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Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (known as Pac-World in Japan (パックワールド), also abbreviated as the Ghostly Adventures) is a computer-animated television series produced by Namco Bandai Games and 41 Entertainment. It is a spin-off of the Pac-Man series and is the second TV series based on the games following the Hanna-Barbera TV series, which ended in 1983. The series originally debuted in the United States through Disney XD on June 15, 2013, running for a total of 2 seasons compromised of 52 episodes, until May 29, 2015.

The TV series would spawn a line of four games (on console and mobile) and merchandise products as well as promotions.

Overview[]

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures takes place in a planet called Pac-World, regularly taking place in a futuristic city called Pacopolis, which is inhabited by orb-like Pac-People. In the year 2522 (according to The Adventure Begins - Part 1), Pac-World was once a peaceful planet, until an conspiracy led by Commander Betrayus, the brother of Spheros, attempted to seize control of Pac-World, initiating a Pac-World War, referred in modern days as the Ghost Wars. After years of fighting Betrayus and his army, the people of Pac-World reigned supreme and defeated Commander Betrayus' army. The Pac-People stripped Commander Betrayus and his minions of their corporeal bodies by using the Repository, and banished their spirits within the Netherworld, where they have remained sealed for years.

In the present day, the titular Pac-Man (real name Pac, though nicknamed "Pacster" by his friends) attends Maze High School with his best friends Spiral and Cylindria. Pac is a war orphan after his parents disappeared during the Ghost Wars; he is raised by his Aunt Spheria and resides with his friends inside the Maze High School dorms. After being relentlessly chased by the school bully Skeebo for emptying the whole school cafeteria as part of an all-you-can-eat buffet, Pac hides from Skeebo by fleeing to the local maze, Maze 256; a maze just next to the school. Pac gets lost within the maze, and stumbles upon a suspicious path with warning signs. After assuming it may be a prank from Skeebo, Pac goes down the path but ends up tumbling down a forbidden tunnel, where he accidentally opens a large gate that breaks the seal between Pac-World and the Netherworld. With the seal broken, the ghosts are now able to roam free in Pac-World. Betrayus, now the leader of the Netherworld with his servants Dr. Buttocks and Butt-ler, leads the ghosts into invading and terrorizing Pac-World, not stopping until they are able to seize control of Pac-World by stealing the Tree of Life or the Repository, where the ghosts' bodies are located. Among the first ghost invasion, Pac is ambushed by Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, but are then eaten afterwards as he is a "Yellow One". Not long after, Spheros, now the president of Pac-World and associated with Pac's parents, discovers Pac's ability to fight back and scare the ghosts as a "Yellow One", also discovering he is the last of the powerful "Yellow Ones"; fulfilling a prophecy written centuries ago that a "Yellow One" would rise to protect Pac-World. Spheros reveals the Tree of Life to Pac, a giant tree that grows special Power Berries and stabilizes the atmosphere in Pac-World. Without the tree, Pac-World would collapse into the Netherworld.

Though initially reluctant, Pac takes on the ghosts from the Netherworld and uses the Power Berries to power up. When chasing ghosts for the first time using the special Power Berries, Pac corners Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, who surrender to the Pac-People and vow to help Pac and his friends defeat Betrayus as spies, in exchange to be restored to their corporeal bodies. After successfully retrieving the Tree of Life after it was stolen by the ghosts of the Netherworld, Pac is hailed as Pac-World's guardian and is named "Pac-Man" by President Spheros for his heroic acts.

Pac-Man and his friends are often supplied with helpful equipment from Sir Cumference, a Pac-Scientist who also houses his robot Grinder and Fuzbitz, a tamed monster from the Netherworld. Using the many different abilities of the Power Berries to power-up and gain special powers, Pac-Man often deals with battling Betrayus and his ghosts with their evil plans, or are sometimes also ambushed by other evils. He is occasionally supported by Cylindria, Spiral, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde and others during his adventures. In his regular life, Pac continues to attend Maze High School, occasionally meeting up with many friends, dealing with various different situations and situations related to himself, such as attempting to control his appetite or dealing with situations happening in Pacopolis.

Along defeating the evils that attempt to seize control of Pac-World such, Pac encounters faces of people responsible for commiting genocide on the "yellow ones" such as The Pacinator and Apex; from the latter which Pac learns that his parents, Zac and Sunny, are still alive. After learning about his parents, Pac begins to investigate the disappearance of her parents and where they might be found. As the series never received a proper conclusion by the time the show was cancelled, it is unknown if Pac would ever find his parents.

Episodes[]

Pilot trailer[]

Season 1[]

  1. The Adventure Begins - Part I (June 15, 2013)
  2. The Adventure Begins - Part II (June 15, 2013)
  3. No Pets Allowed... Especially Monsters - Part I (June 19, 2013)
  4. No Pets Allowed... Especially Monsters - Part II (June 20, 2013)
  5. All You Can Eat (June 21, 2013)
  6. President Possessed! (June 24, 2013)
  7. Is Zit You Or Is Zit Me? (June 25, 2013)
  8. Pac to the Future (June 26, 2013)
  9. Heebo-Skeebo (June 27, 2013)
  10. Mission ImPacable! (June 28, 2013)
  11. Nobody Knows (July 1, 2013)
  12. Seems Like Old Times (July 2, 2013)
  13. Betrayus Turns The Heat Up (July 3, 2013)
  14. Pac-Pong Fever (July 5, 2013)
  15. Driver's Pac (July 22, 2013)
  16. Jinxed! (July 23, 2013)
  17. Indiana Pac and the Temple Of Slime (August 31, 2013)
  18. Planet Pac Versus the Ghosteroid (September 14, 2013)
  19. Stand By Your Pac-Man (September 21, 2013)
  20. Paclantis (September 28, 2013)
  21. Jurassic Pac (October 5, 2013)
  22. A Berry Scary Night (October 12, 2013)
  23. The Great Chase! (October 19, 2013)
  24. Robo Woes (October 26, 2013)
  25. The Spy Who Slimed Me (November 2, 2013)
  26. Invasion of the Pointy Heads (November 9, 2013)

Season 2[]

  1. Ride The Wild Pac-Topus (June 9, 2014)
  2. Meanie Genie (June 10, 2014)
  3. Cave PAC-MAN (June 11, 2014)
  4. Cosmic Contest (June 12, 2014)
  5. That Smarts! (June 16, 2014)
  6. Pac-Mania (June 17, 2014)
  7. Rip Van Packle (June 23, 2014)
  8. Spooka-Bazooka! (June 24, 2014)
  9. The Pac Be With You (June 30, 2014)
  10. The Shadow of the Were-Pac (October 8, 2014)
  11. A Hard Dazed Knight (October 15, 2014)
  12. Captain Banshee and his Interstellar Buccaneers (October 16, 2014)
  13. Happy Holidays and a Merry Berry Day (December 2, 2014)
  14. Peace Without Slime (May 18, 2015)
  15. Ghost Behind the Throne (May 19, 2015)
  16. Nerd is the Word (May 20, 2015)
  17. Bride of Grinder (May 21, 2015)
  18. Legends of Creepy Hollow (May 22, 2015)
  19. Easter Egg Island (May 26, 2015)
  20. The Wizard of Odd (May 27, 2015)
  21. Indiana Pac and the Dentures of Doom (May 28, 2015)
  22. Honey, I Digitized the Pac-Man (May 29, 2015)
  23. Pac's Scary Halloween Part I (October 4, 2016 on Netflix)
  24. Pac's Scary Halloween, Part II (October 4, 2016 on Netflix)
  25. Santa Pac (September 3, 2015 on Netflix)
  26. New Girl in Town (May 29, 2015)

“Season 2” was actually produced in two separate, thirteen-episode sets; however, the 26 episodes together have been officially classified as the second and final season.

The Halloween and Christmas specials were both part of Season 2 officially, but went unaired until their actual holidays. On some digital services, the specials were released separately from the rest of the series, under the titles Pac’s Scary Halloween (combining parts 1 and 2) and Santa Pac’s Merry Berry Day (combining episodes #13 and #25).

Characters[]

Pac-Worlders[]

The Pac-Worlders are a race consisting of spherical bodies with arms and legs attached to them. They come in different colors and sizes, but yellow Pac-Worlders are known for being able to eat ghosts. Aside from accessories like hats, jewelry and shoes, most of the clothing Pac-Worlders wear is nothing but sleeves for their arms and legs. Most Pac-People have circle based names (Cylindra = cylinder, Sir Cumference = circumference, Spheros = sphere, Skeebo = skee-ball, Spiral = spiral, etc.)

Pac: (voiced by Erin Mathews) The main protagonist of the series, often known by the familiar "Pac-Man," which is his superhero name in this series. He is a young, Pac-Worlder who likes to gobble up every piece of food he see. He has been orphaned since he was a young child when he had lost his parents. He acts immature sometimes, but Pacster always gets the job done. Pac is the only Pac-Worlder who has the ability to scare and consume ghosts due to the fact that a prophecy called him as "the yellow one." To help him support his special gift, he uses Power Berries, which gives him powers.

Spiral: (voiced by Sam Vincent) Pac's roommate. Spiral has been best friends with Pac and always stays by his side playing fun and games with him.

Cylindria: (voiced by Andrea Libman) Pac-Man's classmate. She is a pink, gothic Pac-Worlder who supports Pac all the way. Earlier in the series, she was originally Skeebo's girlfriend, but he broke up with her due to his cowardice. Cyli has a crush on Pac-Man.

Sir Cumference: (voiced by Ian James Corlett) An old-timely scientist who has been in his secret lab for ages. He is a green Pac-Worlder and he also provides Pac-World with a variety of ghostbusting weapons to help combat the ghostly menace. He helps Pac-Man and his friends along the way.

President Spheros: (voiced by Samuel Vincent) The president of Pac-World and coach/referee of Pac-Pong in Spheria's flashback. He is Betrayus' older brother and a green Pac-Worlder.

Spheria: (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) Pac-Man's aunt with a southern accent. She is very good at Pac-Pong, where she is known by her alias "Spheria Suprema."

Skeebo: (voiced by Matt Hill) Pac's jock classmate. He's a bully who teases Pac all the time. Most of all, he is jealous of Pac's heroic status and wants to be better than him.

Sherri: Pac-Man's classmate. She is a pink Pac-Worlder with braces on her teeth who knows that cheaters never prosper.

Mr. Strictler: (voiced by Mark Oliver) He only appears in Driver's Pac where he fails Pac on his drivers test. He is Sherri's father.

News Reporter: (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) She is a light green Pac-Worlder who is the local news reporter for all of Pac-World.

Kingpin Obtuse: (voiced by Lee Tockar) A dark green crime lord of Pac-World's criminal underworld. He was paid by Lord Betrayus where he tricked Skeebo into stealing Pac-Man's Super Power Berries.

Pacinator: (voiced by Ian James Corlett) The evil cyan pac-worlder who commited the genocide of yellow ones on the orders of an unknown client. He was hired by the evil overlord alien, Apex.

Elliptica: (voiced by Kazumi Evans) She is the pink Pac-Worlder. She is the niece of President Spheros and Betrayus.

Moondog: (voiced by TBA) He is Cylindria's father.

Starchild: (voiced by TBA) She is Cylindria's mother.

Grannie: (voiced by TBA) She is Cylindria's grandma.

Zac: (voiced by TBA) He is Pac's father.

Sunny: (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) She is Pac's mother.

Ghosts[]

The ghosts are deceased living beings now in the form of supernatural spirits. They come in various colors: green, blue, red, purple, white, orange, pink, etc. as well as different sizes. When scared, they turn dark blue and shrink to half of their original height, similar to their appearance whenever Pac-Man eats a Power Pellet in the games.

Betrayus: (voiced by Sam Vincent) President Spheros' younger brother and the main antagonist of the series. He's a selfish, childish, power-hungry and ruler of the Netherworld. He's really stubborn and wants all of his plans to go his way. He was the rebellious commander of Pac-World War 1 and 2 many years ago. After Betrayus lost, his astral spirit was separated from his physical body and he was banished to the Netherworld as a ghost. Seeking revenge, he took over the realm with a fiery claw hands and gained an armada of ghosts and monsters at his command. Betrayus is the powerful fire ghost.

The Ghost Gang: The original characters which consists of the four original colored ghosts. They are residents of the netherworld in which just like the other ghosts, they have been separated from their physical bodies. They have been hoping to find a way on seeking redemption so that they may live another day. But apart from finding resurrection, they go on mischievous haunting for their own pleasure. But ever since they helped Pac and his friends, they harbored a secret relationship with him and became friends with him eventually.

Inky: (voiced by Lee Tockar) The blue ghost who has somewhat of a laid-back/goofy demeanor and a sort of rivalry with his best friend Blinky. He is the youngest and skinniest member of the Ghost Gang.
Blinky: (voiced by Ian James Corlett) The red ghost with the loudest personality and acts as the leader of the Ghost Gang. He is working to create a united union to help rid of Betrayus' armada of ghosts and monsters. He was a Pac fu master before he was a ghost. He is the second oldest member of the Ghost Gang.
Pinky: (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) The pink ghost who has a crush on Pac. She is very possessive of him, becoming extremely jealous of any would-be or assumed rivals for his affection, particularly Cylindria. She often argues with her friends, but loves them nonetheless. She is the second youngest, shortest and only female member of the Ghost Gang.
Clyde: (voiced by Brian Drummond) The orange ghost with a kind heart. At times can be a bit of a intellectual. Sometimes when he's upset he splits in half. He is the oldest and largest member of the Ghost Gang.


Glooky: a green ghost who's left eye is half shut from the bottom. He is a friend of Blinky.


Ogle: a cyclops ghost who works as a food vendor. his menu consists of Maggotroni & Cheese, Slugsubs, Roachburgers, among other disgusting delights.

Seymor: One of the creepies sent to retrieve the repository for Betrayus.

Mavis: a female orange ghost who owns a pet albino stalker.

Fred: a white ghost who was used in place of a white flag in the episode "Pac-Pong"

Butt-ler: (voiced by Brian Drummond) Betrayus' servant and butler. He is a purple ghost with a butt-shaped head who wears a black bowler hat and speaks with a British accent. He's always loyal to his master. During the Pac-World War he was known as Corporal Honeyhead, a spy for Betrayus.

Dr. Buttocks: (voiced by Brian Drummond) The Netherworld's greatest scientist with an ego rivaling that of Betrayus and is Butt-ler's twin brother. He also has a butt-shaped head, but is light blue, wears red framed glasses, has a mechanical claw for his right hand and speaks with a German accent. He specializes in inventing evil gadgets with his superior intellect. He can build nuclear weapons to his command. He also leads a special task force, But not before Butt-ler took over command of that force. He finds out the Ghost Gang are working with Pac-Man and his friends.

Specter:(voiced by Brendan Ryan Barrett) The spy ghost. He is clever and manipulative and turns out to be a traitor.

Master Goo:(voiced by Vincent Tong) - He is a calm but cocky Ninja Ghost who is a Pac-Fu Master. During Betrayus's deadly revolt, he discovered the dark side of Pac-Fu but was defeated by the Good Pac-Fu Masters. Years later, he became a Martial Arts Coach for Betrayus's Ghost Forces. He seems to be even stronger than Specter.

Cyclops Ghosts: A race of Heavy-set, horned ghosts with one eye. One of them works as a food vendor, named Ogle. They are heavy duty supporters who carry heavy machineguns from their backs and protect Pro-Betrayist loyalists with blockades of barriers.

Fire Ghosts: A race of orange ghosts who can emit fire from their body. Pac-Man can only eat them if has ice powers. Betrayus orders these ghosts so that they can work together to heat up the metal and melt it.

Ice Ghosts: A race of blue ghosts who can emit ice from their body. They first appeared in "A Berry Scary Night". They can freeze just almost everything. Pac-Man can use his Fire Powers to melt them into splot.

Lightning Ghosts: A race of yellow ghosts who can emit lightning from their body. They can lightning just almost everything.

Tentacle Ghosts: A race of 4-eyed purple-black ghosts who look similar to jellyfish. They are really bad at guarding duty, And they're dumbfounded.

Guardian Ghosts: Large ghosts who guard the netherworld. They wear metal masks, have glowing cyan-blue eyes, and usually carry a staff.

Aqua Ghosts: Light blue ghosts with fins on their head. They first appeared in the episode "Heebo-Skeebo". Several of these ghosts wear black caps with Betrayus' symbol on it to hide their fins.

Ghost Sharks: A race of ghostly sharks reside the waters of PacLantis. They first appeared in "PacLantis". They have special radar detectors on their head so that if they spot an enemy, they will hunt them down.

Cap'n Banshee: He is the pirate ghost.

Monsters/Others[]

Fuzbitz: a small, furry monster who is Sir Cumference's pet. He has a similar appetite to Pac-Man. When angry he turns into a more ferocious version of himself, despite this ability Betrayus and Dr. Buttocks thought he was useless.

Stalker: a black medium sized monster with 2 legs, a long eel-like body, and multi-eyed face full of sharp teeth. despite its ferocious appearance, it's actually quite wimpy. In "No-body Knows" it was shown that some ghosts keep small (cat-size) ones as pets.

GhostAndGhostMonsters

Stalker

Gargoyle: heavy-set blue monsters with three eyes and large wings. Their wings glow red when flying. Dr. Buttocks used an army of these monsters to invade Pac-World.

Dragon: large red lizards with one eye and huge wings. They appear as a stone grey when sleeping.

Slugs: Their are three types of slug in the netherworld; green, purple and orange. The green slugs are often used in netherworld delicacies (and often eaten while still alive). The orange slugs are used by Betrayus to spy on Pac-World. In "No-Body Knows" Betrayus used a large infestation of slugs to find the repository in the capital building. They seem a little reluctant to do as their told, seeing as one wouldn't listen to Dr. Buttocks when he told it to spy on Sir Cumferance in "Indiana Pac & The Temple of Slime". The purple slugs are underwater.

Venus Dragon Flytrap: Large carnivorous plants (fly pitcher plant) indigenous to the Netherworld. They prefer scorching-hot temperatures. It'll grow the heat is over temperture, the bigger they are, the hungry they get.

Fluffy: A giant Cerberus-esque poodle- Although it may sound sweet, when you anger it, it will turn into a demon. This "Poodle" has three heads. When they are actually nice, the middle one has a soft side and sends get well cards to his victims. Fluffy is actually a guard dog.

MonoBats: Small bats with iris-shaped heads and a single eye.

Madame Ghoulasha: a wicked nether-witch only appears in "Jinxed" appears in the Netherworld and casts a spell on Pac, causing him bad luck from her.

Golems: Golems are beings made of solid stone, though slow moving, they are quite powerful. A number of them live in the temple in the North-West region of the Netherworld. Golems can sleep through almost anything, making them seem like normal statues. When awake their eyes will glow bright red. They are good at lifting super heavy tanks and cannons.

Count Pacula: the villain vampac.

Apex: the evil overlord pac-alien. He is the leader of Pointy Heads.

Professor Pointybrains: The professor alien. He helped Apex.

Tip: A brawny alien and one of Apex's followers who befriends Pac-Man.

Jean: An evil genie.

Dr. Pacestein: The talking brain. He is with his sidekick, Eeghost.

Easter Peep: The chicken.

International broadcast[]

In the United States, the show premeired on Disney XD on June 15, 2013 until May 2015. 3 holiday episodes were aired on Netflix in 2015 and 2016. These episodes were broadcast on Disney XD during October 30, 2016 and December 25, 2016. Discovery Family airs reruns, including the holiday episodes as of November 16, 2019. The series iis available to stream on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Roku, YouTube Video, Peacock, Crave. The series was formerly available on HBO Max until it was removed in 2021. The first and second seasons (first half of season 2) are currently available to watch on YouTube for free via 41 Entertainment's official Amazin' Adventures channel.

In the United Kingdom, it aired on Disney Channel in December 1, 2013. Later, it moved to Disney XD for new episodes. The show currently airs on POP as of December 1, 2021. In Germany, it aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Reruns also air on RTL (via the RTL Kids block) and Super RTL. In Portugal, it aired on Biggs during 2013. It premeired on RTP2 a few years later. It had a brief run on Disney Channel from November 1, 2018 to mid-2021. In Brazil, it aired on Globo in 2013, and on SBT and Rede Record in 2015. The show also aired on Disney XD and it had a short-lived run on Disney Channel during the 2020 rebrand.

In the rest of the world, it airs on different channels, like Disney XD, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Cartoon Network, Discovery Kids and more.

Reception[]

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures received high ratings during its initial airing on Disney XD in both the United States and United Kingdom, mainly from pre-teen children. It also gained large viewership numbers in France and Spain.[1] However, from critics and the general gaming populous (especially longtime fans of the Pac-Man series), the response was mixed to negative. While some aspects of the series were praised such as action sequences and some episode plots, most of the criticism derived from the drastically different art style, many elements being changed from the already established Pac-Man formula, the lack of longtime characters like Ms. Pac-Man and Professor Pac-Man, who more or less had counterpart replacements with similar roles (such as Cylindria for Ms. Pac and Sir Cumference for Professor), as well as criticism directed to excess use of toilet humor, poor writing and stories. Granted, much of Ghostly Adventures' criticism seems to have been from confusion as to whether it was supposed to be a permanent reboot of the Pac-Man franchise or just a side-series, with many not taking the idea of a reboot lightly. The show currently has a mixed review score of 4.8 out of 10 on IMDb.[2]

Despite this, the series still holds a cult following. To some degree, the Ghostly Adventures branch has been slightly vindicated by history for taking risks and trying to experiment - moreso than most Pac-Man media that followed it.

Gallery[]

For this page's full gallery, see Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures/Gallery.

Trivia[]

  • The series was initially planned to air on Nickelodeon, but was later switched to Disney XD instead. Additionally, Ghostly Adventures was titled Pac-Man: The Adventure Begins in early development.[3]
  • Originally the show was going to air on September 7, 2013. However, it was moved up to June 17, 2013 likely since the series was ready to be aired.
  • The “Pac is Back” theme song was sung by two popular internet vocalists at the time, Mic the Microphone and BlackGryph0n.
    • In June 2022, Mic the Microphone released an early test cut of the intro, which features notable differences than the final; namely featuring “Pac’s our Hero” as a properly separate verse-line, and having slower pacing overall.[4]
  • The Japanese intro is completely different to the international version. The theme song in Japan is named "PAC THIS WORLD!!!" and is made by Kenichi Maeyamada, also known as Hyadain.
  • The maze Pac-Man went to is a reference to the game as it said "Level 256".
  • The designs for Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde are very similar to the designs of the characters in Pac-Man Party.
  • Cylindria's 'prisoner number' in the episode 'President Possessed!' is 8675309, a reference to the hit song "Jenny/867-5309" by Tommy Tutone from 1982.
  • Sonic Boom is similar to Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, in that it is a western take on a long-running video game franchise that is more comedic and features new designs for the main characters.
    • However, unlike Ghostly Adventures, Sonic Boom didn't take over the canonical Sonic the Hedgehog games, including its designs.
      • Coincidentally, one of the writers, Ken Pontac, is also one of the writers of the Sonic the Hedgehog games from Sonic Free Riders until Sonic Colors: Ultimate.
  • Although the series has ended, a member of the team which worked on Ghostly Adventures stated that Pac does eventually find his parents.
  • It is heavily implied that Namco Bandai intended for Ghostly Adventures to be a hard reboot or replacement for the Pac-Man series and continuity, judging from several past interviews for the games and show alike. The lack of Ms. PAC-Man may have been due to the (still-ongoing) situation with General Computer Corporation regarding Ms. Pac-Man, who demanded royalties every time she was used. More indication is how much merchandising and promotion they would give Pac-Man utilizing the Ghostly Adventures design (Pacster), which extended to smaller things that didn’t really tie into the series, such as Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, the Zoobe app, and many redemption games. Following the show being pulled from the air in 2015, the G.A. design of Pac-Man (and subsequently, the Pac-Man Party design) stopped being heavily used, likely due to the overwhelmingly positive response his reveal in Super Smash Bros. received.

External links[]

References[]

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