysis on the game and found about 18 major differences in this port based on the footage GenXGrownup showed.
The ghosts being eaten incorrectly is physically impossible with the way its coded on the original, and I don't see why they would change it since it's a core part of the collision detection.
It’s actually sega genesis hardware
Ok guys, but whats the most "original" version of this game for a cabinet like this?
Do you find any?
I noticed two important differences:
a) In the original ROM the Ghosts always change direction when you eat a power pellet. This game does not always do that (at 8:49 they don't, but at 9:01 they do)
b) At 9:14 immediately before you eat the power pellet, the pink and cyan ghosts turn 180 degress - this should never happen
For sure. This is clearly modified in lots of ways. Like when you eat two ghosts at the same position you get only one "eat and score" pause for the greater value. 8:05 The score registered properly, though.
@@GenXGrownUpyou didn’t realize this: when you pop in a coin, it exactly sounded the same as my arcade Pac-Man 40 anniversary arcade
The monsters sometimes change direction on their own -- periodically they go from "scatter" mode to "attack" mode (or whatever they're called) -- is it possible that perhaps the energizer was eaten just at the moment the monsters were changing mode, and ergo they were essentially changing directions twice?
@@GenXGrownUp I'm confused, doesn't AtGames own any rights to Ms pacman now ?
@@GenXGrownUpare these available in stores?
I wanted the original Ms. PAC-MAN from My Arcade But after I found out this exists my mind has been changed for me.🎉 ( Looks like the company is finally stepping up their GAME.)
By coincidence, I just received my copy of Ms.Pac-Man for Atari 7800 today!!!
As an owner of a Numsull cabinet (a Galaxian one, but I can confirm the quality of those machines) and imagining these units as available machines at the moment when I oredered that version, I think I would have get this instead of the way more expensive Numskull version. The difference is so close that I can't be bothered about.
I'm desperate for a numbskull Ms. Pacman. Where can I get one outside of ebay?
You have to find a specific dealer for your Country, Numbskull's worldwide distribution is questionable in my opinion.
@@karattkensair9891Eventually Numskull will restock them. When? No idea.
Wow! Home run! This one looks incredible! It sounded excellent through my car speakers. Thanks so much for sharing this and reviewing so well.
This is the most impressive improvement I've seen from a My Arcade cabinet. Although the drawback I pointed out with the shape of all new cabinets being the same as Dig Dug *(I call it the Winged shape)* I could look past that and focus on just how much better the game itself is than its predecessor.
I just played the real arcade Ms. Pac-Man at a diner in Ocean City, NJ and LOVED it!! This was my game in the 80s ❤ Your review is fantastic! I appreciate your thoroughness and your enthusiasm! Thank you 😊
Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for watching! 😀
If I didn't already own the previous version I would definitely pick this up as it looks good with the pink highlights. The biggest problem I have with this is they continue to put the joystick on the left when it should really be in the center.
This. Is. Gorgeous!! I’m sure you’re right that the hardware is changing the audio slightly. Definitely one for the collection
Looks so good! I am spotting a couple of gameplay differences from the arcade though. In the arcade, the ghosts immediately change direction when the power pellet is eaten, but it looks like there is sometimes a delay here. Also in the arcade, there are a limited set of fixed paths the fruit takes when moving around the maze. The paths are different here! For example, when the fruit comes in at the upper left in stage one, it should immediately travel up, not down (about 9:03). Strange.
For sure. This is clearly modified in lots of ways. Like when you eat two ghosts at the same position you get only one "eat and score" pause for the greater value. 8:05
Don't forget there are many variations of the original ROM out, some might have different ghost behavior.
As for the sound, I wouldn't judge it based on those tinny speakers. Sounds pretty close to me. In any case, at least it's not an NES on a chip.
Glad to see that My Arcade is using the actual arcade ROM now. I remember when they originally released Pac-Man and being so disappointed when I found out that it was just the NES version. I hope they revisit Pac-Man and give it the same arcade ROM treatment.
Pac-Man is getting a new unit in this wave. I assume, similar to this one it will be the/an arcade ROM.
There not using the original roms on the new street fighter one there console roms 😢
@@smallspacearcade8158 Interesting. I'll be looking forward to that.
Pacman is part of these Pro releases. A must have for me!
This is actually not the arcade rom, but it’s a very close replica that’s built off of the pocket player version of pac man that runs on sega genesis hardware.
This is an excellent review, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. 👍
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching. 😀
Great review Jon! For me, this makes the My Arcade Micro Player Pros much more collectible now. Keep up the awesome work :-)
Bro this is basically the ms pacman arcade 1up, but smallers and portable! I want this for Xmas!
Great review, looks a vast improvement on the last model. I wonder though what people think of the positioning of the joystick? Could it not have been more central? I’m thinking people might rather play with their right hand - if it was central you would have that choice.
Very nice improvement of a copy cat Ms. Pac-Man, from the original version. Technology has come a long way, releasing mimics of the original arcade game, and even though a lot of the copies had cheezy graphics, they were still a lot of fun. I'm a 45 year old Gen X man, and these games never get old for me. Thank you for posting this! I want one now!!
Mad respect for your techniques for unboxing. Most TH-camrs would ravage through this package like a wild raccoon on a ham sandwich.
Hahaha! Thanks for the kind words. I always try to keep the box in good shape for the next person to own this down the road! Thank you for watching. 😀
The 2XL in the background at 6:02 brings back a lot of great memories. One of my favorite toys that was also educational from the early 80's.
Good eye spotting my 2XL! 👁️
Pre-ordered the second I saw these on Amazon UK. I have all the previous wave and aside from them being awesome shelf candy they can be played. Can't wait for mine to turn up in October.
What is battery life like on them?
@@frankmcelhill9379 On the first wave I tend to use the USB micro to play the mini arcades, so can't really help with an answer I'm afarid. However the first set of Pocket Players run on 4 AAA and last ages, 8-12 hours easy using a decent brand.
That Ms. Pacman is a thing of BEAUTY!!! I definitely want one!!! Thank you for uploading!!!
As for the sounds on any of these players, I've always found them to sound best through headphones.
Did you try it that way to see if there was an improvement in sound? I suspect that it will be fuller, in general.
This isn't the most common choice for amplification, I'm assuming, but for someone who has played these mini arcade games in bed for years at all hours of the night, it's an aspect that I think is worth mentioning.
Apart from that, this is a great and welcomed addition to the My Arcade family.
Hrm. If only I had thought to try that... 😉
@@GenXGrownUp Yes, perhaps it's from my being a musician and recording onto various analog and digital recorders throughout the years, though regardless, if you think of the external speaker of a cell phone, it may be good enough to listen through for various programs and shorts, it's usually limited to various preset amp models for bass, mid, and treble for music.
And so, by plugging headphones into that same cell phone, the sounds of that same source are now stereophonic in range due to the higher quality of the amplification.
@@jasonpaulelder I think you maybe missed the winking emoji -- I did plug into the headphone jack in my review, you just didn't watch that part. 😀
@@GenXGrownUp Oh, cripes - I apologize.
I had the video playing in the car as I was driving and could only look at the screen when stopped at red lights. :)
Now that I just watched the video again in full, with dinner, I see that I completely missed that part - making my comment completely ridiculous. Ha.
I'll blame it on not having had coffee at the time.
Anyway, thanks for the great presentation as always.
@@jasonpaulelder Oh, my! Be safe! I'm thrilled that you're watching my videos, but be careful on the road - it'll keep! 😁
This is as close to an arcade ROM that I can see. Sure some of the sounds aren't the way we all remember them from back in the day, but it will work for what we want to play an arcade version of Ms. Pac-Man that we've all played in the arcades. The only thing I would add to this is to have an option to have the original way this played to switch to the updated ROM where Ms. Pac-Man is going faster which I did enjoy and went further than I ever did with that game in the arcade.
Buying this right away , waiting on any megaman to be on stock and by the way excellent review as always , cheers
Enjoy! Thanks for watching. 😀
This is really cool. I wouldn't buy it for myself, but if someone got it for me as a Christmas present or something, I'd definitely keep it and play it. The only thing I don't like about it is it forces you to play it left-handed -- as well all remember, the actual arcade cab is ambidextrous, and I've been playing it right-handed since 1982!
And yeah, it would be cool if there were a way to save the high score, but it kinda makes sense in a way because when you turn the machine on, you're cold-booting the arcade ROM, meaning the high score would be zapped. It would also have been nifty if it had a speed-up option -- many Ms. machines have the speedup chip installed, and even the Class of 1981 Reunion cab has that option.
I hope Santa brings you one. 🎅 FWIW, I'm right-handed and had no trouble resting my right palm on the deck and controlling with my right thumb and index finger. That being said, a centered joystick would've been a welcomed modification.
impressive little machine. some sounds are spot on. i may need to pick this up!
Awesome! ❤ The original cabinet combined with its audio speaker added more resonance and deeper bass respectively to the audio, and that can’t be duplicated in a tiny form factor speaker or with direct audio out. It’s close though! 😊
These look so good. I can't wait to get one!
tech inspector here! If I'm not mistaken, this potentially might be a brand new homebrew version of Ms. Pac-Man.
Specifically, I'm deducing that this micro player is using a newly converted port of Ms. Pac-Man for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive hardware, which was also previously used on MyArcade's older Pac-Man micro player. This is surprising to me, considering that a Genesis/Mega Drive conversion of the game was already produced back in 1991 by Tengen. I'm currently assuming at the moment until a ROM of this is dumped later, but I will keep eyes on this!
Beautiful presentation on this product. My Arcade steadily getting around to 'knocking it out of the park' at the moment? Would love to get a re-hash of the 40th anniversary of the Pac Man module, with a similar rehash of the original ROM. Keep it all going Jon and GenX.
Great review video Jon. I can always count on you to have excellent content.
Thanks, MGM. And I can always count on you to be a regular, supportive viewer. Means the world!
I love these single game players. The whole design reminds me of this thing my parents had in the 80s that was basically light up LEDs depicting the game in a terrible manner. This is what my kid self wanted that device to be like when turned on.
Terrific review and loving the enthusiasm! I hope you'll review the Ms. P-M pocket player as well even if it's the same Rom in a tinier body, like you did with Street Fighter II. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks, Adam! I will do my best to work through the entire My Arcade 2023 line of releases in the coming weeks. Lots to cover, but exciting time to be a collector!
I must be only one that misses playing the arcade version that was set for fast speed. My favorite thing about this game to OG Pac-Man is how fast some cabinets had her moving. I loved zipping by and beating level after level. I can never find that in any other version unless im missing something...
We remember: th-cam.com/video/PW_pHahzwcw/w-d-xo.html
Oh boy My Arcade is back on the menu!
As you said in your review the only drawbacks are the slightly compromised sound and not being able to save your score. Otherwise totally agree this is essentially the real deal arcade experience in a budget device which is impressive. Also great to hear that the joystick performs nicely. I can’t wait to see how the Galaga Pro unit turns out, if it’s anything like this it’ll be an instant buy (and I’m already very likely to buy Ms. Pac Man Pro, just prefer Galaga more). Here’s also hoping My Arcade does a lot more of these, there are so many great arcade games from Namco and other companies like Taito which would be perfect fits for this new Pro lineup (how about Bubble Bobble and Elevator Action Pro units??).
Oh, man. Give me that sweet arcade Elevator Action & Rastan, please!
This is good enough. I’ll pick this up. I’ll take more games just like this please
I cant believe that at this point none or these Ms Pacman mini arcade ports have included the speed up hack that used to be so prevalent. In my experience, that version kept that arcade game alive from the post crash era through the 90s. For 2 decades, every time I saw a lonely MsPacman cab in the wild ad a bar, convenience store, or laundromat... they invariably had the speed up version. But now it's like its lost to time... and those of us who grew up on playing it / mastering it at that speed have to play the molasses-slow version.
That's a really good point, and one I will mention to My Arcade. Thanks for the comment!
@@GenXGrownUp Thanks for passing it along.🤘
It doesn't matter what game or ROM it is. I love your videos!
You're very kind to say so. Thank you for being a regular viewer! 😀
😊 this is awesome! This is what I want!! I'm glad I ordered this and it's coming next week! This means Space Invaders is next for me. Does suck the high score doesn't save, but for the price point, it's worth it.
This is not an Arcade ROM, but it looks like it is a VERY close remake on genesis hardware, like the Pac-Man pocket player. It looks like a ground up remake to me, there are some very subtle differences when ghosts are eaten that are physically impossible on an arcade rom because of the way it is programmed, and if it were a port It doesn't make sense why they would change it.
Fun fact: in the Ms pac man and pac man pro units, if you hold the credit button and the player 2 start button upon power on, after the self-test screen, it will open up the service menu from the pac man pocket player!
Ordered this bad boy 🎉 I have recently purchased my Pac-Man deluxe cabinet from arcade 1up and was looking for something to play ms Pac-Man without breaking the bank! This seems a great alternative for now😉
Hope you enjoy it!
we missed ms pacman due to copyright disputes
The thing that stands out for me about the audio is that the "bassline" seems to be at the same volume as the "melody line". Perhaps an effect of trying to get optimized audio out of the single, small speaker...?
It looks pretty nice, and I know the licensing is a significant portion of the cost of these things, but it's hard for me to justify purchases like this that play only one game when I know just how small the ROMs are and how relatively easy it would be to make the hardware offer a host of games. I'm also curious how the rubber feet hold up to supporting games that need two hands.
Nice, you did Ms. Pac-Man first since your post (unless I missed one. I have so many memories of this game, including when a friend of mine, still a high-school teen at the time, somehow bought one (mid-80s) then eventually gave it to the local teen center. The few off-sounds did bother me too, BTW, but it did seem pretty much perfect other than that.
Great review and fully agree with that score too 👍
Thanks! 👍
I got this on clearance last blackfriday and I absolutely love it 😂
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Now....My arcade needs to release PacMan as it's meant to be!!!
The intro to the game took me by surprise at it has it's load up screen and arcade style title screen, My Arcade has definitely stepped it up, now if only they would put out a Tempest and Centipede in this style of game!
Oh yeah!
@GenXGrownUp The Space Invaders was a bad idea since you can't improve on the original my arcade version, and due to size, there is no "ghosting effect".
Way better than the Nintendo ROM. I just ordered this.
I have to say, this is a winner. My mom would like this because she used to play it at arcades when i was little.
I would love it if My Arcade did a mini arcade of the atari arcade tetris from the late 80s.
It was my favorite version of the arcade versiok of tetris, even more than tetris the grand mastee.
How are they allowed to release this too? I thought the whole Ms Pac-Man thing was tied up between Namco and AtGames?
According to my contacts, My Arcade obtained release rights directly from Namco Bandai.
Yeah I thought it was weird that all of the newer Namco compilations omit Ms. Pac Man. I thought she was getting “cancelled” lol
Great video. Loved the line “So that’s garbage” #catchphrase
We've had Ms Pac Man emulation since about 1996 or 1997. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was in the original release of the very first arcade emulator by Ken something. I think it later became sparcade. I know it had frogger and galaxian and I think a total of 5 games. It's been so long I just don't remember. It required a 486 to run and ran more or less full speed on a high end 486.
Point is, the emulation of Pac Man has been around for decades. I think the Coleco original arcade table top machines are much cooler looking.
Visually, perfect. Audibly, it definitely sounds emulated. The sound emulation probably could use a little tweaking. However, that is a solid little device.
Save score isn't possible when resetting reboots the ROM. A modification could fix this however...
This looks cool! I was recently disappointed to realize I am not officially Gen X. Millennial ugh. Only one year off.
Try plugging in an external speaker and see if it sounds better
Great review as always. That review was all I needed to know this device will be on my Christmas wish list. Thanks Jon!!😊
Glad I could help! Ho-ho-ho! 🎅
It's very nice look indeed.
The most Accurate versions that I have that is a perfect replica are on my XBox1 and Pac-Gal from the Android store which they changed the colors on the 1st 2 boards to avoid a lawsuit.
But anybody who has ever played Pac-Gal, knows that it's the original Ms. Pac-Man.
Certainly moreso than the Namco version on the phones and tablets.
But I never play neither one that much because of the horrific controls.
So when I want that real Arcade feel, I have to play my Ms. Pac-Man 1up or my Head to Head Countercade.
I did notice while you were playing that My Arcade changed the routine pattern of Inky and Sue of them not going to their respective Energizer corners when they exit the box at the start of each board.
I will pick it up though whenever Walmart restocks it, simply because I pretty much have like 14 or 15 versions of Ms. Pac-Man.
And I was truly disappointed of the Scam My Arcade pulled with the NES version of Ms. Pac-Man after making the mini arcade cabinet so detailed.
So I am pleased to what I just viewed in this video.
Keep up the good work!!
Right on! Thanks for watching. 😀
If they had these back in the 80’s, they would be pricey…..
The audio actuality sounded much closer to the original before you plugged it in directly.
Quick question, Jon, just in case you see this: if you put in multiple credits, do you return to the level you left off on once you run out of lives? Unlike the 2018 Pac-Man player, the 2018 Ms. Pac-Man does NOT allow you to add any credits, so once you die you always have to go back to the start of the game. I'm hoping this one allows you to continue where you left off, as Ms. Pac-Man has some fun levels later in the game that I'm just not good enough to get to on three lives.
I’m glad someone is keeping Ms Pac-Man alive
Oh THIS is VERY interesting! I was just lamenting the lack of new mini-arcades recently. But what's REALLY interesting is it says Ms.Pac-Man copyright Bandai Namco. In case you forgot, Ms.Pac-Man had to be excluded and removed from the recent Pac-Man collection on Switch (replaced with Pac Mom) due to legal issues. Guess they cleared those up? Either that or MyArcade might be accidentally skirting some legal nonsense.
In case I forgot. 😜
The rom on my 40th anniversary arcade 1up Ms Pacman shows the BNEI copyright on the attract screen as well. I think that's just how any legitimately licensed version of the ROM is now. No alterations to the sounds on the Arcade1up though.
Could this be the beginning of a new wave? Maybe Basic Fun will come to the part also. Tiny Arcade might be too small for this IMO.
the audio is different but it feels good. this is the product that should have been offered from the beginning
Rest Stop on I-80 outside of Davenport, Iowa...has a Pac-Man garbage bin...and the cutest janitor girls I have ever seen!
Okee dokee!
Wow, very promising! Think I’ll get one. Are these available at Target or Walmart? 5 Tokens for the content Jon!
Awww, thanks for the review of my review, John! 😀 They'll be coming to Target I think, or you can click in the description and order there (that way I'll earn 3¢)!
Well, well, well... looks like MA have finally gotten around to putting decent ROM ports on 16-bit hardware. Might not be 100%, but certainly a heck of a lot closer than the original Micro Player - be interesting to see if they do v2.0s of the rest!
I really like this one. It's a mini arcade I want to have.
It's aa close to arcade as I've seen from My"Arcade". My nitpicks: I wish the screen was larger or the cabinet was smaller so there wasn't such a disparity between the two. Also, wish the joystick was centered for more authenticity and a better play experience.
Indeed. A larger screen would be an improvement (I'm thinking the Pocket Player might feel just right), and while a centered joystick makes sense, at no point during the review was I wishing it was relocated, so it doesn't impact enjoyment or gameplay. Thanks for watching!
@@GenXGrownUp Are you lefty or righty? I'm righty and would want to play right-handed but it seems like a stretch with the stick on the left?
@@TheLadsBandLive A righty here, though I can play Pac-games with my left hand also. For the majority of the footage in this review I was resting my right palm on the control deck and moving the stick with my right thumb and index finger.
The sounds are not off by a little bit, they're off by a lot. The first intermission almost grinds my ears to a pulp. I'll stick with my Arcade 1Up Ms. Pac-Man Partycade. Plus you get 7 other games with the Partycade, plus the 17 inch screen. I know My Arcade is making budget games, but you get what you pay for.
Not the way I read it, but I appreciate you watching.
If it's not the original ROM, that's a bit of a head-scratcher because if they have the license to make the game I can't imagine why they wouldn't be able to use the original ROM, which was probably 32 k or less.
I have this , love playing it. I noticed you're wearing a Mount greylock t-shirt we actually have a Mount greylock Tower which is a war monument dedicated to the men and women of the armed services. Just thought it was a coincidence. Love your videos.
Thanks for watching!
Great show. One of my all time favorite games. Thanks.
My pleasure. Thank you for watching!
The price is perfect.
Pretty awesome! I think you nailed it, for sure a modded ROM. The sounds are for sure off in some areas but this could be down to the emulation used. So close. Now if they could just release this with an unmodified ROM, I would absolutely buy this.
As with what I've seen previously on this channel, I've yet to find this anywhere in my area.
Sorry you're having trouble finding them in stock. They're brand new to the market, and as I noted, they'll be restocking shortly.
@@GenXGrownUphi can you please do reviews on all of them please ? The mega man one , galaga with the big joystick , pacman , I’m in the U.K. and there not available on Amazon U.K. until October 1st
@@fruitman7773 I'm working my way through them as quickly as I can. 😀
Great review Jon, I may have to go out and get this one.
Please do Galaga. I would be so interested if the no bomb trick worked on the new ones. I have the older NES My Arcades and am sad I can’t experience that glitch.
As you wish. Galaga Pocket Pro coming later today. 😀
I have an actual pcb and great speakers. Everything sounds different. Every little sound. That is not perse bad or anything, but a bit weird and strange. But still kinda close, but they tried to remix it? Doesn't seem like much work was put into this. Heck as long as the game plays original and the sound might be a bit off, still a win I think
Is the joystick four way or is it still possible to hit the diagonals. If someday Seimitsu or Sanwa make a mini joystiick I would go crazy on these things
Nice!
Nice! Gotta upgrade my other MyArcade Ms PacMan :)
Will they be treating the new Galaga the same way??
Yes!
@@DigitallezSTG
Well, the new Super Street Fighter II Pro didn’t use an arcade ROM, and it was designated ‘Pro.’
yeah the sound is off for sure it is very close but not right I'd say it's like 75% accurate at least
Great Stuff!
Thanks!
What more modern-ish game would you like to get the micro player treatment?
Me? I would love to see Momoko 120%. It doesn't actually have an US release, but who can resist hearing Lum No Love Song as a chip tune?
There are plenty of lesser-known ones I'd like to see. Rastan. Black Tiger. Mat Mania.
Yes experience it at home
My pediatrician had the cocktail arcade cabinet of Ms.Pac-man
The sound is a little off
I’m more interested in the Namco Bandai attribution on this device. Does this mean the GCC drama was resolved? ALAIK that legal entanglement is ongoing, and GCC had sold the right to AtGames, And Bandai-Namco has been *attempting* to reclaim this character and code and fold it back into their portfolio. This topic in itself would make an interesting video essay…
That's what I like to know.
The joystick seems better than the one on the numskull. Looking forward seeing the "galaxian video. Thank you brother.
Thanks. Coming soon!
@@GenXGrownUp can't wait.
I wonder if this is a modified arcade rom running on an emulator with components from MAME. I know CAPCOM did that with their CAPCOM Arcade Stadium since MAME is open source and haves a friendly license that allows components of MAME to be used for selling back catalogue of games and have them play on devices that's not the original arcade board.
🤔
In all fairness to the high score issue, if you reset a old cabinet it also erased the high score
That is fair. But it's also not a portable with batteries. So along those lines, as long as I keep power to it (batteries in or plugged in), then preserving the high score should be do-able.
I wonder what this would sound like ran through a pitch shifter.
This newest line of mrarcade is really looking impressive. Too bad it doesn't save high scores, but otherwise seems great.