Ban Dai Pac Man Plug N Play system

[Paranoid]

So, a few years ago Jakks came out with a wired and then a wireless Ms. Pac Man PnP system... and both had their issues that reduced them to pretty much sucking.

It looks like Ban Dai has picked up the torch and finally delivered something closer to what those two earlier systems from Jakks should have been.

I picked the device up today at Toys R Us for $25. It includes 12 classic games. Ms. Pac Man is unfortunately nowhere in sight... but in her place you get...

 

Pac Man

Pac Man 256 (which starts you from level 255)

Pac & Pal

Pac Man Plus

Super Pac Man

New Rally X

Galaxian

Galaga

Xevious (the whole reason I've been buying these damn PnP devices for 10 years now in the first place).
Bosconian

Mappy

and

Dig Dug

So the lineup is interesting. In particular, the Jakks devices revived my taste for both Rally X and Mappy... and Galaxian and Galaga are staples... Bosconian is one of those titles that always seemed to be broken when I was a kid... but I enjoyed it whenever I found a machine that was working decent... and of course Dig Dug is a classic.

For me, honestly, a quality hardware device with Xevious alone would make me happy.

So far... this device seems to be that. The joystick is responsive and doesn't suffer from delayed or missed inputs, stickiness, or any of the other problems that plagued the Jakks devices. Likewise, the buttons have a good feel to them.

I can't say how durable the device will be over time... but you know, the games are playable and enjoyable... something that the hardware simply prevented from being the case with the Jakks units.

If you bought either of those and were disappointed - and you have a fond spot for any of these titles... this is the best retail version I've seen so far short of buying some $3000 multi-game emulator or fixing up your own system with something like the X-Arcade joystick.

A cheap, quick-fix method to get your retro game buzz filled.

[Paranoid]

I got a lot of flack from members several years back for saying the Jakks devices sucked.

They sucked. They were horrible. They were a rip off.

This device delivers value for the money.

[ZylonBane]

Since Paranoid apparently can't be bothered to provide any linkage, and seems to be under the impression that Bandai is two words:

 

http://www.bandai.com/pacman/connectandplay/

 

It's been discussed.

Edited June 26, 2014 by ZylonBane

[RJ]

Paranoid, did they fix Xevious on the one you bought? Because on the one awhile back (w/out PacMan 256 & w/ Pole Position controlled very well w/ a twisty stick) Xevious was horribly, HORRIBLY botched (which was also discussed).

[raindog]

Can't believe I haven't seen this till now. AtariAge's new post notifications apparently don't always work. Added to my Amazon cart (at $40, sadly... haven't been in a TRU since my nieces left the Barbie age range.)

 

Thanks for the post, despite the snark of others.

[iesposta]

I bought this when it first came out.

I agree with everything you said except it is a little awkward trying to hold or anchor it while using the joystick.

The games play exactly like their arcade cabinets. Spot on.

[thegamezmaster]

Is it me or does anyone else wish they had an external power supply instead of using batteries? I know they can be rigged but would be nicer if they already had it.

[zetastrike]

Does anyone else have a hard time with diagonals on this? That's the only thing spoiling a nice little device. Video output is great for composite. Game selection is very good.

[jhd]

One of my ongoing grievances is how few of these systems ever make it to the Canadian retail marketplace.

 

Well, this item has finally appeared: the Paderno store in the Westbrook Mall (Calgary, Alberta) has at least one in stock for Cdn$45 (US$34). It appeared in the front window display within the past few days.

 

Now, I won't be buying this because the price is significantly more than I would pay for a PNP system, and there are no games that I cannot already play on multiple other systems, but I wanted to share this information for the benefit of my fellow Canadians.

[Prosystemsearch]

Maybe there will be a new model this year or next year...

[Andromeda Stardust]

Bump. I got this (35th anniversary edition) as a Christmas present to myself and unboxed it tonight. So far, I am loving it.

 

One issue that becomes apparent right away, is the 4-way joystick, while responsive, is perfect for Pacman, terrible for playing Xevious and Bosconian. I hit a stray diagonal once or twice and it is enough to know that Bosconian was designed for an 8-way. The rest of the games are very responsive with the 4-way. Pacman Plus and Pac n Pal are nice, but essentially being hacks of Pacman and Super Pac, I would have preferred if they included Ms Pacman and Jr Pacman instead. And Pacman 256 is a gimmick or historical curiosity at best. You play through it once and there isn't much else to see here.

 

If you have an old CRT kicking around, the screen is so arcade-like and the graphics/audio/physics are perfect. One thing they did do was change the formatting ever so slightly such that the score is in the upper right and the lives/fruit in the lower right, similar to the NES layout. But the gameplay is arcade perfect, and if just feels like a perfect adaptation to the landscape oriented screens. There is no perceptible lag whatsoever when played on a CRT screen so it feels like an arcade game.

 

I wanted the arcade experience at home without hooking up an inferior console port of Pacman or playing a modern Namco Museum through the composite jack. Some Amazon reviews ragged on the "terrible" joystick, but I found my unit quite responsive. I told myself if it sucked, I would just gut the thing and stick it in a cigar box, but to my delight, that won't be necessary. As awkward as it looks, it plays great and does not feel like an ergonomic nightmare.

 

Lastly, your high score tables for each game are saved in memory after you turn it off, which is a big plus IMO in terms of replayability. No losing high scores if your batteries die. So I probably rate this thing 4/5 stars. Highly recommended for any Pac-fan, and makes a nice display piece too.