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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Follow @namcohistory.bsky.social for more (and frankly, probably better) Namco stuff, if you're staying on this site. Follow @universalfacts.bsky.social for cool stuff on an extremely influential developer larger forgotten by history.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

As I said, I don't expect a mass exodus from this site a la Twitter. I recognize that as unrealistic, so I know this departure could possibly be disappointing for some people. This isn't me boycotting the site, we don't give them revenue, so boycotting doesn't really mean anything. I'm just leaving.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

moderation. If you want my main account, for some reason, I'm at fgc.network/@joeriley121, a Fediverse/Mastodon instance. I'm currently looking for a instance for retro gaming/tech to transition ClassicNamcoDaily over to, as I would like to continue/revitalize this project, taking suggestions there.

fgc.network

FGC.Network

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

post up and trying to at least check up on him and some other friends are really the only reason I haven't outright deleted my Bsky. I'm not expecting a mass exodus from this site like twitter, but I personally, am done dealing with the lack of transparency and negligence on part of Bsky's-

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

I'm really trying to minimize my time on this platform. I've checked up on a couple accounts, kept up somewhat on the news, though haven't posted outside of a mutual aid thing for a friend; if you live in the Houston area and can assist a friend of mine with work/housing, please DM me, getting this-

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Update, status of this page 🧵 So first, I found that 4-6 months is probably the more realistic healing timeframe for my hands, and even then, I should be going easier on them than I have been. For these past couple of weeks, the silence here hasn't been because of my hands so much as the fact that-

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WhiteyCocoa @whiteycocoa.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

I'm the one who drew Goro and Mew-Mew for this! Here's the seperate image if you wanna see all the details. #mappy #namco #bandainamco #meowkies #meowkie #mewmew #goro #fanart #art

Goro and Mew-mew sitting together, back to back.

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WhiteyCocoa @whiteycocoa.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

I FORGOT VALKYRIE, FUCKIN OOPS!!! I don't wanna delete the first post but yeah, now EVERYONE is here! #namco #bandainamco #fanart #art #artcollab #collab

List of Characters:
Wataru Hoshi and Chuta Bigbang from Star Trigon
Bravoman, Hitoshi Nakamura, Princess Waya, Dr. Bomb, and Black Bravoman from Bravoman
Klonoa, Lolo, and Joka from Klonoa
Ki from The Tower of Druaga
Taizo Hori, Masuyo “Kissy” Tobi, Takky, Susumu Hori and Ataru Hori from Dig Dug/Mr. Driller
Pac-man, Ms.Pac Man, Yum-Yum, and Spunky from Pac-man
Prince of the Cosmos, Ryu, and Mu from Katamary Damacy
Cousin from Namco High
Uketsuke Komachi from real life (Yes, really.)
Pit and Patti from Tinkle Bit
Red Baron and Blue Max from Ski Kid
Kuma from Tekken
Rick Taylor from Splatterhouse
Goro and Mew-Mew from Mappy
Valkyrie from The Adventure of Valkyrie/The Legend of Valkyrie

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Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Years before Pac-Attack, Pac-Man and friends starred in a tile-shifting puzzle game known as Puzzle Club. In this game, players shift tiles around to align groupings of the same sprite horizontally. Although nearly complete, this 1990 title never officially released.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Yeah, okay, hand pain is flaring up again, I need to take a serious break to let this heal. Probably doesn't bother anyone as much as it does me, but I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, probably gonna be another few days of reposts.

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The Namco Historian @namcohistory.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Puck Man (Pac-Man) promotional art work illustrated by Tadashi Yamashita (1980) #namco #pacman #retrogaming #videogame #videogames #nostalgia #1980s #80s #パックマン

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Scan of the fold-out Japanese Arcade Flyer for Pole Position II (Pōru Pojishon Tsū - ポールポジションII)

Front of the arcade flyer for Pole Position II (1983, Namco)

Back of the arcade flyer for Pole Position II (1983, Namco)

Left-side inside of the arcade flyer for Pole Position II (1983, Namco)

Right-side inside of the arcade flyer for Pole Position II (1983, Namco)

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

Yeah, I'm just not certain of how to chop up those arrangements. I actually have a project file for a video of the arrangement of the Valkyrie soundtrack from Volume 5, but it goes on for far longer than Bsky will allow. Still, will keep them under consideration, thanks for the suggestion!

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Noted! Funny enough I originally intended to post one of the Encore Museum themes today, but couldn't find the composer soon enough to feel comfortable putting it out there, hah.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

The bio says that this page would post music, but I haven't really done that aside from the one Bosconian X68000 post and the Namco Video Game Music Library stuff, so figured I'd try and turn that around. If you have any songs from Classic Namco stuff you'd like to see posted here, let me know!

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Challenging Stage - New Rally-X Composed by Ohnogi Yoshiyuki

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Boxart for the Game Boy version of The Tower of Druaga (Doruāga no Tō - ドルアーガの塔) 1990, Angel/Namco

Boxart for the Game Boy version of The Tower of Druaga (1990, Angel/Namco)

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Box scans for the Japanese Mega-CD release of Starblade (Sutāburēdo - スターブレード) (1994, Namco)

Front of the box for the Japanese Mega-CD release of Starblade (1994, Namco)

Back of the box for the Japanese Mega-CD release of Starblade (1994, Namco)

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Once again, it's Namco NG Saturday, this time featuring three 1985 issues and the first issue for 1986! Namco NG's quarterly run is coming to an end soon, and we'll be seeing the first bimonthly issues next week!

Cover for NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 09 (1985)
Image source: https://www.retromags.com/gallery/image/61554-ng-namco-community-magazine-issue-09-1985/

Cover for NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 10 (July 25, 1985)
Image source: https://www.retromags.com/gallery/image/39967-ng-namco-community-magazine-issue-10-july-25-1985/

Cover for NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 11 (October 25, 1985)
Image Source: https://www.retromags.com/gallery/image/39969-ng-namco-community-magazine-issue-11-october-25-1985/

Cover for NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 12 (January 25, 1986)
Image source: https://www.retromags.com/gallery/image/39968-ng-namco-community-magazine-issue-12-january-25-1986/

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Arcade flyer for the JP release of Steel Gunner (Sutīru Gannā - スチール・ガンアー) 1991, Namco

Front of the arcade flyer for Steel Gunner (1991, Namco)

Back of the arcade flyer for Steel Gunner (1991, Namco)

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RockmanCosmo @rockmancosmo.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

The i-mode version of Glory of Valkyrie (ワルキューレの栄光) was preserved by Yuuku! Its Android port had been preserved, but its original keitai release had been lost until today! Earlier this year, we also preserved its keitai-exclusive sequel, The Glory of Valkyrie 2.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

While in a modern sense it's somewhat interesting to see anything officially sanctioned by Namco showing off Ms. Pac-Man stuff (including using the Cleopactra 1 track for the animation), it's *much* more baffling seeing even tacit acknowledgement of Jr. Pac-Man and Pac-Man Plus' existence.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

The arcade only lasted roughly a year, likely due to Namco winding down its US arcade operations at this time. Supposedly, rent also went up in the Shopping Center around this time, possibly contributing to the decision to close it.

Front of a promotional flyer for Pac-Man arcade.
Image source: https://thearcadearchives.com/2020/05/15/pac-ommercial-the-pac-man-cafe/

Back of a promotional flyer for Pac-Man arcade.
Image source: https://thearcadearchives.com/2020/05/15/pac-ommercial-the-pac-man-cafe/

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

In 2004, Namco opened up a restaurant-arcade in the Pointe Orlando shopping center, Pac-Man Cafe! If you were interested in the cafe and decided to visit its website, you'd have been greeted by this pleasant little animation!

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Developed by Lay-Up and published by Bandai in 1996 for the Playstation, SD Gundam: Over Galaxian takes the basic formula of Namco's 1979 arcade classic and adds in various power-ups and new mechanics on top of an SD Gundam facelift.

Boxart for SD Gundam: Over Galaxian (1996, Lay-Up/Bandai)

Gameplay screenshot of SD Gundam: Over Galaxian (1996, Lay-Up/Bandai)

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Gaming Alexandria @gamingalexandria.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

You love them - Tekken, Pac-Man, Mr. Driller - but do you know Namco? www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2025/08/t... The latest in our Origin of Game series, how Namco was founded in Japan 70(!) years ago and became one of the most important video game companies! From Rocking Horses to...

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

In 1988, Namco brought a new title to their 'Family' line of sports games, the TOSE developed Namco Classic! This game was exceptionally advanced for an 8-Bit Golf title, allowing the player to select their own club set and including a caddy that gave the player advice on each hole!

Boxart for Namco Classic (1988, TOSE/Namco)

A screenshot of Namco Classic (1988, TOSE/Namco) showing the player having just taken a shot.

A screenshot of Namco Classic (1988, TOSE/Namco) showing the putting view.

A screenshot of Namco Classic (1988, TOSE/Namco) showing the caddy giving the player advice.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Gonna be out all day today, so all you're getting is a repost, thanks for understanding!

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

In 1986, Tokyo Sogensha published a trilogy of Gamebooks (essentially game novelizations, for those unfamiliar) based on the Tower of Druaga. Written by Suzuki Naoto, each book covers Gil's ascent through twenty floors of Druaga's 60 floor dungeon.

Cover for Volume 1 of Suzuki Naoto's 1986 Tower of Druaga Gamebook Series, The One Enchanted by the Demon (Akuma ni Mise rareshi Sha - 悪魔に魅せられし者)

Cover for Volume 2 of Suzuki Naoto's 1986 Tower of Druaga Gamebook Series, Heroes of the Demon Palace (Maguu no Yūsha Tachi - 魔宮の勇者たち)

Cover for Volume 3 of Suzuki Naoto's 1986 Tower of Druaga Gamebook Series, Fall of the Demon World (Makai no Metsubou - 魔界の滅亡)

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

US Arcade flyer for Soul Calibur 2 (Sōrukyaribā Tsū - ソウルキャリバーII) 2002, Project Soul/Namco

US Arcade flyer for Soul Calibur II (2002, Project Soul/Namco)

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

As a side note, that Pac-Land cover is honestly one of the cleaner versions of the that iconic TAIGA artwork I've seen, if you see it with the full quality scans linked to in the alt-text. It's not perfect, but it does lack the middle seam you'll see on basically every scan of that art.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

It's Namco NG Saturday, this time with covers featuring Gaplus, Druaga, and Pac-Land to round out the 1984 run, while jumping into 1985 with a lovely custom piece featuring characters from Pac-Man, Mappy, and Libble Rabble!

Cover of NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 05 (1984)
Source: https://www.retromags.com/gallery/image/61551-ng-namco-community-magazine-issue-05-1984/

Cover of NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 06 (1984)
Source: https://www.retromags.com/gallery/image/61552-ng-namco-community-magazine-issue-06-1984/

Cover of NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 07 (1984)
Source: https://archive.org/details/ng-namco-community-magazine-quarterly-issue-7-october-25th-1984/NG%20Namco%20Community%20Magazine%20%28Quarterly%20Issue%207%29%20-%20October%2025th%201984/
(Gaming Alexandria)

Cover of NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 08 (1985)
https://www.retromags.com/rmg_fs/gallery_imgs/monthly_2021_10/large.1129312293_NGNamcoCommunityMagazineIssue8(January251985).jpg.dc8ec15b060e6ec2357243e29ae961c7.jpg

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Arcade flyer for The Outfoxies (Autofokkushīzu - アウトフォクシーズ) 1995, Namco

Arcade flyer for The Outfoxies (1995, Namco)

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

The game would receive a heavily enhanced port to the X68000 (arguably a full remake) in 1994 courtesy of Dempa Micomsoft and a (definitely) full remake on PS1 as part of Namco Anthology Volume 1 in 1998. They'll probably get their own posts at a later date.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Even before Namco established the UGSF concept and timeline, Star Luster was directly connected to Bosconian's universe. Aside from the obvious visual similarities of the in-game bases, the manual outright states said bases have been modified from Bosconian.

An illustration of a Bosconian base from the Star Luster manual. The text reads:
基地
ボスコニアン戦争時のものを、改造
使用している。

Or roughly (Machine trasnlated):
Base
A modified version of the one used during the Bosconian War is in use.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Namco's take on the concepts and design put forward by Atari's 1979 computer hit Star Raiders, Star Luster released in 1985 for the Famicom. It was Namco's first entirely original console game (with Battle City and Warpman being more mechanically enhanced pseudo-sequels to their earlier works).

Gameplay screenshot of Star Luster (1985, Namco)
https://www.mobygames.com/game/52337/star-luster/screenshots/nes/519550/

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Hands still aren't fully recovered, but I'm comfortable doing some light typing and even some light gaming again, so I should be picking back up with this tomorrow!

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

After directing a well-received followup to Tank Battalion in 1985's Battle City, Hyoudou Takefumi was promoted within Namco and tasked with creating a new arcade game. Starting life as the sci-fi themed Space Alamo, it would eventually materialize as the adorable multi-directional shooter Toy Pop!

First page of the arcade instruction card for Toy Pop (1986, Namco)

Second page of the arcade instruction card for Toy Pop (1986, Namco)

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ohfivepro.bsky.social @ohfivepro.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Waves, jumps waterfalls, helicopters & a whale. Aqua Jets linked together courses have them all🚁🐋🌊 #アクアジェット #アーケードアーカイブス #アケアカ #ナムコ

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ohfivepro.bsky.social @ohfivepro.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Gamest covering when Aqua Jet was showcased at the 1996 AM Show. As much fun as the dedicated cabinet was to play on, it'll be nice to have a comfy seat when playing at home too #アクアジェット #アーケードアーカイブス #アケアカ #ナムコ

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Every now and again, I find myself wishing that Pac-Man ended up getting an OVA in the same vein as Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, and this beautifully animated commercial for 1989's PC Engine port of Pac-Land greatly exacerbates that desire.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Ooh, very cool, thanks for sharing this!

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Assoluto but Spooky @assoluto.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

A Youtube channel called Video Dojo did eventually find someone who had footage of them in original condition from an old video tape they had kept and uploaded it to Youtube. It's kind of nuts seeing them as they were supposed to be, including the host robot youtu.be/fIqKo-ES7Qo?...

youtu.be

Namco's Robot Band PiCPAC (TBS, Teleport 6 News Segment 16/11/84)

YouTube video by VideoDojo Extra!

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

If you're familiar with Robot Band PicPac, you're probably at least passingly familiar with both of these tracks, as a virtual recreation of the band performs these tracks in Namco Museum Vol. 4! If you're curious, you can check that out below!

youtu.be

**Robot Band PiCPAC (PS1) Namco Museum Vol. 4

YouTube video by a77k11

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Only two of their songs have been documented, PicPac's Theme and Robot march, the former being written by J-Pop star EPO and composed by Shimizu Nobuyuki with the latter written and composed by Ohnuki Taeko.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

In 1984 Namco formed an animatronic band by the name of Robot Band PicPac, making their first appearance at an amateur robotics convention in Novemeber of the same year. The band would continue to perform in Japanese Arcades through 1986, being eventually sold off to an undisclosed SEA company.

Two page spread from NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 8 advertising Robot Band PicPac.

A snippet of the Namco Original Goods advertising page from NG Namco Community Magazine Issue 8 showing off various Robot Band PicPac merchandise.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

The 1982 book How to win at Pac-Man demonstrates that the 2600 version does have deterministic pathing, though the maze being so radically different means it has little resemblance to the arcade version in that respect.

"Perfect Patterns" for the first two mazes in Game 2 of the 2600 version of Pac-Man.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

While Namco's early Famicom ports were exceptional, they were far from arcade perfect. While the proper pathfinding of the ghosts is implemented in Famicom Pac-Man, the maze was scaled down (now having 192 dots vs the arcades 244), meaning the 'perfect patterns' of the arcade no longer work.

Screenshot of the Famicom version of Pac-Man (1984, Namco) showing a full maze.

Screenshot of the Arcade version of Pac-Man (1980, Namco) showing a full maze.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

The MIMIC-1 would be used pretty extensively by Tengen, though for the purpose of keeping things on the Namco side, I'll say that it was used for the 1990 Tengen-comissioned and Westwood Studios developed NES port of Pac-Mania!

Boxart for the NES port of Pac-Mania (1990, Westwood Studios/Tengen)

Cartridge PCB for the NES port of Pac-Mania.
On the top Right, 'MIMIC-1' is etched into the PCB.

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Classic Namco Daily @classicnamcodaily.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Namco's 109 mapper was one of the very few third-party mapper chips to be used in any licensed third party NES releases, featuring in Tengen's licensed release of Gauntlet (the unlicensed version would use a clone known as the MIMIC-1), Karnov, R.B.I Baseball, and Ring King (AKA Family Boxing).

A photo of the licensed Tengen NES release of Gauntlet with the cartridge PCB taken. On the top right of the PCB, there's a chip that says "109 Japan" on it.
Photo credit: @nicole.express‬
https://nicole.express/2022/the-center-point-can-not-hold.html

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