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 series 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
A year 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 has changed to his modern redesign, which first appeared in Pac-Man Party. 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
The Pac-Man amiibo can be scanned onto the Wii U GamePad in order to access a racing outfit for the player's Mii, stylized after the character. Pac-Man himself appears in the Mii Racing Suits menu of the game, where a picture of him can be seen through the whole bunch of characters.

Yoshi's Wooly World
The Pac-Man amiibo can be scanned onto the Wii U gamepad to gain a Yarn Yoshi based off of him. Unlike the Mario Kart 8 Mii costume, this costume is based on the character rather than the game.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Pac-Man is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, back to his classic design which first appeared in-game in the Pac-Man World series. Most of his attacks invoke various classic Pac-Man games. Some of his attacks have him resembling his classic 2D 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 appearing.

Pac-Man's neutral 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 pellets 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.

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.
 * Palutena: 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!

Trivia

 * In small leaflets celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Mario series, 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 game character of all time. He once suggested that Pac-Man be a guest character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Sakurai, thinking of Pac-Man's original 2D appearance, thought the idea seemed "far-fetched".
 * The Mario series is the only other franchise outside of Pac-Man in which the character is depicted in both his classic Pac-Man World appearance and his modern appearance.