Arcade Archives (アーケードアーカイブス) is a line of downloadable, emulated ports of arcade games produced by Hamster Corporation. The Arcade Archives line is available on numerous gaming platforms and was first launched in May of 2014, publishing re-releases of titles from various developers and publishers.
Beginning in 2021, Namco games began to release in the line in collaboration with Bandai Namco Entertainment, including several Pac-Man titles.
Overview
Each Arcade Archives title is sold individually for $7.99 (USD). Over 250 arcade games have been released in the series, from numerous companies and developers, with games frequently re-releasing on a weekly schedule.
In addition to each game being presented in its original format, each game features additional features such as online leaderboards, as well as additional "Hi-Score" and "Caravan" bonus modes. In the Hi-Score mode, the player plays the game under classic arcade rules: default DIP switch settings, no saving and no pausing. In the Caravan mode, the player plays the game to score as many points as possible within five minutes (with pausing and saving also disabled). Each mode has its own separate high score leaderboard. For vertical resolution games, the screen orientation can be flipped on its side for a bigger image resolution.
To commemorate every Arcade Archives release, a livestream is held on YouTube detailing the games' history. In some cases in streams prior to April 2026[1], interviews with the game's original developer(s) are held, and development materials (such as early design documents) were shown and detailed. In the case of Pac-Man, this has provided several development insights which were not previously known publicly.
The original Arcade Archives series was published primarily for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch consoles. Releases in the "ACA Neo Geo" sub-series, based on the Neo Geo arcade platform, were also published for additional platforms. In June 2025, a line of enhanced releases known as "Arcade Archives 2" began production for the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S systems. Arcade Archives 2 releases are released together with the regular Arcade Archives versions of each game. On February 5, 2025, a separate series dedicated to re-releases of console video games under the name “Console Archives” began.
Pac-Man games released through Arcade Archives
All Pac-Man/Namco games released in the Arcade Archives series use their Japanese ROM as the main game mode; a few titles also include U.S. and/or international ROM sets as a second selectable game. All Pac-Man releases are currently available for play on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (as well as PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 via backwards compatibility). Though the series had begun to release on Xbox Series X/S starting in 2025, no Pac-Man releases are currently available on the system.
| Game | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pac-Man (1980) | September 24, 2021 (Nintendo Switch)
October 7, 2021 (PlayStation 4) |
Japanese version included. |
| Super Pac-Man (1982) | January 6, 2022 | Japanese version included. |
| Pac & Pal (1983) | September 1, 2022 | Japanese version included. |
| Pac-Land (1984) | April 7, 2022 | Based on the Japanese version. This version is edited to replace the graphics of Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Baby with Pac-Mom and Pac-Sis. |
| Pac-Mania (1987) | December 8, 2022 | Japanese and international versions included. |
Arcade Archives also released Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, a game which was later reworked into Pac-Attack.
Trivia
- Much of the existing library of Pac-Man games is also available via Pac-Man Museum +, which is also available on all the platforms that Arcade Archives currently distributes its games on.
- The Arcade Archives release of Pac-Land is the first re-release in the Pac-Man franchise to alter the existing graphics of Pac-Man's family. Notably, it is the first instance of the characters "Pac-Mom" and "Pac-Sis" (a character that first appeared in Pac-Man Museum +) replacing instances of Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man appearing in-game. While it was not officially clarified why the changes were made, it is assumed to be tied to Ms. Pac-Man's ongoing royalty conflict with AtGames.
- Though Pac-Mom and Pac-Sis first appeared in the announcement trailer for Pac-Man Museum + in November 2021, their first appearance is established in a released game with the Arcade Archives release of Pac-Land.
- Hamster Corporation was reportedly provided an edited ROM of Pac-Land, presumably with the sprites changed beforehand and were not informed about the changes to the characters before release.[2][3]
- Tinkle Pit, a Namco game featuring Ms. Pac-Man was released through Arcade Archives in 2024; this re-release also removes Ms. Pac-Man's graphics, though it replaces her graphics with Pac-Man's sprites instead of using a replacement design.
- Cyber Commando, another Namco game featuring a cameo of Ms. Pac-Man was also released through Arcade Archives in 2026; compared to past re-releases in the line however, graphics of Ms. Pac-Man were not modified in the re-release and remain in place as with the original arcade version.
- The Arcade Archives version of Pac-Man is based on the original Puckman ROM, but changes the Puckman text to read Pac-Man (while leaving the original ghost names intact).
- The Arcade Archives version of Pac-Land removes the cross on the church building that appears near the Break Time sign, similar to the American version of the game.
- Some Namco-licensed Arcade Archives titles were released simultaneously with "Namco Museum of Art" prints; featuring promotional artwork from the respective game.
- The Arcade Archives line is similar to the 2016 Arcade Game Series, a label used for several ports of Namco arcade games.
References
External links
- Official website
- Arcade Archives on Wikipedia featuring full game list
- Hamster Corporation/Arcade Archives YouTube channel
- Namco Arcade Archives stream playlist