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Super Pac-Man (スーパーパックマン Sūpā Pakkuman) is the third installment of the Pac-Man series, and the second starring Pac-Man himself. It was developed by Namco and released in 1982.

Gameplay[]

Like in its predecessors, Pac-Man must clear the maze in order to pass the level. But instead of eating dots, he must open the gates with trapped Fruit inside, which can be done by eating Keys (all of fruits like apples must be eaten to finish the stage, but not all keys are required). In earlier levels, keys unlock nearby doors, but later levels switch up the locations to be very far away from each other. Power Pellets that causes the ghosts to turn blue also make a return, following the same formula as in other Pac-Man games. But if Pac-Man touches a ghost, he will lose a life. The game ends when all of Pac-Man's lives ran out.

In every stage, two large green pellets appear in locked gates, known as Super Pellets, which turn Pac-Man into Super Pac-Man once it's eaten. This makes him grow huge (possibly intended to be "flying" going by more recent Pac-Man games), giving him the temporary ability to run through ghosts and gates. Pac-Man can also travel faster with this power-up by holding down the "Super Speed" button. Once this effect starts flashing and wears off rather quickly, it will cause Pac-Man to return back to normal size. However, when the Super Pellet is still active before it starts wearing off, eating a Power Pellet right before it is about to will make it last a bit longer.

The game also features bonus rounds at the end of every world in which Pac-Man, with the Super ability, must eat all of the fruit in the shortest time possible. The more time left on the counter, the more points are earned. Occasionally there is also a slot machine-like function in the middle of the screen, where two fruits will be shown next to each other; depending on how close they are to each other, the player will earn anywhere from 200 to 5000 points.

0000-0

The original maze.

Scoring System[]

  • 🔑 Key - 50 points.
  • 🟡 Power Pellet - 100 points.
  • 🟢 Super Pellet - 100 points.
  • ⭐Star - 400/4000 points.
  • Vulnerable Ghosts:
    • #1 in succession - 200 points.
    • #2 in succession - 400 points.
    • #3 in succession - 800 points.
    • #4 in succession - 1600 points.
  • Fruit:
    • 🍎 Apple: 10 points
    • 🍌 Banana: 20 points.
    • 🍩 Donut: 30 points
    • 🍔 Hamburger: 40 points
    • 🍳 Fried Egg: 50 points
    • 🌽 Corn: 60 points
    • 👟 Shoe: 70 points
    • 🍰 Cake: 80 points
    • 🍑 Peach: 90 points
    • 🍈 Melon: 100 points
    • ☕ Coffee: 110 points
    • 🍄 Mushroom: 120 points
    • 🔔 Bell: 130 points
    • 🍀 Clover: 140 points
    • PM Galaxian Galaxian Boss: 150 points
    • 🎁 Gift: 160 points

Home Ports[]

  • Arcade1UP Machine
    • Many Arcade1UPs featuring Super Pac-Man have been released (see this page for full list). There have been several directly Super Pac-Man-themed machines produced; the game has also been included as an extra on other Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man cabinets.
  • Atari 400/800/XL/XE
    • Retail release was canceled. A prototype has been found and dumped.
  • Atari 5200
    • Another canceled port, with a dumped prototype.
    • Nearly identical to the Atari 400/800/XL/XE version.
  • Commodore 64
  • Game Boy Color
    • Included in Ms. Pac-Man: Special Color Edition, which also featured Ms. Pac-Man.
  • IBM PC
    • Two separate versions were released: an CGA version and an EGA version (the latter having more colors).
    • Similar to the Commodore 64 version, but a loop of strange music is played instead of the traditional siren; the same music was used in the IBM PC port of Jr. Pac-Man.
    • Runs at a very slow framerate.
  • Mobile
    • There were two unique ports released for different regions. The first, more common version for European carriers, [1] features a "Deluxe" mode with enhanced graphics; the second version, for American carriers, [2] includes an “Enhanced” mode with new levels and power-ups.
    • The American version was originally exclusive to Sprint, but it's expanded over the years.
  • Nintendo Switch
    • Two versions were released. The game was featured in Pac-Man Museum +, as well as being released standalone as part of the Arcade Archives series.
  • Palm OS
    • Based on the American mobile port, with the “Enhanced” mode included.
  • PlayStation
  • PlayStation 3
    • Two versions were released. The game was included in Pac-Man Museum, and was featured in the PS one Classics release of Namco Museum Vol. 2.
  • PlayStation 4
    • Two versions were released. The game was featured in Pac-Man Museum +, as well as being released standalone as part of the Arcade Archives series.
  • PlayStation Portable
    • Featured in the PS one Classics release of Namco Museum Vol. 2.
  • PlayStation Vita
    • Featured in the PS one Classics release of Namco Museum Vol. 2.
  • Plug & Play TV Games
    • Many different Plug & Plays featuring Super Pac-Man have been released (see this page for full list), the earliest being the Super Pac-Man Collection from 2006.
  • PV-2000
    • Renamed "Mr. Packn" for unknown reasons, most likely legal-related.
    • There are no bonus rounds or intermissions.
  • Sord M5
    • Renamed "Power Pac" for unknown reasons, most likely legal-related.
    • Nearly identical to the PV-2000 version.
  • Wii
  • Windows PC
    • Three versions were released. The game was included in Namco History Volume 3, and would later be featured in Pac-Man Museum and Pac-Man Museum +.
  • Xbox 360
    • Included in Namco Museum Virtual Arcade and Pac-Man Museum.
  • Xbox One/Xbox Series
    • Included in Pac-Man Museum +.

There is a rare handheld LCD game under the name Super Pac-Man (published by Grandstand), but it just features the original Pac-Man inside the case; despite using the proper artwork and branding. Two homebrew versions of Super Pac-Man were also released for the Atari 7800 and the ColecoVision.

A port of Super Pac-Man was briefly planned for the Atari 2600, judging by an internal Atari memo, but never got far into completion.[3] Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions would have presumably been released as part of Pac-Man Museum, but both ports to those systems were canceled.

Play Online[]

These versions of Super Pac-Man are either listed in the public domain or are considered abandonware. Clicking the game title will lead you to a playable online version of it from archive.org (mobile compatibility may vary).

Trivia[]

  • Some versions of the game go faster than others when the Super Speed button is held down. It seems the Bally Midway arcade version was the first to reduce the speed, possibly to make the game easier. The majority of home ports use the faster Japanese version; though the PlayStation 1 and Game Boy Color ports run at the North American version's speed, alongside the Atari prototypes.
  • In the Namco E3 2005 press kit, a screenshot of Super Pac-Man is included with assets relating to Namco Museum 50th Anniversary.[4] This implies that the game was planned to be featured in the compilation, but was removed for unknown reasons.
  • A character named Super-Pac, clearly based upon Super Pac-Man, appears in the TV series. For unknown reasons, he is shown a separate character from Pac-Man rather than as an alter-ego like he is in the game(s).
  • Pac-Man's Super form appears as his Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (and subsequently Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), which is the only time it has appeared in its true arcade form since its inception.
  • The Sidam European marquee for Super Pac-Man reuses the original Japanese marquee artwork of the original Puckman machine.
  • There is reportedly some form of legal issue surrounding the Super Pac-Man game, which somehow involves "Marvel" - presumably referring to the comic book company.[5] This may be the result of a misconception or miscommunication (possibly with the 1989 game Marvel Land), though it would explain some of the strange release circumstances of the game (the renamed Power Pac/Mr. Packn, the game not being in Namco Museum Vol. 2 in Japan, etc.).
  • Strangely, the first registry in the U.S. Copyright Office for Super Pac-Man credits two copyright holders: Bally Midway, and "Raymond Rohauer". It is not explained who Rohauer is, with the only matching party being the somewhat controversial film collector of the same name. As to why Rohauer would potentially hold ownership of Super Pac-Man is unclear (and may have flat-out been a mistake); though it could be tied to the legal issues mentioned above.
    • The Midway/Rohauer registry was superseded by a Namco U.S. copyright for the game around 1987.

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Machine and Box Art[]

Character Artwork[]

References[]

  1. The page for the more common mobile port. https://web.archive.org/web/20080601102717mp_/http://www.namcomobile.com/mobilegames/superpacman/
  2. The page for the rarer mobile port. https://www.namcogames.com/game_detail.php?gid=43
  3. http://www.atariprotos.com/rumormill/2600/2600rumor.htm
  4. https://www.mobygames.com/game/namco-museum-50th-anniversary/promo/imageType,1/promoImageId,571919/
  5. "Regarding 11 IPs, Super PAC-MAN has to be changed to other IPs. (Since it includes Marvel’s IP) And, we will come back to you with another candidate." Bandai Namco Entertainment vs. AtGames Holdings Ltd, Hsiung Declaration Exhibit 1 (pg 4)
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