The video game industry has lost a pioneer. On January 30th, Namco founder it was announced that  Masaya Nakamura had left us at the age of 91, leaving behind a legacy that helped shape the industry. From the arcade boom of the 80’s to console gaming’s formative days and into the new millennium and the dawn of the competitive gaming scene one company was always there, defining genres and pushing boundaries – Namco. So in honor of the late Mr. Nakamura, we here at Link-Cable decided to take a look back the games that put his company on the map with our list of the Top 10 Namco Games.

Editor’s note: We’re strictly looking at Namco games with this list, so anything released post merger with Bandai is excluded.

 

 

10 – Xevious

In the early days of arcade gaming Namco was the reigning king of it all and was behind some of the booming industry’s biggest titles (some of which are a little bit lower on this list). So let’s kick things off with a game that not only helped bring in the quarters but helped define a genre – Xevious. The vertically scrolling shooter featured some of the most hardcore and addicting gameplay of the time, with players lining up to see who could stake claim to the high score and become a playground legend. It may seem outdated now but decades after its release Xevious is still a blast to play and a great training ground for gamers looking to hone their skills.

9 – Splatterhouse

The most controversial game you’ll find on this list, Splatterhouse was one of the first truly mature games to reach mainstream success. Featuring a cavalcade of horror movie staples and copious amounts of gore helped this game stand out among the more kid-friendly arcade cabinets of the time as well as to become the bane of concerned parents everywhere, Splatterhouse was a guilty pleasure for many young gamers. But the game wasn’t just a cheap, bloody mess. The gameplay was solid, the graphics and sound were great for their time and the game was insanely re-playable. Too bad the 2010 reboot  was such a dull game since this is a series with a lot of potential.

8 – Time Crisis II

To say that the glory days of the arcade are behind it would be an understatement. Nowadays the only place you’ll find older cabinets is at a movie theater or a bowling alley (and no one bowls anymore). But if there’s one game that, every time I see its big 2-player cabinet with the even bigger guns I immediately run to its Time Crisis II. This on-rails shooter is still a blast to play today even though the graphics, sound and dialog (the awful, awful dialog) haven’t aged all that well. Do yourself a favor, if you see this game next time you go to the movies go grab some tokens and give it a go for a few rounds, you won’t regret it.

7 – Dig Dug

Dig Dug is weird, Dig Dug is strange and Dig Dug makes no sense but Dig Dug is good. On the surface this little arcade game may not seem like much nor does it do a lot to stand out in the crowd but once you start playing you suddenly get it. What that it is, I’m not 100% sure – since the gameplay is so bizarre and hard to explain but don’t pass this one up, it’s worth the trip.

6 – Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

You know what’s cool? Fighter planes! You know what makes fighter planes cooler? Story-lines rich with typical anime mellow-drama and political intrigue! Ok that might not seem ‘cool’ at first glance but somehow the Ace Combat series manages to mix these diametrically opposed concepts and makes it work. Of course the stellar presentation and gameplay don’t hurt either and nowhere was this more evident than in the PlayStation 2 classic Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. If Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is anywhere near as good as #5 then it will have been worth the good.

 

 

5 – Katamari Damacy

…¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

4 – Tales of Symphonia

When people think of great RPGs on the Nintendo GameCube most immediately think of Tales of Symphonia. The game had everything that an RPG fan could ask for with a well thought out story, colorful characters, deep combat mechanics and a soundtrack that can only be described as ‘classic’. These days the Tales series is still going strong but it’s never been able to recapture the magic of the original Tales of Symphonia.

3 – Soulcalibur II

As a kid who would have thought that Link, Spawn and Heihachi would all appear in the same game one day (albeit in different versions)? Soulcalibur II made it happen and the GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 each received an exclusive character to help promote the game. But even when you remove these special guest appearances you still have a stellar fighting game that helped push the competitive scene out of our friend’s basements and into the mainstream.

2 – Tekken 3

Tekken 3 finds itself on this list for a lot of the same reasons as Soulcalibur II but edges out it’s weapon based cousin thanks to its strong technical game. This was the game that many in the competitive fighting game scene cite as the one that helped them develop the skills that made them pros. And even though never, fancier and prettier games in the series have been released over the years, Tekken 3 still holds onto a dedicated and loyal following who swear by it as the best fighting game of all time.

 

 

1 – Pac-Man

Could it have been any other game? Pac-Man is one of the most important games ever created and helped not just popularize arcades but gaming as whole. But Pac-Man didn’t just stop at gaming as we’ve seen the character (who’s really just a circle) become a pop-culture icon with his own tv shows, movies, cartoons and books as well as dedicated fan base consisting of die-hard fans and casual gamers alike. But even if all of that were to disappear and you only had the original game left you will still be left with a game that’s as fun in 2017 as it was in 1980, and that’s the biggest reason why Pac-Man is at the top of this list.

Namco’s made plenty of great games over the years, many of which didn’t quite crack our Top 10 but still deserve recognition nonetheless. So let us know what your favorite Namco games are in the comment field below!