"You still look like you could use a close shave!" |
"I'm afraid of spiders!"" |
"Tell that to the hand!"" |
Inky (Japanese: 青助 Aosuke) is the cyan (blue) ghost from the Pac-Man Series. He is often depicted as a goofy, fickle, and slow headed ghost, particularly in Pac-Man World 2 and Pac-Man World 3. His closest of his ghost friends is Blinky. Also, over time, Inky has gone from third command to second command in the ghost group.
While originally the main antagonist alongside Blinky, Pinky and Clyde in the first Pac-Man arcade game, their role has largely been diminished to secondary antagonists or allies in recent incarnations. He is a good friend of Pinky, Blinky and Clyde.
History
Pac-Man
Inky first appears alongside Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde in the original Pac-Man, made in 1980. Here, Inky, somewhat like Clyde, would often not be pursuing Pac-Man as directly as Blinky and Pinky did. However, Inky can also pose a very serious threat to Pac-Man, as he is, arguably, the least predictable ghost. His original English descriptor, "Stylist", is very likely a reference to a special trait in his targeting scheme–the way in which it is done, using the relative positions of Blinky and Pac-Man, means that he is the only ghost whose target will constantly vary, even if Pac-Man is stationary. He is also the only ghost that factors another ghost's position into his targeting scheme. Needless to say, Inky is the most complex ghost among his comrades.
His goal is to reach a spot twice the distance from Blinky to two spaces in front of Pac-Man, in that direction. Because of this, Inky's movements will seem a lot more random the farther away Blinky is from Pac-Man. If Blinky is far behind Pac-Man, Inky will often be wandering off somewhere far ahead of Pac-Man. But if Blinky is closely following behind Pac-Man, Inky will usually just try to follow Blinky until the ghosts "scatter" again.
In most home releases of Pac-Man including and following the Namco Museum Vol. 1 release, Inky's only target in "chase" mode is Blinky's position. While this makes Inky somewhat easier to predict, he is still arguably the hardest ghost to manipulate, as his movement is no longer directly related to Pac-Man's position. When in "scatter" mode, Inky occupies the lower-right corner of the maze.
He continues a similar role in these subsequent arcade games:
- Ms. Pac-Man
- Pac-Man Junior
- Super Pac-Man
- Pac & Pal
- Pac-Man Arrangement
- Pac-Man: Adventures in Time
- Pac-Man Championship Edition
- Pac-Man Battle Royal
- Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Pac-Land
In Pac-Land, Inky is the third-slowest ghost in the game. In the American version of the game, his appearance and depiction are altered to resemble his 80's cartoon counterpart.
Pac-Man World 2
In Pac-Man World 2, Inky teams up with an ancient ghost of Pac-Land, named Spooky, along with his ghost friends, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde, to steal the Golden Fruit. He is the second boss in the game. His fight takes place on tree tops in the rain forest canopy area. Here, he creates a giant, ghost-like machine. The machine has razor blades on all sides. He is the first fight with the ghost machine. Inky's Machine can be hit by rev-rolls or butt bounces. If you manage to stay on top of Inky's Blade-O-Matic, you can see Inky at the controls. In Pac-Man World 2, Inky seems to be closest friends with the red ghost, Blinky. Also in Pac-Man World 2, it seems Inky does not think things through. One example of this is he builds his battle machine from wood. Because Inky has a bad aim, you don't have to worry about being seen, or when he shoots at you, but look out when he tries to knock you off the tree platform! At the end of the game Inky is complaining how Spooky wants them to free him again, then he is chased away by Pac-Man's dog, Chomp-Chomp. And also, in Pac-Man World 2, Inky is the funny ghost by always getting into bad situations. A great example of this is that in the intro video, Blinky pulls a tree branch back, then lets it go hitting Inky sending Inky high into the air. This seems to be a reference to the TV show, when Inky sings "He goes through the air with the greatest of three, the daring young ghost monster known as Inky."
Pac-Man World 3
In Pac-Man World 3, Clyde and Inky get captured and get put in a small cage by Erwin. Inky seems to be on Erwin's bad side and Inky brought Clyde down with him. Pac-Man has to team up with Blinky and Pinky to save Inky and Clyde.
Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness
Along with the other ghosts, Inky was recruited by the witch Mesmerelda to stop Ms. Pac-Man from finding the four Gems of Virtue. Inky and the ghosts fail in their mission, allowing Ms. Pac-Man to defeat Mesmerelda and restore Pac-Land. Inky also appears in the similar PC title, Ms. Pac-Man: Quest for the Golden Maze. Inky is playable in the multiplayer "Ghost Chase" mode, though he is limited to the second player.
Pac-Man Pinball Advance
Inky and the ghosts send Pac-Man a letter, notifying him that they've kidnapped the residents of Pac-Land. Pac-Man rescues the Pac-People and defeats the ghosts using pinball techniques.
Pac 'n Roll
Inky and the ghosts appear in Pac 'n Roll as enemies. They team up with Golvis in order to get rid of Pac-Man after their previous defeats. It was Pinky's idea to resurrect Golvis. Although Inky, Blinky, and Clyde weren't completely interested, they went along with Pinky's plans. After the destruction of Golvis's UFO, Inky and the others watch Pac-Man on a television in the middle of the ocean.
Pac-Man Party
Inky appears as a playable character in Pac-Man Party. His look has been somewhat altered, given what appears to be hair- on the top of his head, but is actually part of his body. His new look would go on to inspire his depiction in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. In the game, he aids Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde in stealing cookies from Mr. Cookie. At the end of the game though, it is revealed that they never stole the cookies and that they were actually given to them by Mr. Cookie himself to test Pac-Man and his heroism.
Pac-Man Dash!
Inky appears in Pac-Man Dash! as a support character.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (game)
Inky appears in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (video game) as an ally of Pac-Man alongside his other three cohorts.
Characteristics and Personality
"A blue ghost that chases after PAC-MAN in the PAC-MAN series…sometimes. He's also known as Bashful, since he moves around indecisively depending on whether PAC-MAN is nearby. In Smash Bros., he appears in the PAC-MAZE stage and in PAC-MAN's up smash." |
Inky's personality is pretty straight forward; He's goofy and never thinks things through and this often makes him appear a bit dimwitted but not as much as Clyde. Inky is usually the funny and mellow ghost who tries to remain cool, but always manages to fail at keeping his cool when scared or scolded by his fellow ghosts.
In the World series and 80's cartoon, Inky is portrayed as the dumbest and clumsiest ghost while Pac-Man Party portrays him as the smartest of the four ghosts.
Other media
Pac-Man (80's cartoon)
Inky appears as an antagonist in Pac-Man 80's cartoon. He is portrayed as the dumbest and clumsiest ghost and always messes up much to the annoyance of his peers and is always bossed around and insulted by Clyde. He is depicted as cyan and wears a cyan-colored fedora. He also has a big pocket so he is the one who takes supplies along. He was voiced by Barry Gordon.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
Inky appears in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures as a member of the Ghost Gang. He seems to be the most sarcastic of the group, and may be the most intelligent member. He is friendly with Pac, even once calling him by a friendly nickname "Packy". Blinky is shown to have a sort of rivalry with him as well. He is voiced by Lee Tockar in the English dub and Mai Toudou in the Japanese version.
Wreck-It Ralph
Inky makes an apperance in "Wreck-It Ralph" at the Game Central Station.
PIXELS
Inky's role in the movie was assumed by a ghost car driven by Professor Toru Iwatani, who was played by Denis Akiyama. Inky's role is the most short lived of the ghosts since Iwatani's character stepped out of the car to peacefully confront a hostile Pac-Man, only to get his hand chomped and reduced to pixels.
Gallery
.png "Inky in Pac-Man (TV Series).png (65 KB)")
Trivia
General
- Inky is the only ghost of the main four that hasn't changed at all since his first appearance. (Pinky has been depicted as male a few times before, and Blinky and Clyde had name swaps in the Pac-Man World series.)
- Super Smash Bros. places Inky in two trophies, Pac-Man's up smash, the assistant trophy for the Ghost Gang, and the Pac-Maze.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
- Inky is the second 'tallest' ghost in Ghost Gang, after Clyde. He also appears to be thinnest of the four.
- Despite he's the youngest in the gang, he is also the smartest.
- Of the four, he's the only one with a noticeable accent.
- He seems to have broken voice.
- In Invasion of the Pointy Heads, Inky can actually 'multiply'.
- He's been eaten the most out of all the Ghost Gang members. In No Pets Allowed... Especially Monsters Part I, his bottom half was eaten. In Invasion of the Pointy Heads, it was needed. In another episode, it was accidental.
- This could be a stab at how his color, instead of his original cyan, is closer to the blue ghosts turn when Pac-Man eats a power pellet.
| Pac-Man Characters | |
|---|---|
| Main Characters | Pac-Man • Ms. Pac-Man • Jr. Pac-Man • Baby Pac-Man • Professor Pac-Man • Chomp-Chomp |
| Other Characters | Miru • Sour Puss • Pac-Devil • Sir Pac-A-Lot • Pac-Master • Ms. Pac-Master • Krystal • Buttercup • Fairy |
| Pac-Ghosts | Blinky • Pinky • Inky • Clyde • Sue • Funky • Spunky • Kinky • Tim • Orson • Yum-Yum |
| Main Antagonists | Ghost Witch • Toc-Man • Mesmerelda • Mollusc • Spooky • Wandy • Erwin • Golvis • Ink Master • Mezmeron |
| Minor Antagonists | Gobblin • Jack • Wormwood • The Fiend |
| Pac-Man Party | Mr. Cookie • Patra • Roger • Woofa • Bearserk |
| Ghostly Adventures | Pacster • Cylindria • Spiral • Betrayus • Fuzbitz • Sir Cumference • Spheros • Dr. Buttocks • Butt-ler |
| Crossovers | Pooka • Fygar • Dig Dug • Mappy • Mr. Driller • The Prince • Mario |