Pac-Man

"My favorite video game character isn't Mario, it's Pac-Man."

- Shigeru Miyamoto

Pac-Man (occasionally stylized as PAC-MAN or PAC-Man, originally named PuckMan in Japan) is a famous video game character created by Namco, who debuted in the arcade classic Pac-Man to great acclaim. He has since spun-off into other games and media, making crossover appearances with the Mario franchise in the Mario Kart Arcade games and the Super Smash Bros. series. Other icons from his debut title have appeared in the games, such as his wife, Ms. Pac-Man, and his arch-enemy, Blinky.

Mario Kart Arcade GP
Pac-Man makes his first crossover appearance in a Mario game as a playable character in the Namco-developed game, Mario Kart Arcade GP in 2005. In this title, Pac-Man is an all-around type character who shares a rivalry with Mario in terms of stats. His special items are Pooka, Rally X, and Boss Galaga, which are all based on characters from Namco's early arcade titles. Other Pac-Man characters such as Blinky and Ms. Pac-Man also appear as playable. Race courses inspired by the Pac-Man series featured in the game include Pac Labyrinth and Pac Mountain.

Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
Two years later in 2007, Namco developed Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, where Pac-Man returns as a playable character. Ms. Pac-Man and Blinky return, as well as the race tracks Pac Labyrinth and Pac Mountain. He has his own kart based off of the spaceship in Galaga, another game made by Namco Bandai.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
Pac-Man returns a playable character in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX. His appearance in this game reflects his modern design, which first appeared in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. The Soul Varoon, from Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, returns as his personal kart. In the game, he is classified as a middleweight character, meaning all of his stats are average, and has no notable advantages or disadvantages.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Pac-Man amiibo can be scanned onto the Wii U GamePad and onto the right Nintendo Switch Joy-Con in order to access a racing outfit for the player's Mii, stylized after the character. Pac-Man's classic sprite also appears on the Mii costume.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Shigeru Miyamoto once suggested to Masahiro Sakurai that Pac-Man be a guest character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Sakurai, thinking of Pac-Man's original 2D sprite, thought the idea seemed "far-fetched" at the time.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U


Pac-Man is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, using his classic design rather than the Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures appearance. Most of his attacks invoke various classic Pac-Man games. Some of his attacks have him resembling his classic form, such as his dash attack and his up and side specials, and his smash attacks all involve him hitting opponents with the Ghosts. In addition, Pac-Man's grab involves him drawing in opponents with the Boss Galaga's beam, and his up taunt involves him holding out his hand and one of several random Namco characters (mostly arcade characters) appearing.

Pac-Man's standard special move is Bonus Fruit, which has Pac-Man charge up and cycle through the various bonus items from the original Pac-Man. His side special is Power Pellet, which has him create a trail of Pac-Dots ending in a Power Pellet and charging forward. His up special is Pac-Jump, in which Pac-Man leaps off a trampoline that can be used three times. His down special is the Fire Hydrant from Pac-Land, which has Pac-Man put down a fire hydrant that shoots water to push opponents back. Pac-Man's Final Smash is Super Pac-Man, which turns Pac-Man into a giant version of his original appearance in a nod to the game of the same name and its Super Pellet items. Alternatively, it may be a reference to the first cutscene in the original Pac-Man, in which Pac-Man was shown to be giant after eating a power pellet.

The 3DS version of the game features a stage based off the original Pac-Man arcade game and the Wii U version features a stage based off Pac-Land.

In his reveal poster, Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Princess Peach (or more accurately Princess Toadstool) appear as their NES selves in Pac-Maze, where they are, respectively, jumping up the northwest portion of the maze, using his fire breath on a power pellet-weakened ghost (presumably Clyde), throwing a barrel near the top, and trapped in the ghost area with Inky. In addition, his debut trailer, "Red, Blue, Yellow", has Mario representing red, and also has during the gameplay portions him beating up Mario, beating up Yoshi, dodging various ghosts with Diddy Kong, spraying Luigi with a fire hydrant, attacking Mario, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi on the Pac-Maze, using his classic form to beat Link and Donkey Kong, and also posed alongside Peach with an S-flag, as well as chasing Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man in his Final Smash form. The ending of the trailer has Mario and Donkey Kong slightly out of view as Pac Man and Mr. Game and Watch briefly argue while subtly referencing their debut game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Pac-Man reappears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an unlockable playable character with an altered Final Smash, where he travels across the screen at a faster pace. Pac-Man's dash attack now is able to hit four times instead of three. In comparison to the previous installment, Pac-Man has received numerous improvements, such as increased mobility, decreased short hop timing, and decreased landing lag on his aerials, while many of his attacks are either faster, or deal more knockback. Pac-Man's tether grab is faster and has longer range, while his forward and down aerials deal more damage. However, Pac-Man's up tilt and standard attack's second hit deal less damage, while the former's hitbox is smaller. Pac-Man's standard aerial also deals less knockback.

Bonus Fruit


Bonus Fruit is Pac-Man's standard special move, based on the Bonus Fruit items from the original Pac-Man game. Pac-Man charges a projectile in his hands that cycles through a number of projectiles that can be thrown by pressing the special attack button again. Each fruit has different properties when thrown:


 * Cherry: Bounces twice, deals the least damage, does not travel as far.
 * Strawberry: Bounces three times, travels farther than the cherry.
 * Orange: Travels slowly in a straight line.
 * Apple: Bounces four times in quick succession.
 * Melon: Travels slowly in a wide arc, bouncing once; deals the second-highest amount of damage.
 * Galaxian: Travels straight ahead, loops, then either flies straight ahead again or up at an angle.
 * Bell: Travels up at an arc before suddenly falling; can hit multiple opponents and stuns them if hit.
 * Key: Travels in a completely straight line; moves the fastest and deals the most damage and knockback.

Pac-Man can only use this move once and must wait for the projectile to disappear before it can properly be used again. Like most chargeable moves he can also roll to save the charge and begin charging again by holding down the special attack button or throw the current projectile by pressing the button. Each projectile immediately disappears when they hit an opponent.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Pac-Man has two custom special variants for this move:

The first custom variant is Freaky Fruit, which makes the fruits' behavior more sporadic, and they also deal less damage than normal. It takes a bit longer to charge after cycling past the orange.


 * Cherry: Bounces quickly in arcs three times. Each bounce makes the cherry ascend higher.
 * Strawberry: Bounces four times slowly back and forth in broad but low arcs that cover a lot of ground. When moving right, opponents who are hit get sent flying to the left, and vice versa.
 * Orange: Travels very quickly in a straight line, going as far as the full platform of Final Destination.
 * Apple: Bounces quickly across the stage. Starts off by making slow and short hops, but progressively become faster and hopping higher as it progresses forward.
 * Melon: Makes a high arc that travels half the length of Final Destination, and bounces once. The second bounce has the melon traveling backwards before disappearing.
 * Galaxian: Travels fast in a straight line that's comparable to the length of Final Destination, but then it changes direction at a 30 degree angle, loops around, and then travels straight forward again before disappearing.
 * Bell: Travels forward before curving upwards and then moving directly upwards. Unlike with the default Bonus Fruit, the Freaky Fruit version of the Bell can't paralyze anyone.
 * Key: Disappears immediately upon being thrown, only dealing damage to opponents who are in front of Pac-Man. It does not have any knockback, but it has a strong meteor smash property if it hits any airborne targets.

The second is Lazy Fruit (Bone-Idle Fruit in PAL versions), which enables the fruits to stick around for a longer duration, but the fruits deal less damage overall, travel slower, and their behavior is different as well.


 * Cherry: Bounces five times at a slow rate before disappearing.
 * Strawberry: Bounces once in a slow arc, and then hops in place four more times.
 * Orange: Travels at a very sluggish pace for a short distance.
 * Apple: Behaves in a similar manner as the Strawberry, but it travels faster, and bounces farther and more frequently.
 * Melon: Shares its characteristics with the Apple, but travels even farther with higher bounces.
 * Galaxian: After traveling a bit forward, it performs up to 8 shuttle loops, which can potentially trap any opponents who get hit.
 * Bell: Travels straight up at a slow pace before dropping down at a fast pace. Can paralyze opponents who get hit.
 * Key: Spins rapidly while traveling at a slow pace. The key can knock back any opponents who get hit.

Power Pellet


Power Pellet is Pac-Man's side special move, based upon the items appearing in the Pac-Man series. When used, Pac-Man creates a trail of Pac-Dots from a Power Pellet, then charges forward, eating the Pac-Dots in a form resembling his classic form, damaging any opponents in his path. The player can travel farther by holding down the special attack button, and can adjust the direction of the trail of Pac-Dots by angling the control stick. Attacking Pac-Man at any point disrupts the move; the Power Pellet falls to the ground and can be used as a recovery item. If Pac-Man hits a wall or the ground after reaching the end of the trail, he trips.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the first of Pac-Man's two custom variants for this move is Distant Power Pellet, which allows Pac-Man to more quickly set a longer trail of Pac-Dots, but Pac-Man himself moves more slowly. The second is Enticing Power Pellet, which gives the Power Pellet itself a vacuum effect, but the trail is shorter and the move is slower.

Pac-Jump


Pac-Jump is Pac-Man's up special move. Pac-Man leaps up into the air on a trapmoline that remains and can be bounced on two more times afterward, giving players who bounce on it more height with each bounce before it disappears the next time it is touched. The trampoline changes colors each time it is bounced on, going from blue to yellow to red to indicate how many times the player can bounce on it. After Pac-Man bounces he is turned into his classic form and damages any nearby opponents. The trampoline originates from the Namco arcade game Mappy, which work in the same way as in this game.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the first custom variant for this move is Power Pac-Jump, which gives Pac-Man one single, higher bounce before the trampoline disappears; Pac-Man himself also deals multiple hits. The second is Meteor Trampoline, which decreases the amount of height Pac-Man is given for each jump, the latter two actually decreasing from the first, and Pac-Man deals less damage on contact, but when the trampoline is red it meteor smashes any player that touches it, or buries them if the move is used on the ground.

Fire Hydrant


Fire Hydrant is Pac-Man's down special move. He drops a fire hydrant from Pac-Land directly underneath him to damage any fighters under it; if used on the ground Pac-Man leaps into the air to drop one. The hydrant then shoots water that pushes back opponents, or pushes them up if water comes from the top (this only happens, however, if Pac-Man is standing on top of the hydrant). While the hydrant is active it can be attacked and knocked away to damage any fighters that are hit by it.

This move is given two custom variants in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: On-Fire Hydrant and Dire Hydrant. On-Fire Hydrant drops a hydrant that shoots out bursts of fire rather than water that damages any players nearby, while Dire Hydrant summons a hydrant that explodes some time after, or immediately once it hits an opponent or the ground.

Super Pac-Man


Super Pac-Man (stylized in-game as Super PAC-MAN or SUPER PAC-MAN) is Pac-Man's Final Smash. Pac-Man eats both a Power Pellet and a Super Pellet, turning him into a giant version of his classic 8-bit form. In this state, Pac-Man can freely travel across the screen, eating any opponents in his path and turning them into a pair of eyes like with the Ghosts in the original Pac-Man game, which knocks them back and leaves them helpless until they turn back to normal. Also, like with the original Pac-Man, if Pac-Man travels off-screen, he will wrap around to the other side of the stage.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Final Smash is no longer freely controlled by the player; instead, Pac-Man travels rapidly across the screen multiple times, constantly reappearing on the opposite end of the screen (similar to the maps in the original Pac-Man) and gradually getting faster, turning red at maximum speed.

Whenever Pac-Man eats an opponent, he is given a score progression similar to the Pac-Man games, going from 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, then 7650 for any other opponents; the score is purely aesthetic.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World
In Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, the Pac-Man amiibo can be scanned onto the Wii U GamePad and the NFC for Nintendo 3DS to gain a Yarn Yoshi based off of him. Unlike the Mario Kart 8 Mii costume, this costume is based entirely on the character rather than the game.

Super Mario Maker
By tapping the Pac-Man amiibo to the Wii U gamepad in Super Mario Maker, the player will unlock a Mystery Mushroom that gives Mario a costume based on Pac-Man, as well as replace some sound effects with Pac-Man sound effects. His appearance is based off his sprite from the Japanese version of Pac-Land, albeit with the hat removed.

Pixels
Pac-Man, in a giant wedge form with eyes, appears as an antagonist in Pixels, eating anything that is in his sight.

Trophies
Blue indicates the Trophy or description is exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance

 * Pit: Wakka wakka wakka wakka wakka.
 * Palutena: Yes, that's PAC-MAN. He was born in 1980, which means he's one year older than Mario.
 * Pit: Ohhh! Another industry veteran!
 * Palutena: His most famous form is shaped like a pizza missing one slice. He has several attacks in this form.
 * Pit: But the main thing is to avoid him taking a bite out of me.
 * Palutena: Yes, especially with those wings of yours.
 * Pit: What do you mean?
 * Palutena: I bet they'd taste great with a little barbecue sauce.
 * Pit: OK, enough about that!

amiibo

 * PAC-MAN is a cultural icon whose popularity has crossed the globe for more than 30 years. The yellow, circular hero first starred in the game PAC-MAN, which is recognized as the “Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game” by Guinness World Records. His journey through the maze of gaming infamy is far from over! Waka Waka!

Trivia

 * In small leaflets celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Mario franchise, there are pictures of box art from several recent Mario games decorating the edge; however, artwork of the NES Classics version of Pac-Man is also on there (this was the only non-Mario game to be shown on the leaflet).
 * Shigeru Miyamoto has often stated that Pac-Man is his favorite video game character.