Super Pac-Man
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| Super Pac-Man | |
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Bally Midway |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari 8-bit Unreleased, Commodore 64 |
| Release date | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Maze |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Input methods | 4-way Joystick; 1 button |
| Cabinet | Standard and cocktail |
| Arcade system | Namco Super Pac-Man |
| Display | Vertical |
Super Pac-Man, released in 1982 and taking a slant on the legendary comic book hero Superman, is the third installment of the Pac-Man series of arcade games and the second starring Pac-Man himself. It is also the second game to be created by series originator Namco, as Ms. Pac-Man (the second in the series) was originally created without Namco's involvement.
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[edit] Characteristics and gameplay
Sound and gameplay mechanics were altered radically from the first two entries into the Pac-Man series - instead of eating dots, the player is required to eat keys in order to open doors, which open up sections of the maze that contain what in earlier games were known as "fruits" (foods such as apples and bananas, or other prizes such as Galaxian flagships), which are now the basic items that must be cleared. Once all the food is eaten, the player advances to the next level, in which the food is worth more points. In earlier levels, keys unlock nearby doors, while as the player progresses through the levels, it is more common for keys to open faraway doors.
In addition to the original power pellet which allows Pac-Man to eat the ghosts, an additional "Super" pellet was introduced which turns Pac-Man into Super Pac-Man - in this form, he is twice as large, moves much faster and has the ability to eat his way through barriers without unlocking them. In this state, he is invulnerable to the ghosts (which, for unknown reasons, become flat while moving horizontally and thin while moving vertically when Pac-Man is in this state), though he still cannot eat them without the help of the original power-up. This game also adds a "speed" button, which allows Pac-Man to move faster when in "Super" mode. Pac-man can enter the ghost house in this state too, able to eat hiding ghosts.
[edit] History
Based on the Namco Galaga hardware, this is the first of the Pac-Man games to use the Motorola 6809 processor, unlike the earlier Pac-Man games which used the older Z80, and fell into the "conversion class" of the Namco Galaxian.[citation needed] The new gameplay mechanics were considered by many to be confusing, and too much of a change from the original two games. In particular, when Pac-Man transforms into Super Pac-Man, he was thought by some to be much more difficult to control. Whatever the reason, Super Pac-Man proved to be the least successful game in the original series, being outsold that year by Pac-Man Plus, a slightly updated version of the original game, which, like the aforementioned Ms. Pac-Man, was produced by the American licensee Midway without authorization from developer Namco. Midway also went on to create Jr. Pac-Man, also based on the older Z80 processor, and having the basic sound and feel of the older games fans were more familiar with. In spite of this, the game's A.I. was celebrated as being one of the best of that era.[citation needed]
[edit] Game platforms
Super Pac-Man was only a moderate success in the 1980s as an arcade machine, and thus has not been as widely ported to home video game consoles as the original Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Still, the game has been revived several times.
- In 1984, a port of Super Pac-Man was made for the Atari 5200 but was never released due to the big video game crash around that time.
- In 1988, DOS and Commodore 64 versions were released by Thunder Mountain.
- In 1996, It also appeared on the second Namco Museum arcade compilation for Sony's PlayStation.
- In 1998, Namco released Super Pac-Man as part of Namco History Volume 3 (a collection of classic Namco games similar to the Namco Museum series) for the PC in Japan only.
- In 1999, Super Pac-Man was included as a bonus feature on the Ms. Pac-Man cartridge for Nintendo's Game Boy Color system.
- In 2006, Jakks Pacific released the Plug and Play Super Pac-Man joystick that contained Super Pac-Man along with Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, and Pac & Pal.
- Namco has released a portable version on select cell phone models exclusively on Sprint. [1].
As a promotion, Sprint and Namco ran a sweepstakes which offered the grand prize winner a Volkswagen New Beetle customized with Super Pac-Man art. The car was on display at major videogame tradeshow E3 in Los Angeles in May 2006. The Sweepstakes began June 1, 2006 and ended on July 31, 2006. Super PAC-MAN Sweepstakes details
- In 2007, it was released for Palm PDA devices. Super Pac-Man at Handango a PDA software retailer.
- Namco has released Super Pac-Man along with Pac & Pal, Pac and Roll, Pac-Mania and other non-Pac-Man games in Namco Museum Remix, which was released in late 2007.
- Most recently, Namco has re-released Super Pac-Man on mobile phones only this time with a deluxe version with updaded 3D graphics and better sound effects.
[edit] Bugs
- Sometimes, in the "Plug it in and Play" version, a bug makes the ghost's eyes go blurry and stop for a few seconds. This gives Pac-Man a small advantage. During this time, Pac-Man can also pass through the ghosts, wherever he is Super or not.
[edit] External links
- Super Pac-Man at the Killer List of Videogames
- Super PAC-MAN on mobile platform
- Super PAC-MAN development notes (Atari 400/800 cart)
- Super Pac-Man guide at StrategyWiki
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