Pooka is a character from the Dig Dug series of games (along with Fygar) who's become a recurring character in the Pac-Man games as well.
Early history
Pooka became a famous character in the Dig Dug series, another game created by Namco. It was put in the Pac-Man games as a cross-over.
Pooka's Dig Dug sprite
Pac-Man World
"I can't wait to get my hands on that Toc-Man. Wait, I don't have any hands!"
-Pooka expresses his anger against Toc-Man in Pac-Man World.
In the opening cutscene, Pooka is seen hopping down a trail, with Baby Pac-Man bouncing on his head, on his way to Pac-Man's party. While he is hopping along, an anchor drops down on him, knocking him out, and then Ghosts kidnap Baby Pac-Man and Pooka and take him to Ghost Island's Valley of the Pirates. Pooka is then locked up in the third level, Crazy Cannonade, at the very end.. (Although the key to open his cage is in the previous level, Corsair's Cove.) After being rescued by Pac-Man, Pooka will then be transported back to Ghost Island, leaving a health wedge behind. He will then be sitting on a few crates in the Valley of the Pirates area, and tells Pac-Man to find more friends. Pooka is absent from the rest of the game until the battle with Toc-Man in Toc-Man's Lair, where he will aid Pac-Man along with the other rescued friends, by throwing out health wedges.
Pac-Man World 2
Enemy Pookas in Pac-Man World 2
In Pac-Man World 2 numerous Pookas appear as enemies. In the lava tubes and can't be defeated with out Pac-Man getting hurt. When eaten by the Pooka Plants and spat out they are blue and aggressive.
In Game Description
"Pookas are the underground version of a pigeon: they bounce around bumping into each other and objects in the environment. Pookas never stray far from their burrows (hole in the ground) and they often fall prey to the Pooka Plants. Be careful not to touch them or come to close!"
Pac-Man World Rally
Pooka is an unlockable character in Pac-Man World Rally. Here, his vehicle is a kart which is dominated by a hulking drill. On the PS2, GameCube, & PC versions, he can be unlocked by beating the Rally Cup at medium difficulty; on the PSP version, he is available by default. His kart is heavy and has great top speed, but poor acceleration and handling. He can be seen pulling stunts with his goggles like spinning
Pooka & the Killer Driller
them around his head and jumping rope using them.
Pac-Man Party
In the "Pooka Pop" mini-game he makes an appearance as the center point of the mini-game. The players must take turns pumping air into him. Each player has a limit of three pumps per-turn. The player that accidentally pops him loses all their points.
In one of the classic games included Dig-Dug he is a normal enemy. Taizo Hori the main character can defeat him with three pumps of his weapon or crush him with a rock. When he burrows only his goggles are seen. Being a regular enemy there are many different Pookas roaming around which are most often hiding in small tunnels scattered across the screen. If Taizo Hori touches one then he'll get killed. It is known that this is where their personality from Pac-Man World 2 came from.
Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS
Pooka also appears as an enemy in the Smash Run game mode of Super Smash Bros for 3DS.
Pac-Man fighting a Pooka in Smash Run
Appearances
- Dig Dug
- Dig Dug 2
- Dig Dug Deeper ( PC )
- Dig Dug Island (PC, Shut down)
- Pac-Man World
- Pac-Man World 2
- Pac-Man World Rally
- Pac-Man Party
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Trivia
- Pooka is an enemy from another of Namco's games, Dig Dug. How he is friends with Pac-Man is unknown. The most likely explanation is that there have been shown to be an entire race of Pooka's. If Pooka's are generally known to be antagonistic, the Pooka in particular who befriended Pac-Man may simply an exception to the rule, and the others are not friendly.
- A possible reason for Pooka's to be antagonistic is that they could be territorial. Dig Dug and Pac-Man may simply have intruded upon their territory.
- Pooka and Baby Pac-Man are kidnapped on the same trail as Chomp-Chomp.
- The anchor that kidnapped Pooka and Baby Pac-Man may have been dropped by the HMS Windbag.
- Pooka and Fygar are the only Dig Dug characters to appear in the Pac-Man games.
- Pooka's can show cowardice and will try to escape Dig Dug when it finds itself the only enemy left, rather than try to take Dig Dug in a one-on-one fight.
- Like the Fygar, Pookas have the ability to phase through solid dirt in Dig Dug. However, they generally prefer to take the paths of least resistance and use tunnels whenever possible, as travel by phasing is markedly slower.
- Pooka, along with Fygar and even Dig Dug himself, have cameos in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph at Game Central Station.