 Pac-man NES release Developer/US publisher: Namco By 1993, the Namco-Atari relationship breaks after twelve heartwarming years. With that, Namco re-releases their ancient Famicon game to the US, with no real change other than a new box and a lack of a "Licensed by Tengen" message.  Ms.
Pac-manFamicon release Developer/US publisher: Namco Ms. Pac-man Game Boy release Developer/US publisher: Namco Ms. Pac-man Game Gear release Developer/US publisher: Namco What, ho... Another monumental event, though it may not look like it first... the first Ms. Pac-man games to be developed by Namco themselves, and not a US company! Something tells me these guys may have resented the success of the game, which originated as a hack of their original creation... Pac Panic/Pac Attack Mega Drive release Developer/US publisher: Namco  Pac Panic/Pac
AttackSuper Famicon release Developer/US publisher: Namco Pac Panic SMS release Developer: Namco US publisher: None Pac Panic/Pac Attack Game Gear release Developer/US publisher: Namco Pac Panic/Pac Attack Game Boy release Developer/US publisher: Namco Finally, the eventful 1993 year closes with the release of a new Pac game, on a billion different systems (including the Super Famicon, which until now had yet to have a Pac game). Pac gets in on the Tetris-type Puzzle game craze this time. And I hate to say this, but like most of the other Tetris clones at the time, this was pretty mediocre. The survival mode was pretty useless, but the puzzle mode wasn't too bad. It went on for a while too... I never did complete it on my Genesis emulator... Note: the game was called Pac Attack only in the US, apparently. I have no idea why.   Hello! Pac-mana.k.a. Pac-man 2: The New Adventures Super Famicon release Developer/US publisher: Namco Hello! Pac-man a.k.a. Pac-man 2: The New Adventures Mega Drive release Developer/US publisher: Namco Hello! Pac-man was the third most gay Pac game ever, where once again he has arms n' legs n' shit and can run and jump and romp in total gayness. But the game wasn't awful. It had sorta unique play mechanics; Pac moved completely on his own, and you had to use a slingshot armed with pellets to help get him to do the right thing. The object is to get him to perform mundane tasks that eventually lead him to defeat his rival, the Ghost Witch of Nentor (ghost witch? But they're MONSTERS, not ghosts!), a new character in the Pac universe. It's sorta like a cross between Crossbow and a PC adventure game. Unfortunately, despite the kinda neat concept, the game turned out to be pretty frustrating, and... well... gay. (really, I'm not a homophobe, but few other words come to mind when describing these Pac-man platform games...) It more fun on an emulator, where you can cheat. Hello! Pac-man also included versions of the original Pac-man (with improved graphics) located in an arcade within the playfield. The only versions of the original Pac available on these 16-bit systems ended up being in this game. Along with that, the Super Famicon version had Ms. Pac-man game stuck in there as well, while, for no apparent reason, the Mega Drive version had a game called Pac Jr., which was a Ms. Pac clone with different maze layouts and cinemas. It was nothing like the Jr. Pac game released by Midway years earlier. This game was called "Pac-man 2: The New Adventures" outside of Japan. This may have been the original plan for the Japanese release too, until Namco Japan realized how stupid that was. ^^; Pac in Time Mega Drive release Developer: Atreid Concept/Mindscape US publisher: Namco  Pac in
TimeGame Gear release Developer: Atreid Concept/Mindscape US publisher: Namco Pac in Time Gameboy release Developer: Atreid Concept/Mindscape US publisher: Namco Pac in Time Super Famicon release Developer: Atreid Concept/Mindscape US publisher: Namco You were probably wondering, my friends, when we would get to THE most gay Pac game ever. Well, here we go. Years after the events in Pac-man 2, the ghost/monster witch returns and sends Pac back in time because... well, because. Unlike in Pac 2, you get full control of Pac this time... sort of. Basically, you have to move Pac around, collecting pellets which will open the door to the next level. You get 4 weapons to help him in each level, which may or may not be hidden in various places in the level. You get play control that absolutely fucking retarted. Pac, probably because he's round, has the tendency to slip easily. If he stands on a plane inclined by one millionth of a degree, he'll start rolling down it. Also, he seems to have become a lot more buoyant since Pac Land and Pac 2, 'cause when he lands, he'll bounce around 1 or 2 times, which makes jumping to small (Sometimes moving) platforms about as fun as masturbating with a dead squirrel. Along with that, a lot of the movement in the game is done with a retractable rope which he uses to swing around from ceilings; a rope that defies all laws of physics. Even while cheating with an emulator, this game was a pain to play, and I ended up being unable to finish it 'cause I reached a level that had no apparent solution whatsoever. The only worse treatment I've seen an American developer give a classic character was with Donkey Kong Country. Too bad Mindscape doesn't have the same power Rare has in hypnotizing people into thinking they're talented. Arcade Classics CD-i release Developer/US publisher: Philips Arcade Classics apparently featured several arcade games from various companies, including Ms. Pac-man, released for the incredibly fucked CD-i. Whether they were remade by Philips or just emulated I have no idea.  Pac in Time PC release Developer: Atreid Concept/Mindscape US publisher: Namco Pac in Time Mac release Developer: Atreid Concept/Mindscape US publisher: Namco Mindscape belches out two more translations of this train wreck... Pac Panic CD-i release Developer/US Publisher: Philips Actually, this may have been a Europe-only release. I dunno. Who cares. Namco Classics Collection vol. 2  Arcade
releaseDeveloper/US publisher: Namco Maybe you've detected a trend of negativity in this big Pac listing. Hey, let's face it... With the exception of the original Pac and Ms. Pac, Pac games throughout history have ranged from mediocre to horrible. Well, finally, the trend discontinues (for a moment) with Pac-man Arrangement, a remake of the original Pac-man game included exclusively in the second Namco Classics arcade machine, along with the original Pac-man, Dig Dug, Rally-X, and their arranged versions. Pac-man Arrangement comes closer to being a REAL sequel than any other game in the Pac series. He does not have arms and legs, nor the ability to bounce around. He just moves in four directions, as he should. The improvements are VERY well-designed and they make the game... well... perfect. The look is improved with cute 3-Dish graphics and playfields with real backdrops. There are powerups that make Pac faster, or give him a "shadow" to help devour the pellets with him. The monsters have been renamed Urchin, Romp, Stylist, and Crybaby (with the same nicknames as before), and are more complex, now that they have the help of a shades-toting monster named Kinky, who wanders around the maze, merging with the other monsters, giving them special powers like the ability to jump or charge at Pac. There are dash panels that propel Pac quickly to the other end of the maze, knocking out all the monsters in his path. And finally, there's two player simaltaneous play, and (get this) a rather cool end boss! One has to wonder why Namco never made something like this earlier, and one REALLY has to wonder why there was only one limited release in the arcades, with no real home version to speak of.
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