View Full Version : Pac-Man Discussion
HurricaneAndrew
03-24-2010, 02:23 AM
Who doesn't love Pac-Man, really? Everyone has a soft spot for the little yellow bastard. Discuss...
ThisDude069
03-24-2010, 02:27 AM
I lovessss me some Pac-Man!! But arcade pac-man, not of that 3d crap. I believe a perfect game is when you get the maximum possible score on the first 255 levels (by eating every possible dot, energizer, fruit, and monster) without losing a single life then scoring as many points as possible in the last level. TRY THAT!
rlemmon
03-24-2010, 03:06 AM
Hell ya ! pac man = best arcade game ever. I have a decent mame setup with a 4 way stick and play it alot. What i would kill for is one of the pacman 25th anniversary arcade units. The new pac-man battle royale game looks really fun too. I wouldn't mind having it either.
Steve W
03-24-2010, 03:17 AM
Pac-Man is a universal game. You see it in video game advertising and on game store signs and stuff, in the background is a Pac-Man eating dots and getting chased by ghosts. It's the iconic image that invokes "video game" without having to use words. And pretty much even children know the game, it's popularity has waned but the yellow circle munchin' through a blue maze is still as symbolic as ever.
Rickstilwell1
03-24-2010, 05:15 AM
I was about to make a thread for Pac-Man earlier as I hadn't seen one, but decided not to. That's funny.
I was going to ask what variation of Pac-Man do most people like more? While the original is THE original, the innovations of Ms. Pac-Man seem to be far more interesting than the original. For example the original is just the same screen over and over again while Ms. Pac-Man introduces moving food items and multiple level designs. Then comes Jr. Pac-Man which just gets a little bizarre in level design while retaining the fun Ms. Pac-Man and the original had.
If I had to pick one I'd go with Ms. Pac-Man.
Xexyz
03-24-2010, 10:03 AM
my favorite is Pac-Man C. E. no doubt, especially the default 5 minute Challenge Mode. I still enjoy the original, but Championship Edition has really spoiled me. Pac-Man works really well as a time-attack game.
tomwaits
03-24-2010, 01:11 PM
I remember an interview with Toru Iwatani where he commented about the universal appeal of Pac-Man: Pac-Man is a simple game about eating. Everyone eats.
Who doesn't love Pac-Man, really? Everyone has a soft spot for the little yellow bastard. Discuss...
I am of the opinion that the impact of sunshine may or may not reflect upon the yellowness of the bastard. However, today being the first sunny day of this week, and the fact that I don't own a functioning Pac-Man arcade machine, nor a non-working one, just to clarify, renders verification of this bold statement rather difficult.
RASK1904
03-24-2010, 01:38 PM
I think Pac-Man is a killer. He has ghosts chacing him. Realy. The only people I've seen chased by that many ghosts did some thing to the ghosts. His hole family is getting haunted by ghosts forever. Maybe there home is on an indian burial ground. Or Pac-Grandpa raped and burned a village or some shit. Think about it.:vamp::vamp::vamp:
DDCecil
03-24-2010, 01:40 PM
I think Pac-Man is a killer. He has ghosts chacing him. Realy. The only people I've seen chased by that many ghosts did some thing to the ghosts. His hole family is getting haunted by ghosts forever. Maybe there home is on an indian burial ground. Or Pac-Grandpa raped and burned a village or some shit. Think about it.:vamp::vamp::vamp:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/934463_77997_front.jpg
Let's kick some ass! Wakka, wakka... wakka.
understatement
03-24-2010, 02:12 PM
Pac-Man is a universal game. You see it in video game advertising and on game store signs and stuff, in the background is a Pac-Man eating dots and getting chased by ghosts. It's the iconic image that invokes "video game" without having to use words. And pretty much even children know the game, it's popularity has waned but the yellow circle munchin' through a blue maze is still as symbolic as ever.
You also see it subliminally in nongame advertising!
http://9gag.com/photo/18812_full.jpg
Garry Silljo
03-24-2010, 02:12 PM
Who doesn't love Pac-Man, really?
Roy Shildt?
ShinobiMan
03-24-2010, 02:54 PM
Has anyone ever played Baby Pac-Man? That game was apparently half pinball / half video game.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6987
A strange hybrid... I've never even seen one these! I suppose not many still exist.
Steve W
03-24-2010, 04:05 PM
Has anyone ever played Baby Pac-Man? That game was apparently half pinball / half video game.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6987
A strange hybrid... I've never even seen one these! I suppose not many still exist.
I played one at the Texas Pinball Expo last year. It exists, and it's not too bad a game. Although the video game part looks to be a bit on the primitive side, like it's a home computer port of a Pac-Man game. Maybe that's exactly what's in there for all I know. There used to be one of these machines back in the day at my local Tenneco gas station that I always regret not playing (since it was broken at the time). I'm glad I had a shot at trying it out at the Expo last year.
Has anyone ever played Baby Pac-Man? That game was apparently half pinball / half video game.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6987
A strange hybrid... I've never even seen one these! I suppose not many still exist.
I remember hearing about this game as a kid and searching all of the local arcades, pizza shops, drug stores, etc.. until I found it. The idea of a pinball\arcade game hybrid was awesome. Unfortunately my expectations were too high as I remember being severely let down when I finally found it. I played it a few times and never returned back.
Oh well, Ms. Pac-Man is my favorite, Pac-Mania is an is my least favorite.
jb143
03-24-2010, 05:46 PM
I read somewhere(I think in an old arcade book I have/had) that Pac-Man was loosly based on an old Japanese legend. Does anyone have any info on this? I've never been able to find anything else about it.
iycon
03-24-2010, 07:39 PM
Has anyone ever played Baby Pac-Man? That game was apparently half pinball / half video game.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6987
A strange hybrid... I've never even seen one these! I suppose not many still exist.
l remember first seeing this at a grand opening of a Showbiz Pizza. It was the last time I saw one too.
I'm kinda partial to Super Pac Man myself.
TheDomesticInstitution
03-24-2010, 08:49 PM
Ms. Pacman and Super Pacman are my current favorites. As far as Ms Pac goes who prefers the regular version and who prefers the speed chip iteration? It may be sacrilegious, but I prefer the speed chip version.
ReTrO-pLaYeR
03-24-2010, 11:01 PM
True, too bad the games he shows up in today aren't that good. Namco keeps whoring out on anthologies of their classic games which have been released a dozen times on the Sony Playstation consoles. I love the arcade version but the PacMan World games are also great. I even favored Pacman World Rally- the franchise's equivalent of Mario Kart.
Bloodreign
03-25-2010, 02:18 AM
I always liked Pac Land and Pac Mania, might be one of the few who actually liked both games. Also big on Super Pac Man, and love Ms Pac Man sped up, it's a total adrenalin rush speeding through the mazes.
bradd
03-25-2010, 04:17 AM
i built a mame cab the other week with a vertical monitor just for pac games. the biggest piece of the puzzle for me was the joystick. i had to find an original wico leaf switch stick from the 1980s, nothing else feels right.
i have been playing alot of hangly man and jr pac with the speedup hack.
Aswald
03-25-2010, 01:26 PM
The first time I ever saw Pac-Man was back in 1980 in the arcade just across the road from the movie theater. Just after "The Empire Strikes Back."
Man, it was CROWDED around that machine.
I even played it in the arcade in Goes (The Netherlands) back in 1982. My brother's pattern worked even better over there, and he actually charged some people a few Guilders to learn it.
My favorite variation is Super Pac-Man, and I'm still trying to decide whether to get the 5200 or 7800 version.
After that is Pac-Man Plus, and I already have the best version- Opcode's CV Pac-Man Collection. The "Lee Pattern" even works on it. The only place I ever saw it, though, was in a short-lived (sadly) arcade back in 1983. Sure, we had to bike about ten miles to reach it along a busy road, but it was worth it!
Brianvgplayer
03-25-2010, 05:46 PM
Jr. Pac-Man is my favorite Pac-Man game. I love the difficulty and the scrolling mazes. The 2600 is my favorite official port of the game. The scrolling was changed due to hardware limitations, but GCC did an amazing job capturing the spirit and feel of the original game. The 7800 homebrew is good stuff too.
I also have Pac-Man collection for CV. I wish systems got more ports like this back in the day. I like how it has Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Man Plus with it. It's neat seeing a CV game with an options screen too.
bradd
03-26-2010, 12:59 AM
the scrolling was probably changed because a TV is horizontal and the monitor in the arcade game was vertical.
ubersaurus
03-26-2010, 01:18 AM
My fav is Ms. Pac-Man. Played the crap out of the 2600 port as a wee lad, and even now will take on the arcade version whenever I see it. I'm also a huge fan of Pac-Man CE and Pac-Man Vs; both games are right up there with Ms. in terms of being fantastic. I just have a nostalgic soft spot for that one :P I also really like Pac-Mania, and would rent it all the time from Blockbuster in my younger days after playing the arcade version once in a roller rink.
I once went out with someone who had never even heard of Pac-Man. It was mind boggling.
mobiusclimber
03-26-2010, 05:10 AM
I've only played Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and a demo for some weird adventure style 3D Pac-Man. Played Pac-Man first and loved it, but after playing Ms. Pac-Man I will choose that one over the first every time. ... The less said about the action/adventure game, the better.
jb143
03-26-2010, 10:54 AM
I'm probally in the minority, but I could never get into Ms. Pac-Man. At least not as much as the original. I'm not sure what it is but I just don't like it as much. I do like Super Pac-Man but that could just be nostalgia since my cousins had a coctail cabinet that I'd always play.
And Pac-Land? I could never even figure out what to do in that. I've only tried playing it in Mame so I don't know what I was doing wrong.
AB Positive
03-26-2010, 01:24 PM
Put me in the "Super Pacman" category, love that game, especially the A8 port...
Also - there's Baby Pac-man at the Funspot at Weirs Beach... it's weird but fun. Hard to get good practice when you're switching between video game and pinball but it makes for some hectic fun!
Brianvgplayer
03-26-2010, 02:23 PM
the scrolling was probably changed because a TV is horizontal and the monitor in the arcade game was vertical.
No, the scrolling was changed in the 2600 Jr. Pac-Man because of the 2600's hardware limitations (which I read about at places like AtariAge, including posts from the programmers who know the system in and out). It does vertical scrolling much better than horizontal. I don't see why they would go through the trouble of redoing the boards if this wasn't the case. Jr. Pac-Man isn't the only game that changes the scrolling either, Tutankham, Vanguard (for a couple stages), and Sky Skipper do it too.
I also like Super Pac-Man quite a bit. I like how it's in the US Namco Museum v. 2 for PSX. That collection also has a couple other games I like, including Gaplus, Xevious, and Mappy.
Gameguy
03-26-2010, 02:37 PM
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures wasn't that bad for a non-maze game, it was kind of funny since Pac-Man is happy one minute and then seriously depressed or enraged the next minute, then goes back to happy within another minute.
Sorry, but Ms. Pac Man rendered Pac Man completely obsolete. It is better in every way.
Brianvgplayer
03-27-2010, 02:19 AM
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures wasn't that bad for a non-maze game, it was kind of funny since Pac-Man is happy one minute and then seriously depressed or enraged the next minute, then goes back to happy within another minute.
I find it sad that "Pac Jr." in the Genesis version of that game is just a clone of Ms. Pac-Man rather than a port of Jr. Pac-Man. An ok extra I guess, but the real Ms. Pac-Man on the system is better.
Aussie2B
03-27-2010, 02:49 AM
Even though I have a lot of fondness for the franchise, I've never been too crazy about actually playing Pac-Man. Centipede has always been my classic arcade game of choice, and in terms of Namco's classics I've always gravitated towards Dig Dug. In recent years, I've been getting big on Mappy and Tower of Druaga, though.
I actually had a funny Pac-Man encounter just recently. When I was at the post office in a long line around a week ago, some guy was apparently playing Pac-Man on his phone... very loud. It didn't bother me any just because it was so silly, but, man, just about everyone else in line wanted to kill that guy after the 30th "wakka". The guy also stunk too, I kept hearing the dying sound. :P
Brianvgplayer
03-27-2010, 04:24 AM
I actually had a funny Pac-Man encounter just recently. When I was at the post office in a long line around a week ago, some guy was apparently playing Pac-Man on his phone... very loud. It didn't bother me any just because it was so silly, but, man, just about everyone else in line wanted to kill that guy after the 30th "wakka". The guy also stunk too, I kept hearing the dying sound. :P
I wonder if he was related to Jim Ignatowski ;)
On one episode of Taxi, Louie gave him a Pac-Man machine and paid him in quarters. If I remember correctly, he got the dying sound two or three times in a row.
ConsoleAddict
03-27-2010, 12:06 PM
Has anyone ever played Baby Pac-Man? That game was apparently half pinball / half video game.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6987
A strange hybrid... I've never even seen one these! I suppose not many still exist.
Yes, I played this game back in 1983. Very difficult game if you aren't a pinball wizard since you earn your power pellets through the pinball section. Also, the graphics in video game part are terrible. I also played the other hybrid from Bally/Midway, Granny & The Gators.
I've been playing the Atari 5200 version of Pac-Man. Best console version of the game from the 1980's. I'm shocked over how close to the arcade game this one was.
Brianvgplayer
03-27-2010, 02:01 PM
I've been playing the Atari 5200 version of Pac-Man. Best console version of the game from the 1980's. I'm shocked over how close to the arcade game this one was.
Yeah, that is a good version. The Intellivision one is also quite good, though the maze was made smaller. It's neat how both of those versions have the intermissions.
ConsoleAddict
03-27-2010, 07:33 PM
Yeah, saw the INTY version on YouTube. It's not bad but I don't think I'd want to play it unless I didn't have access to the 5200 version. INTY Pac-Man is pretty rare; I didn't know there was a version until I saw The Video Game Critic review it.
Brianvgplayer
03-27-2010, 09:14 PM
Yeah, saw the INTY version on YouTube. It's not bad but I don't think I'd want to play it unless I didn't have access to the 5200 version. INTY Pac-Man is pretty rare; I didn't know there was a version until I saw The Video Game Critic review it.
It's not super expensive. Cart only ones can be found for under 20 dollars. I know Atari2600.com has a couple (Intv and Atarisoft published versions) at a reasonable price. I got lucky and found it at a yard sale with a bunch of other games and a couple systems, though. But yeah, probably not worth getting over the 5200 version.
There's also that Pac-Man proto for Colecovision that seems to be very nice, not as nice as the homebrew from opcode, but still very nice. It's too bad that wasn't released back in the day.
ubersaurus
03-27-2010, 09:26 PM
I actually prefer INTV pac-man to 5200 pacman. Yeah, the maze is smaller, but the disc seems a hell of a lot more responsive for pac-man than the 5200's mush stick :P
treismac
10-14-2011, 10:57 PM
Sorry, but Ms. Pac Man rendered Pac Man completely obsolete. It is better in every way.
I agree that Ms. Pac-Man is superior to Mister, but using the word "obsolete" is taking it a bit too far.
Also, Pac-Man C.E. rocks.
sidnotcrazy
10-14-2011, 11:50 PM
The original Pac Man for me is the best. The depth, and AI is amazing. No other games has me yell "Clyde you..." as much as the original.
Pac Man is what made me really get into video games. They did so much with the arcade game, and had so little memory, or display options. A true classic in every way IMO.