MMMC - Super Pac-Man

[scooterb23]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/scooterb23/mameclub.jpg

OK, here we go again on our own. Going down the only road we've ever known. Taking a recommendation from TDI in last week's thread, I'm taking the first game in his list (and adding the rest to the list o'games I have here). So we're going to play Super Pac-Man.

This is my favorite of the normal Pac-Man games by a long shot (although I love, love, LOVE sped-up Ms. Pac-Man). I don't know why I enjoy it so much... I think it has something to do with the odd nature of the game. Giant Pac-Man is just plain awesome to wind around the board.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9924

http://www.klov.com/images/11/118124217741.png

If you're new to the MAME Club, welcome! Here are the rules:

Club Rules

01. You do not need to sign up for the club. If you want to participate, simply download the game of the week and post about it!

02. At the end of the week, I will randomly select a game from a list of nominations.

03. The current MAME Club Pick of the Week can be found every Monday stickied at the top of the Arcade Alley.

Need the ROM?

ROM will be hosted by Flack at http://www.robohara.com/mameclub/

Previous MMMC games: Jump Coaster, Rampart, Jungler, Ninja Emaki, Port Man, Psycho Soldier, Metamoqester, Gunbarich, Sengoku (series), Snacks'n Jackson, Metro-Cross, Moon Shuttle, The Real Ghostbusters, Moonwalker, Black Widow, Kid Niki, Joust 2, Super Contra, Shoot-Out, Raiden, Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Dead Connection, Gate of Doom, The Outfoxies, Popeye, Baseball Stars 2, Intrepid, 1943.


If anyone's still reading (which seems unlikely based on past requests that have gone unloved) PLEASE comment. Even if it's "I don't like this game". We've been averaging less than 10 responses a week for a while, and only had 1 person post basically last week until late Sunday night. While I love doing this...it's getting a bit disheartening to do this if no one's going to join into the threads. I realize I'm kind of guilty myself at times, and I'll also try to be more active if that will help. Thanks and MAME ON!

[norkusa]

Don't really need to play this in mame because my friend has the full-size machine and I've played it to death. Super-Pac is also my favorite of the the Pac-Man series. The speed-up button, Giant-Pac, the locked-up ally's, bonus rounds....I love it all. I think it's because you feel like you're more on the offensive in Super-Pac than in the other games.

I'm curious to hear what everyone else thinks of this one. I always thought it was least popular version of Pac-Man from the testimonials I've read. You'd think that'd be Pac-Land instead though, ugh.


(BTW, I nominate B.Rap Boys for next weeks game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOsyUk-X9sQ)

[jb143]

This is the arcade game that I have the most memories of playing when I was younger. Mainly because my cousins owned the cocktail cabinet. It was their Christmas present one year and I'd play it almost everytime I'd go visit. Unfortunately, I found out a few years ago, that it met an untimely demise. They gave it to my other younger cousins who are known for destroying things...The tube, I heard, got smashed by a bowling ball and the cabinet otherwise destroyed :(

The game is pretty fun though. A different twist on traditional Pac-Man without straying too far from the original concept. I will definitely have to try to play this one this week to see if I'm still any good at it...not that I was ever that great to begin with.

[scooterb23]

I just hit a score of 21940. I made it to level 4, which seems to be about my limit on this game. I have real trouble trying to keep any sort of "pattern" going. Which may be why I like it so much. I kind of got disheartened by most of the Pac-Man games when I realized that there were patterns. I preferred it when I believed I was outwitting the game (yeah, I was kind of a dumb kid). And I kind of get that feeling with Super Pac-Man because I've never found a guaranteed sure fire path to completing the levels (although I'm sure there is one). So it all feels more exciting. If that makes any sense.

[diskoboy]

Don't really need to play this in mame because my friend has the full-size machine and I've played it to death. Super-Pac is also my favorite of the the Pac-Man series. The speed-up button, Giant-Pac, the locked-up ally's, bonus rounds....I love it all. I think it's because you feel like you're more on the offensive in Super-Pac than in the other games.

I'm curious to hear what everyone else thinks of this one. I always thought it was least popular version of Pac-Man from the testimonials I've read. You'd think that'd be Pac-Land instead though, ugh.


(BTW, I nominate B.Rap Boys for next weeks game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOsyUk-X9sQ)

I was playing Super Pac-Man at DreamTR's arcade, last weekend. Jr. Pac-Man has always been my favorite of the series.

The classic play. The scrolling maze. The amount of mazes. The 'fruits' that take out your energizers and leave those giant dots that slow you down. Smart, fast ghosts.

I wasn't a fan of SPM when it originally came out, but it grew on me over the years. But as for all the sequels, Super felt so out of place.

[scooterb23]

Just to wander off-topic a bit. Jr. Pac-Man is the one I do not like at all. For me, the mazes are too big, and it feels harder to me as well. I can honestly say I've never beaten the 1st board. I think I start to get bored/frustrated just trying to make it through.

[SegaAges]

I got to level 6 and got a score of 23650.

I am pretty satisfied with that.

Honestly, I never played that version of pacman before.

I will suggest D&D: Tower of Doom as a game if you guys ever do that. I remember putting countless quarters into 1 of those

[Ed Oscuro]

I saw some Pac-Man shapes today (in a test - had to rotate them mentally and find which one was still the same image, not flipped or messed with), so I thought I was as prepared for Pac-Man as anything.

It wasn't meant to be. Pac-Land and whatever else doesn't actually resemble Pac-Man are still the only Pac- games I can stomach.

[jb143]

My best score of the night was 61080 Stage 8. It starts to get really really tough since your energizers don't last long at all. This version of the game also seems to have best cut scenes, that I can remember anyways.

Does anyone have any strategies they use? Like trying to unlock all the doors first?

[SegaAges]

My best score of the night was 61080 Stage 8. It starts to get really really tough since your energizers don't last long at all. This version of the game also seems to have best cut scenes, that I can remember anyways.

Does anyone have any strategies they use? Like trying to unlock all the doors first?

Mine is simple: stay away from the ghosts, hehehe

[TheDomesticInstitution]

While I may have suggested the game I've never played it before. It's actually quite a bit better than I figured it be. I guess I was turned off by the bizarre graphics, and thought it looked a little too kitschy.

Well unlike some of you pros, I only managed a score of 33,xxx. Several times I had found my way into the center "ghost box," only to lose my Super power and then was killed by the ghosts. It also took several games for it to sink in that, I could move faster while in Super Pac-Man mode.

The addition of the keys and Super Pellets really put a fresh spin on the game. I'm sure with a little more practice I can get 60 or 70k.

[jb143]

Mine is simple: stay away from the ghosts, hehehe

Good advice as any, I'd say. I think my general strategy was to get the super pellot and try to clear out as many of the doors as possible while holding the turbo-waco speed button down the whole time and only let up to turn corners. And the main way to get high scores in Pac-Man...eat all the ghosts on a single energizer. The bad thing is when you turn small again while going down a path that's not yet open on the other end...the ghosts are usually following you in there and you get trapped.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm...well, I finally managed to get a highscore entry (with the aid of some 1600 point ghost roundups and another 1700 points from the bonus round)! I bought the farm at lowly Stage 4, unfortunately. It's clear a lot of care went into this one, but Pac-Man games in general never seem to give a damn which way I'm pushing the joystick. I'm using a keyboard today, but some of these input problems simply aren't the fault of my setup. (Joke about Pac-Man 2 on SNES being the logical end of the conclusion). I think part of the problem is that I'm used to free movement in games such as shooters where an input results in an immediate result. Super Pac-Man is tense and has plenty that I like, but I'm simply not used to having to wait for inputs. The speed also picks up enough later on that I find myself making inputs too soon, and as a result I hit a wall and stop with ghosts in pursuit. Not my choice for greatest game design ever; seems more like something you could do on an LCD handheld.

[jb143]

Well, I only made it to Stage 5 with 39270 points tonight. Another thing I noticed...one of the ghosts patterns is that they'll constantly go around the power pellets making it hard to get to them. I do think that this one has the best cut-scenes out of all the Pac-Man games though.



...Pac-Man games in general never seem to give a damn which way I'm pushing the joystick.

I remember this game being completely unplayable for my brothers for that reason. They couldn't get Pac-Man to go the way they wanted for anything.