Pac-Mania

Short description: 1987 video game

Pac-Mania

Japanese arcade flyer

Developer(s)| Namco[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)|

Namco

*     * Arcade

* JP: Namco
* NA: Atari Games

* Amiga, CPC, Atari ST, C64, MSX, ZX Spectrum
* Grandslam Entertainments
* X68000
* Sharp Corporation
* NES, Mega Drive/Genesis
* Tengen
* Archimedes
* Domark
* Master System
* TecMagik

Director(s)| Tōru Iwatani
Programmer(s)| Taro Shimizu
Artist(s)| Akira Usukura
Composer(s)|

Junko Ozawa

*     * Amiga, CPC, Archimedes, Atari ST, C64, MSX2, ZX Spectrum
* Ben Daglish
* Mega Drive/Genesis
* Paul Webb
* NES
* Paul S. Mudra

Series| Pac-Man
Platform(s)|

Arcade

* Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, ZX Spectrum, X68000, MSX2, NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Acorn Archimedes

Release|

November 1987

* Arcade

* JP: November 1987[3][4]
* NA/EU: December 1987[1][2]

Amiga, Atari ST

* EU: October 1988

C64

* EU: Late 1988

CPC, MSX, Spectrum

* EU: December 1988

X68000

* JP: Early 1989

MSX2

* JP: June 1989

NES

* NA: Late 1990

Master System

* EU: July 1991[5]

Mega Drive/Genesis

* NA: September 1991[6]
* EU: 1991

Archimedes

* EU: 1991

Genre(s)| Maze
Mode(s)| Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system| Namco System 1

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a 1987 maze video game developed and published by Namco for Japanese arcades; it was licensed to Atari Games for release in North America. In the game, the player controls Pac-Man as he must eat all of the dots while avoiding the colored ghosts that chase him in the maze. Eating large flashing "Power Pellets" will allow Pac-Man to eat the ghosts for bonus points, which lasts for a short period of time. A new feature to this game allows Pac-Man to jump over the ghosts to evade capture. It is the ninth title in the Pac-Man video game series and was the last one developed for arcades up until the release of Pac-Man Arrangement in 1996. Development was directed by Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani.

Pac-Mania gained a highly positive critical reception for its uniqueness and gameplay. It was nominated for "Best Coin-Op Conversion of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards in 1987, although it lost to Taito's Operation Wolf. Pac-Mania was ported to several home consoles and computers, including the Atari ST, MSX2, Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System, the last of which being published by Tengen. Several Pac-Man and Namco video game collections also included the game. Ports for the Wii Virtual Console, iOS and mobile phones were also produced.

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 2 Ports
* 3 Reception
* 4 Legacy
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Gameplay

Screenshot of the arcade version, showing the Pac-Man's Park level

Pac-Mania is a maze game viewed from an oblique[7] perspective, with gameplay similar to the franchise's original installment.[8] The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all of the pellets in each stage while avoiding five colored ghosts: Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (cyan), Clyde (orange) and Sue (purple). Eating large Power Pellets will cause the ghosts to turn blue and flee, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points and send them to the house in the middle of the stage. Clearing the stage of dots and pellets will allow Pac-Man to move to the next. Mazes scroll both horizontally and vertically, and the left and right edges of some layouts wrap around to each other. Touching a non-vulnerable ghost costs the player one life.

New to this game is the ability to jump over the ghosts, allowing Pac-Man to evade capture. Later rounds of the game introduce two new ghosts, Funky (green) and Spunky (grey), who also have the ability to jump. While Pac-Man can still barely jump over Funky, it is impossible to jump over Spunky.[8] Eating a certain number of pellets will cause a bonus item to appear in the middle of the stage, which can be eaten for points. Some of these bonus items are called Special Items, which are items from later levels, or are Red and Green Power Pellets. Red Power Pellets double the point values of blue ghosts (this bonus is lost if Pac-Man loses a life), and Green Power Pellets temporarily increase Pac-Man's speed. If the player takes too long to clear a stage, Pac-Man's jumping power begins to decrease steadily until it is entirely lost.

Four different mazes are available: Block Town, Pac-Man's Park, Sandbox Land, and Jungly Steps. Upon completing a set number of rounds in each maze, the player progresses to the next; after playing through all four, the cycle restarts. At the beginning of the game, the player can choose to start in any of the first three mazes and will earn a score bonus for choosing either Pac-Man's Park or Sandbox Land and completing the first round in it.

The game ends when the player has either lost all lives or (depending on the machine setting) cycled through all four mazes a set number of times.

## Ports

Pac-Mania arrived on all of the major 8- and 16-bit systems in Europe in 1988, which were Amiga and Atari ST in October, Commodore 64 later that year, and Amstrad CPC, MSX and ZX Spectrum in December. The conversions were designed and ported by Teque Software, then composed of the duo Peter Harrap and Shaun Hollingworth, and the games were published by Grandslam Entertainment.[9][10] Grandslam also developed an Acorn Archimedes port,[11] which was published by Domark in 1991. Sharp Corporation developed and published a port of the game for its X68000 computer in early 1989.[12] Namco also released an MSX2 port of the game in mid-June that year.[13]

Pac-Mania was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in late 1990 and the Master System and Sega Genesis in 1991 by Tengen. The Genesis version was released in North America and Europe, while the NES version was exclusive to North America and the Master System port (developed and published by TecMagik) was exclusive to Europe.[14][15] The Genesis port was outsourced to Sculptured Software, while the NES port was outsourced to Westwood Studios.

## Reception

Reception

| Review scores

Publication| Score
Amiga| Arcade| Atari ST| C64| Master System| Sega Genesis| ZX
ACE| 775[16]| | 727[16]| | | |
Crash| | | | | | | 82%[18]
CVG| | | 83%[19]| | | | 87%[19]
Sinclair User| | | | | | | 79%[20]
Your Sinclair| | | | | | | 8/10[22]
Zzap!64| 93%[24]| | | | | |
Commodore User| | 9/10[2]| | | | |
Console XS| | | | | 88%[25]| |
Entertainment Weekly| | | | | | B−[26]|
MegaTech| | | | | | 70%[27]|
ST/Amiga Format| 80%[28]| | | | | |
The One| | | | | | |

In Japan, Game Machine listed Pac-Mania as the fifth most successful table arcade unit of December 1987.[29] In North America, Atari sold 1,412 arcade cabinets in 1987, earning about $2.82 million ($7.8 million adjusted for inflation) in cabinet sales.[1]

Entertainment Weekly gave the Genesis version a B− in 1991.[26]

Polish magazine Top Secret gave the NES version 5 out of 5 checks, commending the music, graphics, the comical cut scenes and the ability to jump.[30]

The game was runner-up in the category of Best Coin-Op Conversion of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, behind Operation Wolf.[31]

## Legacy

The arcade version of Pac-Mania appeared in Namco Museum Volume 5, the 2001 Namco Museum release, Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary and Namco Museum Virtual Arcade. In 2001, it was one of the games included in Pac-Man Collection for the Game Boy Advance. Later in 2002, the arcade version was included as an unlockable bonus in Pac-Man World 2. In 2007, Pac-Mania was also released in Namco Museum Remix with Pac & Pal, Pac 'n Roll, Super Pac-Man and other non-Pac-Man games. It was re-released in 2010 as part of the follow-up compilation Namco Museum Megamix, along with 17 other Namco arcade games and six remix games, five of which appeared in Namco Museum Remix.

In 2010, the design of Pac-Man and the ghosts from Pac-Mania appear in Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, and the game itself was released for iOS devices. Pac-Mania was also re-released as part of the Pac-Man's Arcade Party arcade machine in 2010 for Pac-Man's 30th anniversary. In February 2014, it was included in the Pac-Man Museum for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC via Steam. In 2018, it was included in the Pac-Man's Pixel Bash arcade cabinet, along with other Pac-Man, and different Namco games. The game is included in the 2022 compilation title Pac-Man Museum+, released for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. On December 8, 2022, Pac-Mania was also included as part of the Arcade Archives by Hamster Corporation.

The music from Pac-Man's Park was later used in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures as the "power up" theme for "Pac" (the show's version of Pac-Man). The same theme, along with Block Town's music, was remixed and used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and later Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

## Notes

1. ↑ Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Archimedes, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX and ZX Spectrum versions developed by Krisalis Software; X68000 version developed by SPS; NES version developed by Westwood Associates; Mega Drive/Genesis version developed by Sculptured Software; Master System version developed by TecMagik.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Production Numbers". Atari Games. August 31, 1999. http://www.atarigames.com/atarinumbers90s.pdf.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Arcades". Commodore User (United Kingdom: EMAP) (52 (January 1988)). December 1987. https://www.solvalou.com/arcade/reviews/263/253. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
3. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編 (1971–2005). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 52. ISBN 978-4990251215. https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n53/mode/2up?view=theater.
4. ↑ "Pacmania. (Registration Number PA0001261093)". https://cocatalog.loc.gov.
5. ↑ "USD believes in Magik". Computer Trade Weekly (Opportunity Publishing) (343): 6. 1 July 1991. https://retrocdn.net/images/7/76/CTW_UK_343.pdf. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
6. ↑ "16-bit Gamer's Guide". GamePro (IDG) (23): 38. June 1991. https://archive.org/details/game-pro-issue-23-june-1991/page/n42/mode/1up.
7. ↑ Mitchell, Briar Lee (2012). Game Design Essentials. Wiley. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-118-23933-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=UZglGi-MDZIC&pg=PT96. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bobinator (2019-08-16). "Pac-Mania". Hardcore Gaming 101. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/pac-mania/.
9. ↑ Reed, Michael (2011-10-13). "From the Archives: Krisalis". Retro Gamer (95): 76.
10. ↑ "Action Pac-ed". The Games Machine (13): 65. December 1988. https://archive.org/details/thegamesmachine-13/page/n64. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
11. ↑ "Pac-Man". Retro Gamer (179). March 2018.
12. ↑ Kawano, Toshi. "Challenge!X68000" (in ja). micomBASIC (4): 290. https://archive.org/details/micomBASIC_1989-04/page/n253. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
13. ↑ "ますます充実『パックマニア』" (in ja). Namco Community Magazine NG (29): 33. June 1989. https://archive.org/details/ng-namco-community-magazine-monthly-issue-29-june-1989-600dpi/NG Namco Community Magazine (Monthly Issue 29) - June 1989 (Searchable)/page/n32. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
14. ↑ "Next Wave: Pacmania". Electronic Gaming Monthly (17): 34. December 1990. https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_17/page/n34. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
15. ↑ Scullion, Chris (2021). The Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Encyclopedia: Every Game Released for Sega's 16-bit Console. White Owl. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-52674-659-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=W-VVEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA138. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ACE/Issue16/Pages/ACE1600111.jpg.
17. ↑ Amiga Computing review, February 1989, http://amr.abime.net/review_48284
18. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue59/Pages/Crash5900010.jpg.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue085/Pages/CVG08500059.jpg.
20. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue081/Pages/SinclairUser08100072.jpg.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=TheGamesMachine/Issue14/Pages/TheGamesMachine1400036.jpg.
22. ↑ "Pacmania". Ysrnry.co.uk. http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/pacmania.htm.
23. ↑ Zero magazine issue 20, June 1991, http://amr.abime.net/review_11655
24. ↑ Zzap!64 magazine, Issue 45, January 1989, http://amr.abime.net/review_15965
25. ↑ "Software A-Z: Master System". Console XS (United Kingdom: Paragon Publishing) (1 (June/July 1992)): 137–47. 23 April 1992. https://archive.org/details/console-xs-01/page/137.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Strauss, Bob (November 1, 1991). "Pac-Mania". Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/article/1991/11/01/pac-mania/. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
27. ↑ MegaTech rating, MegaTech, EMAP, issue 6, page 77, June 1992
28. ↑ ST/Amiga Format, December 1988 http://amr.abime.net/review_34663
29. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (322): 25. 15 December 1987.
30. ↑ "Top Secret 20". October 1993. https://archive.org/details/TopSecret20/page/n31/mode/2up.
31. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue092/Pages/CVG09200062.jpg.

## External links

* Pac-Mania at the Killer List of Videogames
* Pac-Mania at the Arcade History database
* Pac-Mania at SpectrumComputing.co.uk

* v
* t
* e

Pac-Man

Video games|

| Arcade|

* Pac-Man
* Ms. Pac-Man
* Pac-Man Plus
* Super Pac-Man
* Pac & Pal
* Professor Pac-Man
* Jr. Pac-Man
* Pac-Land
* Pac-Mania
* Arrangement
* VR
* Pac'n Party
* Battle Royale

|

Pinball|

* Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man
* Baby Pac-Man

Consoles and PC|

* Pac-Man (Atari 2600)
* Pac-Attack
* The New Adventures
* Pac-In-Time
* World
* Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
* Adventures in Time
* Collection
* Ms. Pac-Man
* World 2
* All-Stars
* Fever
* Vs.
* Pac-Pix
* Pinball Advance
* Arrangement
* Pac 'n Roll
* World 3
* World Rally
* Championship Edition
* Pac-Motos
* Party
* Championship Edition DX
* Tilt
* Ghostly Adventures
* Museum
* Ghostly Adventures 2
* 256
* Championship Edition 2

Other|

* Bandai Namco compilations
* Namco Museum
* Pac-Man Games
* Arcade Game Series
* World's Biggest Pac-Man
* Pac-Man Dash!
* Clones

Miscellaneous|

| Appearances|

* Kick
* Mario Kart Arcade GP series
* Street Fighter X Tekken
* Super Smash Bros.
* for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
* Ultimate
* Crossy Road
* Sonic Dash

|

Characters|

* Pac-Man
* Ghosts

Other media|

* Pac-Man (TV series)
* Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
* Episodes
* Christmas Comes to Pac-Land
* "Pac-Man Fever" (song)
* Wreck-It Ralph
* Pixels
* 2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

Related|

* Bandai Namco
* Namco
* Namco Generations
* Pac-Man Entertainment
* Toru Iwatani
* Pac-Man defense

* Book
* Category

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