Nice detailed review Bill. I was thinking about finally getting Class of 81 because it's so 80s and love that cabinet. But screen and control panel being one piece I don't think I could pull the trigger now. Plus screen being washed out a little due to angle. I agree wish game selection was a little better too.
Bill, First off, thank you for the content! Reviews are something I very much enjoy, no matter the product or media. It's funny, you mentioned that you wish Arcade1Up would add a HDMI to their cabinets in order to capture gameplay better... THANK GOODNESS they didn't! I can tell you Bill, seeing the display is VERY IMPORTANT, especially since it shows off what one will be getting. And I'll tell you, just like many other videos I watched regarding this machine and the other Namco Arcade1Up Deluxe cabinets with the extreme slant monitor (including Pac-Man XL) they have pretty noticeable, and in my summation, bad screen uniformity issues. There's nothing wrong with your camera Bill, and I'm very grateful that you showed different angles of the screen and didn't just position the camera in the exact sweet spot to show its best performance. So many people I used to trust reviewed these new Namco Deluxe machines, brushing off the noticeable display issues, and granted, the BOE's in these new Deluxes are miles better than what we got the year prior with the absolutely horrible monitors Arcade1Up chose for some of their machines, ones with unacceptable levels of discoloration issues along with the washout, but the BOE model Arcade1Up chose for this year's Deluxes, quite possibly the same ones they use in their other machines without the horizontal slant, can't handle properly this new extreme angle. And so I decided to seek out these machines in person, because what was said in the reviews I watched, didn't match the video they filmed. And there were SO MANY video examples out there of this screen uniformity problem, that I didn't trust the camera excuses, or lighting excuses, or whatnot. And to my dismay, in person, all the machines displayed exactly what I saw in the videos, moving washout as you moved around the machine and uneven washout at certain angles. Now if I was right in front of the machine playing at an exact height and direct center, the screen actually looked good, but I knew putting it in my home arcade full of machines that had good displays, it would become the "eyesore" cabinet in the room. Now I have the Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition, which also has a BOE, and it looks great no matter where I'm at in my Home Arcade, so I just couldn't downgrade the experience by getting a supposed new "Deluxe." And I got to see not only the Class of 81' and Pac-Man Deluxes at Best Buy, but also got to see the Pac-Man XL cabinet at Costco (though that one had a boot print on the side, maybe someone kicked it, because of the horrible performance of the screen; speculation). There is no trick of the camera, lighting, or anything that is making these screen uniformity issues happen. I've see this so many times in my profession, IT, what happens when monitors are put into positions they weren't meant to display properly in. And some may not be aware that BOE isn't a monitor, it's a brand, and they sell many types of models. Arcade1Up just didn't choose the proper BOE model to handle their new cabinet design (quite probably, because it would cost more). And Arcade1Up can't stand on "Well, the people wanted BOE monitors." They tried that trick on their Killer Instinct Pro when they said "Well, the people wanted HAPP controls," and then put in a HAPP type that wasn't compatible with Killer Instinct gameplay according to many in the community. Now the very few who did actually mention the moving washout (screen uniformity) issues in their new Namco Deluxe videos, said that it didn't really bother them, and that's wonderful, because we should all be able to like what we like, but for me, I just can't deal with the "one bad monitor" in the arcade again as I now have a Home Arcade, all with machines with good displays. And if you get a chance Bill, and have the time, I have more of my thoughts on this, as well as a review of both the Class of 81 and Pac-Man Deluxes, as well as the Pac-Man XL within my video review for my Arcade1Up Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition (yes, I was actually able to review all 4 cabinets in one video ☺) Now, you also mentioned some AMAZING games you would've loved to see on this new machine, Gaplas, Xevious, and Bosconian. I love these games too! HOWEVER, Arcade1Up doesn't add gate switchers to their machines, I believe the Class of 81 Deluxe utilizes only a 4 way joystick (at least that's how it felt to me when I played the machine). All three of these games are 8 way games, and would be nigh impossible to play on the Class of 81 Deluxe. Now, I remember Arcade1Up putting Xevious on a Partycade, but in order to play it correctly, it would need an 8 way joystick, and if the Partycade did have an 8 way joystick, then the 4 way games would suffer, because they would lose the precise movement that 4 way restriction affords. In any case, I do hope Arcade1Up does bring out a future cabinet with a gate switcher, or just adds two joysticks, one 4 way and one 8 way, so we can see these great games come home. This is something I pitched to Arcade1Up many years ago. Just want to thank you again for your video. I am glad the screen works for you. And again, I think you might like what I have to say in my Namco Pac-Man Legacy review. I parsed it out in chapters, so you can get to the parts your interested in if you don't want to watch the whole thing. Have a great one! vgv
Thanks as always. I love your comments - very thought out and detailed!! About the monitor, I get what you are saying. I will tell you that when I was shooting the video, the monitor definitely looked better to me standing looking at it than it did in some of the video capture. It's nowhere near as bad as the ones from last year's legacies - even at the steeper angle. The issue is always going to be more pronounced with any game that has primarily a black background. You're not going to get perfect deep black levels, unless you go with a good OLED screen - and these things are expensive enough as is. And good point on the games I mentioned, I forgot about 4-way vs 8-way, and it for sure makes a difference. I didn't realize GaPlus actually used an 8-way stick (I thought it was 4-way like the other games - but once you mentioned it I remembered that it actually lets you move around screen more than just left and right) Still, there are other games they could have added to get to 14, I'm sure.
Bill, Yeah, I'm still looking for the holy grail of the ultimate Namco experience cab (as well as for Capcom, Konami, etc.). That is around the number of games found on Namco's Pac-Man's Pixel Bash (30+). I now know that will never happen with Arcade1Up, so I keep an eye on their newest releases to see if I might be interested in upgrading from their Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition. I was SO EXCITED when I heard their new iteration Pac-Man Deluxe would be coming with two additional games that I REALLY love, Galaga 88 and Rolling Thunder, bringing the total roster of games to 14. Still way under the number of titles I really want, but I just love those two additional games so much. Now I didn't like the fact the Deluxe didn't have a two piece design, riser and cabinet to make it easier for me to move and situate, and I also heard (which you so brilliantly described in this video), the control panel couldn't just be easily removed, you pretty much have to take apart the machine to get it out. But the biggest concern I had was on the reveal, in which the monitors appeared to have screen uniformity issues. Now Cyrus did say they were prototypes, so I held out some hope, but knowing Arcade1Up, I somehow knew this was the final deal, and seeing them in person, I just couldn't downgrade the monitor experience just for two additional games. The monitor in my Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition is a masterpiece of black levels and uniformity perfection when compared with the new Deluxe Namco models where the same BOE model of monitor (at least I've been told it's the same) is placed in a position that won't display correctly. But you're absolutely right Bill, even though I get great black levels and uniformity performance with the BOE monitor on my Legacy Edition, the inky blackness isn't there like something you'd get from an OLED or good CRT. In fact, not one of my arcade cabinet monitors, BOE or otherwise, can produce those types of blacks. HOWEVER... I don't think many would deny that the BOE Arcade1Up uses, when placed in it's proper position in an arcade cabinet, can produce some great picture quality. Man Bill, It's great talking with you! Having a common love for Arcades and mutual respect for differing opinions. I'm glad we all are different, exciting each other with our individual visions of a home arcade. I never, in all the time I've been on this planet, thought I'd be able to have my own arcade in my house and then share those experiences with others who've done the same. Amazing times! Have a great one! vgv
Just ordered it from Best buy! Been wanting this particular cabinet up for a while now but the black friday deal for 100$ off was good enough for me to pull the trigger. Can't wait for it to come!
The joystick is the notable weakpoint in the design (heavy, mushy, etc..).. If you don't remove the plastic cover on the underside of the control panel there's no replacing it without fully disassembling the cabinet later is a tough lesson learned. This is one where I'd spring for the better joystick and install it before assembling the cabinet. Great product otherwise!
Played both this and the countertop version of this too. Not a fan of the joystick, and the pitch on all the sounds seem to be one octave too high all around. And Galaga sounded a little strange too.
I despise those switches. Volume buttons are janky like that too. If i had been informed by A1UP upon original 81 that this was coming i would've waited instead of buying the first iteration. I won't buy twice and give them a lack of information win.
At what point are you as the buyer responsible for noting that A1Up frequently does updated releases all the time, so if there are things missing in a cabinet design you like you should probably hold out. If it's a 'Pac family cabinet you can bet there will be a new release every few months. I think they actually launched the XL Deluxe version of Pac Man the same time they did the bare bones deluxe version... so they might even do an XL Co'81. I don't understand what a "lack of information win" is.. you bought a product you liked, they already have your money.. they already won. Nobody deceived you into buying the cabinet and I'm guessing they don't care if you buy this version or not.. if you do perhaps you can chalk it up to a "win" for you by depriving A1Up of a new cab sale to your buyer and instead buy the new cabinet yourself... if that makes it balance out in your head?
@TheYuppiejr well that's a lot. But I still won't buy twice. Unless it's the going out of business sale extravaganza. They could simply have a release schedule. That'd take care of it.
Just picked this up from Best Buy and it’s an amazing looking piece. Going to upgrade a few things but for the most part it’s perfect.
Nice detailed review Bill. I was thinking about finally getting Class of 81 because it's so 80s and love that cabinet. But screen and control panel being one piece I don't think I could pull the trigger now. Plus screen being washed out a little due to angle. I agree wish game selection was a little better too.
Bill,
First off, thank you for the content! Reviews are something I very much enjoy, no matter the product or media.
It's funny, you mentioned that you wish Arcade1Up would add a HDMI to their cabinets in order to capture gameplay better... THANK GOODNESS they didn't! I can tell you Bill, seeing the display is VERY IMPORTANT, especially since it shows off what one will be getting. And I'll tell you, just like many other videos I watched regarding this machine and the other Namco Arcade1Up Deluxe cabinets with the extreme slant monitor (including Pac-Man XL) they have pretty noticeable, and in my summation, bad screen uniformity issues. There's nothing wrong with your camera Bill, and I'm very grateful that you showed different angles of the screen and didn't just position the camera in the exact sweet spot to show its best performance. So many people I used to trust reviewed these new Namco Deluxe machines, brushing off the noticeable display issues, and granted, the BOE's in these new Deluxes are miles better than what we got the year prior with the absolutely horrible monitors Arcade1Up chose for some of their machines, ones with unacceptable levels of discoloration issues along with the washout, but the BOE model Arcade1Up chose for this year's Deluxes, quite possibly the same ones they use in their other machines without the horizontal slant, can't handle properly this new extreme angle. And so I decided to seek out these machines in person, because what was said in the reviews I watched, didn't match the video they filmed. And there were SO MANY video examples out there of this screen uniformity problem, that I didn't trust the camera excuses, or lighting excuses, or whatnot. And to my dismay, in person, all the machines displayed exactly what I saw in the videos, moving washout as you moved around the machine and uneven washout at certain angles. Now if I was right in front of the machine playing at an exact height and direct center, the screen actually looked good, but I knew putting it in my home arcade full of machines that had good displays, it would become the "eyesore" cabinet in the room. Now I have the Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition, which also has a BOE, and it looks great no matter where I'm at in my Home Arcade, so I just couldn't downgrade the experience by getting a supposed new "Deluxe."
And I got to see not only the Class of 81' and Pac-Man Deluxes at Best Buy, but also got to see the Pac-Man XL cabinet at Costco (though that one had a boot print on the side, maybe someone kicked it, because of the horrible performance of the screen; speculation). There is no trick of the camera, lighting, or anything that is making these screen uniformity issues happen. I've see this so many times in my profession, IT, what happens when monitors are put into positions they weren't meant to display properly in. And some may not be aware that BOE isn't a monitor, it's a brand, and they sell many types of models. Arcade1Up just didn't choose the proper BOE model to handle their new cabinet design (quite probably, because it would cost more). And Arcade1Up can't stand on "Well, the people wanted BOE monitors." They tried that trick on their Killer Instinct Pro when they said "Well, the people wanted HAPP controls," and then put in a HAPP type that wasn't compatible with Killer Instinct gameplay according to many in the community.
Now the very few who did actually mention the moving washout (screen uniformity) issues in their new Namco Deluxe videos, said that it didn't really bother them, and that's wonderful, because we should all be able to like what we like, but for me, I just can't deal with the "one bad monitor" in the arcade again as I now have a Home Arcade, all with machines with good displays. And if you get a chance Bill, and have the time, I have more of my thoughts on this, as well as a review of both the Class of 81 and Pac-Man Deluxes, as well as the Pac-Man XL within my video review for my Arcade1Up Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition (yes, I was actually able to review all 4 cabinets in one video ☺)
Now, you also mentioned some AMAZING games you would've loved to see on this new machine, Gaplas, Xevious, and Bosconian. I love these games too! HOWEVER, Arcade1Up doesn't add gate switchers to their machines, I believe the Class of 81 Deluxe utilizes only a 4 way joystick (at least that's how it felt to me when I played the machine). All three of these games are 8 way games, and would be nigh impossible to play on the Class of 81 Deluxe. Now, I remember Arcade1Up putting Xevious on a Partycade, but in order to play it correctly, it would need an 8 way joystick, and if the Partycade did have an 8 way joystick, then the 4 way games would suffer, because they would lose the precise movement that 4 way restriction affords. In any case, I do hope Arcade1Up does bring out a future cabinet with a gate switcher, or just adds two joysticks, one 4 way and one 8 way, so we can see these great games come home. This is something I pitched to Arcade1Up many years ago.
Just want to thank you again for your video. I am glad the screen works for you. And again, I think you might like what I have to say in my Namco Pac-Man Legacy review. I parsed it out in chapters, so you can get to the parts your interested in if you don't want to watch the whole thing.
Have a great one!
vgv
Thanks as always. I love your comments - very thought out and detailed!!
About the monitor, I get what you are saying. I will tell you that when I was shooting the video, the monitor definitely looked better to me standing looking at it than it did in some of the video capture. It's nowhere near as bad as the ones from last year's legacies - even at the steeper angle. The issue is always going to be more pronounced with any game that has primarily a black background. You're not going to get perfect deep black levels, unless you go with a good OLED screen - and these things are expensive enough as is.
And good point on the games I mentioned, I forgot about 4-way vs 8-way, and it for sure makes a difference. I didn't realize GaPlus actually used an 8-way stick (I thought it was 4-way like the other games - but once you mentioned it I remembered that it actually lets you move around screen more than just left and right) Still, there are other games they could have added to get to 14, I'm sure.
Bill,
Yeah, I'm still looking for the holy grail of the ultimate Namco experience cab (as well as for Capcom, Konami, etc.). That is around the number of games found on Namco's Pac-Man's Pixel Bash (30+). I now know that will never happen with Arcade1Up, so I keep an eye on their newest releases to see if I might be interested in upgrading from their Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition.
I was SO EXCITED when I heard their new iteration Pac-Man Deluxe would be coming with two additional games that I REALLY love, Galaga 88 and Rolling Thunder, bringing the total roster of games to 14. Still way under the number of titles I really want, but I just love those two additional games so much. Now I didn't like the fact the Deluxe didn't have a two piece design, riser and cabinet to make it easier for me to move and situate, and I also heard (which you so brilliantly described in this video), the control panel couldn't just be easily removed, you pretty much have to take apart the machine to get it out. But the biggest concern I had was on the reveal, in which the monitors appeared to have screen uniformity issues. Now Cyrus did say they were prototypes, so I held out some hope, but knowing Arcade1Up, I somehow knew this was the final deal, and seeing them in person, I just couldn't downgrade the monitor experience just for two additional games.
The monitor in my Namco Pac-Man Legacy Edition is a masterpiece of black levels and uniformity perfection when compared with the new Deluxe Namco models where the same BOE model of monitor (at least I've been told it's the same) is placed in a position that won't display correctly. But you're absolutely right Bill, even though I get great black levels and uniformity performance with the BOE monitor on my Legacy Edition, the inky blackness isn't there like something you'd get from an OLED or good CRT. In fact, not one of my arcade cabinet monitors, BOE or otherwise, can produce those types of blacks. HOWEVER... I don't think many would deny that the BOE Arcade1Up uses, when placed in it's proper position in an arcade cabinet, can produce some great picture quality.
Man Bill, It's great talking with you! Having a common love for Arcades and mutual respect for differing opinions. I'm glad we all are different, exciting each other with our individual visions of a home arcade. I never, in all the time I've been on this planet, thought I'd be able to have my own arcade in my house and then share those experiences with others who've done the same. Amazing times!
Have a great one!
vgv
Fast mode for Ms Pac Man is all I needed to hear. Time to buy one! Thanks for the video. It answered my question
Great video with plenty of interesting information. Thanks for sharing.
Just ordered it from Best buy! Been wanting this particular cabinet up for a while now but the black friday deal for 100$ off was good enough for me to pull the trigger.
Can't wait for it to come!
The joystick is the notable weakpoint in the design (heavy, mushy, etc..).. If you don't remove the plastic cover on the underside of the control panel there's no replacing it without fully disassembling the cabinet later is a tough lesson learned. This is one where I'd spring for the better joystick and install it before assembling the cabinet. Great product otherwise!
seriously if this cabinet had Bosconian I’d buy it YESTERDAY
Played both this and the countertop version of this too. Not a fan of the joystick, and the pitch on all the sounds seem to be one octave too high all around. And Galaga sounded a little strange too.
I’m pretty sure there’s a code u can do with the joystick to get u to play classic pac man
I despise those switches. Volume buttons are janky like that too. If i had been informed by A1UP upon original 81 that this was coming i would've waited instead of buying the first iteration. I won't buy twice and give them a lack of information win.
At what point are you as the buyer responsible for noting that A1Up frequently does updated releases all the time, so if there are things missing in a cabinet design you like you should probably hold out. If it's a 'Pac family cabinet you can bet there will be a new release every few months. I think they actually launched the XL Deluxe version of Pac Man the same time they did the bare bones deluxe version... so they might even do an XL Co'81.
I don't understand what a "lack of information win" is.. you bought a product you liked, they already have your money.. they already won. Nobody deceived you into buying the cabinet and I'm guessing they don't care if you buy this version or not.. if you do perhaps you can chalk it up to a "win" for you by depriving A1Up of a new cab sale to your buyer and instead buy the new cabinet yourself... if that makes it balance out in your head?
@TheYuppiejr well that's a lot. But I still won't buy twice. Unless it's the going out of business sale extravaganza. They could simply have a release schedule. That'd take care of it.
You have bad luck with gaming hardware. So far I’m good with my class of 81 and my ps5 been doing great
I Bought the regular Pacman 14 in 1 version and have been satisfied