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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-man
Famicon
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
Attack
Super 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-man
a.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
Time
Game 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
release
Developer/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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