I sure hope you're better at navigating complicated mazes than Jack Nicholson, because this week's Nintendo Switch Online update is full of them. Fans of classic 8-bit games can now enjoy the old school thrills of Pac-Man, the hidden gem that is Mendel Palace and, coolest of all, The Tower of Druaga, an early, influential dungeon crawler. Yeah, that's cool news, but are any of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Game Player, Nintendo Power, Computer & Video Games and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. It's time to find out if any of these games are a-maze-ing in this new episode of Nintendo Classics Review Crew. Don't worry, that's the last maze pun.


Some video game characters are so famous that they need no introduction. That is certainly the case for Pac-Man -- gaming's first superstar. When he first came to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, Pac-Man was published by none other than Tengen. That's the same Tengen that would later get sued over their release of Tetris, but this was back when the publisher was a Nintendo third-party, making Pac-Man one of the rare Tengen games to earn the official seal of quality. After Tengen was forced to pull all of their NES games from stores, Namco decided to publish a version of the game in 1993 that was based on their own 1984 Famicom port, which just so happened to be the same version that Tengen ported in the late ‘80s. Sure, there are some minor differences, like the legal information on the title screen and the way the attract mode is worded, but this is, for all intents and purposes, the same game that Tengen released in 1988. Which means that, in a roundabout way, this is the first Tengen game to come to the Nintendo Switch Online. That was a lot of set-up for a 1980 arcade game you've played a million times. Let's see what the critics said.

When it comes to the reviews, a lot of the critics seemed like they were over Pac-Man. You have to remember that the arcade game was a decade old and a lot happened both in game design and technology that made the simplicity of a maze game feel like old hat. Instead of being reminded of good old days, some of the critics actually resented the port. For example, Computer & Video Games gave it a 42%. They called it “arcade perfect,” but concluded that it was “a giant leap backwards in gaming thrills. For mad people only.” They complained that it was “very basic and extremely repetitive. Fun for about half-an-hour at the most.”

While Total largely agreed with this assessment, giving the game a 60%, there were a couple of magazines that actually had nostalgia for the round guy. Had Electronic Game Player actually bothered to issue a score for Pac-Man, their review would likely be the top score. Alas, they gave a positive review that concludes: “If you want a faithful translation of the one and only Pac-Man, then look no further. This game has all the exciting features you'll find in the arcades, as well as new patterns for the ghosts, so don't expect to beat the game with your old patterns. The Tengen home version of Pac-Man looks, sounds and plays so close to the original, you'll be looking for the coin slot.”

By default, the highest score belongs to Nintendo Power, which gave it a 3.5 out of 5. They liked that “this version is true to the arcade game” and “it's still just as much fun as when it was introduced,” but complained that “the challenge will be limited for many players who already have mastered the game.”

Look, this is a faithful port of the original Pac-Man. You know what you're getting. The overall average is a pitiful 57%, but that has a lot more to do with the critics than the quality of the port. If the game was reviewed a decade later, when people were more nostalgic for the simplicity of old school games, Pac-Man would have scored a bit higher. If you like Pac-Man, you're not going to be disappointed.

Now this is a fun surprise. While American gamers were treated to most of the top Famicom games when the Nintendo Entertainment System launched in 1985, there were a few that remained locked away for years (and even decades). One of those games was The Tower of Druaga, an early hack ‘n slash adventure game that sees a brave knight battling through a bunch of mazes in order to, you guessed it, save the kidnapped princess. While it looks rudimentary these days, The Tower of Druaga was actually ahead of its time in a few key ways, like introducing items and abilities that will change how you interact with the maze. A good example of this is a move that lets you literally bust through the walls. It's moments like this where you can see Druaga laying the groundwork for future adventure games, like The Legend of Zelda.

If you've never played The Tower of Druaga, then you may find it a little hard to go back to. The game is obtuse to the point of frustration, rarely letting you know what it expects of you. It's easy to get hopelessly stuck and even find out that you can't beat the game because of a decision you didn't know you about a dozen stages ago. That said, with a lot of patience (and maybe a guide at the ready), this game is a lot of fun. It's important to play if only so you can see the stepping stone that got us to modern dungeon crawlers. I love that this is finally available on Nintendo Switch Online, but without any reviews to talk about, I think it's time to move on to another cult classic.

A decade before Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak trained the world to catch ‘em all, they made a completely different kind of puzzle game that has since become a true cult classic. In a lot of ways, Mendel Palace looks like the kind of old school single-screen game that might have been bumping up against Pac-Man at the arcade. But while it looks simple enough, there is a hidden depth that takes this game to a whole different level. It's a game where a hero fights enemies by flipping cards. Think of it like a cross between Lode Runner and Bomberman. But what makes this cool is how the stage changes as you flip cards, revealing special items and abilities that change the flow of the action. This very first Game Freak release has gone on to become a real hidden gem, but what did the critics say at the time?

While most magazines chose to skip over what looked like a throwback arcade game, even in 1990, there were a few critics that gave their opinions. Video Games & Computer Entertainment ended up giving the game a slightly above average score of 6 out of 10, complaining about the bland graphics and unremarkable music. “Mendel Palace provides some enjoyment and challenge when played for the first time, but once the rooms are solved and the game is finished, there probably isn't much to hold the interest of most players.”

Nintendo Power basically agreed with Video Games & Computer Entertainment, giving the game a 3.1 out of 5. Of course, this was back at a time when they didn't offer written reviews, so we'll never know where that number came from. GamePro, on the other hand, gave the game a 4 out of 5, the highest score of any of the three English-language magazines that bothered to review Mendel Palace. “You may think you're too old to play with dolls, but reserve your judgment until you've checked out this title. Ever-clever Hudson Soft has created yet another original game at a time when we're seeing fewer and fewer carts that feature anything original or innovative. And it's nice to see a title with a theme that seems to be oriented towards the growing ranks of female gamers! Hello, dolly!”

While the critics seemed a little confused by Mendel Palace, I am happy to say that it eventually found its audience. The overall average is a frustratingly low 67%, but this is another great addition to the Nintendo Switch Online. It's not the kind of flashy game that everybody talks about, but rather an important game that everybody should play at least once in their life. And now doing that is a lot easier. Check it out and see why so many people love Mendel Palace.