Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions

Dimensions was created by Takahiro Okano and Takahisa Sugiyama, who were commissioned by Namco Bandai to produce a compilation as a way to celebrate the 30th anniversaries of Galaga and Pac-Man, and to bridge the two franchises together in a single package. The two exclusive games were built to take advantage of the new features included in the 3DS, which had launched before production began. Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions were added due to neither having been released on a portable system beforehand, and for being important entries in their respective series. Dimensions received mixed reviews from critics. Though the emulation quality and the inclusion of Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions received praise, reviewers were critical of the compilation's overall quality, the small screen resolution, and its high retail price. While some believed the exclusive games made the package worthwhile, others believed they were of subpar quality and suffered from poor 3D effects and controls.

• Title — Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions • Developer — Bandai Namco Games • Publisher — Namco Bandai Games • Director — Takahiro Okano Takahisa Sugiyama • Series — Pac-Man Galaxian • Genre — Video game compilation • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — Nintendo 3DS

• Illustration — Screenshots of the two exclusive games included in Dimensions. Pac-Man Tilt is on the top, and Galaga 3D Impact is on the bottom. Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions is a collection of six games from the Pac-Man and Galaxian franchises—Pac-Man (1980), Galaga (1981), Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007), Galaga Legions (2008), Pac-Man Tilt, and Galaga 3D Impact, the last two being exclusive to this collection. Pac-Man and Galaga are both arcade games from the early 1980s, while Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions are modernized updates that were first published on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. All of the games except Pac-Man Tilt utilize the system's 3D display. The original ports of Pac-Man and Galaga feature a curved monitor display that replicate the original arcade machines, with the added option to choose from the American upright, Japanese upright, or tabletop cabinets for the screen border. The collection also includes access to an online ranking system and a trailer for the Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures animated series. In Pac-Man Tilt, players control Pac-Man as he must make it to the end of each level while avoiding ghosts and other obstacles in his way. Tilting the 3DS changes the direction of gravity, which is used to easily climb up steep inclines or turn into a ball to roll down hills and smash through bricks. Pac-Man can defeat the ghosts by finding glowing Power Pellets throughout the level. In Galaga 3D Impact, players control a starship from a first-person perspective throughout a series of levels, destroying formations of enemies and avoiding collision with their projectiles. Moving the 3DS in a fixed direction controls the player in the game. Players can also capture enemies and use their weapons against other enemies and bosses.

• Illustration — The exclusive games in Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions were created to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of the 3DS. Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions was designed by Takahiro Okano and Takahisa Sugiyama of Namco Bandai Games. As a way to celebrate the 30th anniversaries of Pac-Man and Galaga, the two were commissioned to create a compilation that bridged the two franchises together into a single game. Okano and Sugiyama designed Dimensions to utilize the hardware capabilities of the recently launched Nintendo 3DS, as both showed interest in the system's specifications. Their interest lead to the creation of the two exclusive games, Galaga 3D Impact and Pac-Man Tilt, which became the first games they designed for the company. Okano created Tilt, based on his fascination with the handheld's gyroscopic sensor. He created an early prototype where players launched Pac-Man into a goal by tilting the 3DS, which while interested in the idea believed its concept proved confusing for players. In response, Okano reworked it into a side-scrolling platformer where players titled the system to move Pac-Man through a series of levels. Galaga 3D Impact was designed by Sugiyama. He also designed the game after the gyro sensor, as he believed it was a unique concept for a shooter. Early iterations of 3D Impact were third-person shooters that allowed players to view the entirety of their ship, which was changed to a first-person view to feel more immersive. Sugiyama had difficulties with implementing the 3D effects, creating multiple revisions to make objects pop-out while also making sure they weren't blurry on the eyes. A separate team of programmers worked on the ports of Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions; their inclusion was due to neither having received a portable version prior, and for being important installments in their respective series. The angled monitor display for the original Pac-Man and Galaga were inspired by the depth perception of dioramas. Namco Bandai announced Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions in February 2011, alongside DualPenSports and Ridge Racer 3D, and demonstrated it at E3 2011. In a preview, GameSpot showed interest in the two exclusives and the inclusion of online leaderboards. The game was published in Japan on June 23, 2011, in North America on July 27, 2011, in Australia on August 4, 2011, and in Europe on August 26, 2011. The Japanese, Australian, and European versions of Dimensions were published by Namco Bandai, while the North American version was published under the original Namco brand name.