# Ms. PAC-MAN / GALAGA Class of '81 Arcade1up MOD - E32021

**Source:** RetroRalph  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2019-09-27  
**Duration:** 8m 1s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycFPkq9okk0

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## Analysis

Retro Ralph showcases a custom-built Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Class of '81 Arcade1Up cabinet featuring the original Namco 20th anniversary PCB board, custom artwork, and scan line enhancements. The video was motivated by news of AtGames acquiring Ms. Pac-Man licensing, which Ralph frames as a reason to honor the game by giving it to people who deserve it. Ralph emphasizes the cabinet's authentic components, including artwork by Tyler at Arcade Graphics and control panel by Shane DIY Retro Arcade.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] AtGames has acquired Ms. Pac-Man licensing — _Retro Ralph states 'I wake up to Ms. Pac-Man is owned by AtGames?' indicating recent news about licensing agreement_
- [HIGH] The cabinet uses the original Namco 20th anniversary Galaga/Ms. Pac-Man JAMMA arcade board — _Ralph explicitly states 'we are using the Namco 20th anniversary Galaga miss pac-man board. So it is JAMMA, so it is a JAMMA arcade board' and confirms it is a licensed PCB_
- [MEDIUM] The Namco 20-year reunion board is available on eBay at reasonable prices — _Ralph mentions 'This Namco 20-year reunion board is available on eBay, so you can find people selling it. It's not that outrageous of a price right now'_
- [HIGH] Arcade1Up Wave 1 monitors have poor viewing angles — _Ralph states 'these Arcade1Up Wave 1 monitors, which is what this is, has terrible viewing angles' and notes Arcade1Up made improvements in later generations_

### Notable Quotes

> "AtGames, you don't deserve Ms. Pac-Man. But there is someone that does. There's someone that does deserve Ms. Pac-Man."
> — **Retro Ralph**, 0:30-1:00
> _Core motivation for the video—framing the custom cabinet as a response to AtGames licensing news and intent to preserve the game for the community_

> "This is actually one of the cabinets I've wanted for a really long time, so I'm going to keep this in my collection. This is not going into a storage unit."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~18:00
> _Indicates personal attachment and decision to permanently display the cabinet rather than rotate it through storage_

> "It is an arcade PCB and it is a licensed one at that. So I can't imagine that this is far off from the original."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~14:30
> _Confirms authenticity of the board and implies accurate emulation relative to original arcade hardware_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Retro Ralph | person | Content creator and arcade enthusiast showcasing custom Arcade1Up cabinet build |
| AtGames | company | Recently acquired Ms. Pac-Man licensing; framed negatively by Ralph as undeserving of the IP |
| Arcade1Up | company | Manufacturer of the cabinet being modified; Ralph criticizes Wave 1 monitor viewing angles |
| Namco | company | Original publisher/licensor of Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga; created the 20th anniversary board being used |
| Tyler | person | Graphics and artwork designer at Arcade Graphics for this cabinet |
| Shane | person | Control panel designer at DIY Retro Arcade; also created front panel artwork |
| Matt Scott Evans | person | Creator of the marquee design used in the cabinet |
| Papa Duke | person | Artist credited with Ms. Pac-Man side art design |
| JC | person | Operator of Tulsa Arcades; sells functional coin doors compatible with Arcade1Up systems |
| Ms. Pac-Man | game | Classic arcade game; newly licensed by AtGames; featured on the custom cabinet |
| Galaga | game | Classic arcade game by Namco; paired with Ms. Pac-Man on the custom cabinet |
| Arcade Graphics | company | Custom graphics and artwork provider; created cabinet artwork |
| DIY Retro Arcade | company | Control panel and front panel artwork provider for custom arcade cabinets |
| Tulsa Arcades | company | Seller of functional coin doors for Arcade1Up systems |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Custom Arcade1Up cabinet modifications, Original arcade PCB integration with modern hardware, Ms. Pac-Man IP licensing changes
- **Secondary:** Arcade authenticity and scan line implementation, Arcade1Up hardware limitations (monitor viewing angles), Custom arcade artwork and design services

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Ralph is enthusiastic and celebratory about the custom cabinet build, frames it as a passionate project to honor Ms. Pac-Man. Critical comments about Arcade1Up and AtGames are delivered with humor rather than genuine anger. Ralph explicitly states satisfaction: 'I couldn't be more happy with the way this looks.'

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** AtGames has acquired Ms. Pac-Man licensing, representing a significant IP licensing shift in the arcade/retro gaming space (confidence: high) — Ralph's opening statement: 'I wake up to Ms. Pac-Man is owned by AtGames?' confirms recent licensing acquisition
- **[community_signal]** Custom arcade builder community actively developing aftermarket solutions (functional coin doors, custom artwork, PCB integration) to enhance Arcade1Up cabinets beyond manufacturer specifications (confidence: high) — Multiple vendors referenced: Tyler (Arcade Graphics), Shane (DIY Retro Arcade), Matt Scott Evans (marquee), JC (Tulsa Arcades) all providing specialized components and services
- **[product_concern]** Arcade1Up Wave 1 monitor technology has poor viewing angles, a limitation that the company subsequently addressed in later hardware generations (confidence: high) — Ralph explicitly states 'these Arcade1Up Wave 1 monitors, which is what this is, has terrible viewing angles' and notes 'they obviously made improvements with the Wave Two, Wave Three'
- **[technology_signal]** Community response to licensing changes includes sourcing original arcade PCBs and integrating them with modern display technology (HDMI converters, scan line filters) to preserve authentic gaming experiences (confidence: high) — Ralph's detailed explanation of the video converter chain (CGA to HDMI to scan line generator) shows deliberate technical work to maintain authenticity while using modern Arcade1Up hardware

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## Transcript

What in the hell? Okay, there was a tornado in Arizona this week. That was crazy. It rained a lot. And then I wake up to Ms. Pac-Man is owned by AtGames? What the hell? Alright, you know what? I thought about this. I thought about it. We're not going to let this ruin our day. We're not. We're going to take this opportunity to honor Ms. Pac-Man. Because you know what? You know what? AtGames, you don't deserve Ms. Pac-Man But there is someone that does There's someone that does deserve Ms. Pac-Man And you know what, now they're not going to get her But we're going to deliver Ms. Pac-Man right to their doorstep And we're going to do it right here Right here, right now on this episode We are going to give Ms. Pac-Man back To the people that deserve Ms. Pac-Man And that ain't you, AtGames So in this episode, sit back, relax, and let's do it If you smell what Retro Ralph is cooking. All right, guys. Here it is. Something we will not see out of Arcade 1-Up. now with this news of the upcoming licensing agreement for AtGames, but it is the Namco 20-year reunion, Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga. So this system is actually running the Namco board in it, so it is running the original PCB, and I will show you that in a minute. The graphics and artwork are by Tyler at Arcade Graphics. Also the control panel is by Shane over at DIY Retro Arcade So they did an awesome job on this cabinet The front panel underneath the control panel is also by Shane DIY Retro Arcade I love this It had like a real retro vibe It doesn't actually look exactly like the original cabinet did, but I thought it would make a really cool retro look for this. So I'll back up really quick so you can see the whole cabinet. Looks really cool next to my vinyl collection. Pieces of vinyl, if you will. But yeah, I'm totally into this cabinet. It's got the marquee is the Scott Evans, I don't know, Ghetto Bird Blackout Mega Extraordinaire marquee. I can't remember what he calls it, but I will have a link in the description to it. There's the side art. And I'm going to show you the insides of this thing real quick before we continue. I'll show you the coin door real fast. It does have a functional coin door. I didn't have a chance to clean this up inside So bear with me. It doesn't look amazing on the inside, but I want to give you guys an idea Of what this system looks like. So let's go to the inside and we'll see what's going on Alright guys, like I said, here's the inside of the cabinet and we are using the Namco 20th anniversary Galaga miss pac-man board. So it is jama so it is a JAMMA arcade board. If you go down here a little bit you'll notice there is the video converter board. That's what converts the CGA signal to something that the modern arcade one display can understand. However, I am using a converter board that converts to HDMI so I then have it running into an HDMI scan filter scan line generator and then that goes up to the video board that plugs into the 1UP monitor. So I wanted it to have scan lines, and that's exactly what I did. Again, this is a mess, so don't look at that. But I clean that up eventually I just had to get this video out because we must bring Ms Pac back Here a closer look at the control panel and the side art the other side is Galaga so whatever. The Ms. Pac-Man side art is pretty damn sexy. It might be a little difficult to see but we do have scan lines baby we got scan lines. So I tried to keep it as authentic as I could. I'm going to set this up on the tripod and do a little bit of gameplay, and then we will wrap this thing up. All right, I'm shutting off the lights so you can see things a little better. I will let you know that these Arcade 1-Up Wave 1 monitors, which is what this is, has terrible viewing angles. So it's going to seem extra bright. It doesn't really look like that in person. So in order to play this, left side is Ms. Pac-Man, right side is Galaga. So I'm going to press player one star on the right side for Yalaga and we're going to start this thing up. So the thing I like, I actually have fast shooting on, so kind of cheating, but the thing I really like about this board is the emulation is spot on. I don't know if you can consider this 100% one for one to the arcade, but it sure seems like it to me. It is an arcade PCB and it is a licensed one at that. So I can't imagine that this is far off from the original. So super fun to play, it looks great with the scan lines, and I couldn't be more happy with the way this looks. So I'm going to jump over to Ms. Pac-Man real quick so you guys can check that out, and then we'll wrap the video up. All right, we're back at the main menu, and you can see Ms. Pac-Man Galaga 20-year reunion board. I'm going to go on the left-hand side. You can do this as player one or player two and take turns. I'm gonna do player one because it's just me and we'll do some miss pac-man I'm not sure you're gonna be able to see the scan lines, but they look really good It it just tough with this wave one arcade one up monitor unless you right on top of it The image is not very good Unfortunately so they obviously made improvements with the wave two wave three but uh well more wave three i guess but um but yeah i don even know what the hell wave we're on anymore i don't even know if wave anything is a term they use or if we just all made that up but anyways who cares bottom line is they've made the new monitors a little bit better uh so even though it looks good to me it probably doesn't look great on video but super fun board. This Namco 20-year reunion board is available on eBay, so you can find people selling it. It's not that outrageous of a price right now, but anyways, that's where you get it. So guys, I'm going to wrap up here with some just final thoughts. I just wanted to say I'm super happy about this. I love this. This is actually one of the cabinets I've wanted for a really long time, so I'm going to keep this in my collection. This is not going into a storage unit. This is 100% going to be out for everyone to enjoy just because it's got two of my favorite games of all time on one single cabinet so I couldn't be more happy anyways guys thanks for joining I hope you guys really enjoyed this I will have links in the description of what I used to put this together I did want to mention real quick the coin door I forgot to mention is JC at Tulsa Arcades it's a great feature he sells that so if you want to put a coin door on a system he'll sell a he'll sell a door to you that the X arcade coin door will fit in perfectly so if you're interested in that anyways guys that's it for me I hope you enjoyed the video please like the video if you liked it please consider subscribing to the channel and I want to hear your comments below so let me know what you think all right guys that's it we will see on the next one take care Outro Music

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 02d8f487-383d-4272-9991-20d90e2408b0*