Pac-Mania

From Free net encyclopedia

Pac-Mania was the last arcade video game in the Pac-Man series, released in 1987 by Namco and distributed by Atari Games in the United States. Pac-Mania runs on Namco System 1 hardware.

1 Description
2 The levels
3 Ports
4 External links

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Description

Just like most of the other games in the Pac-Man series, the goal is for Pac-Man to eat all of the pills before he is caught by the ghosts. This game has several significant changes from the traditional format. The first, and most noticeable, change is that the board is viewed in an isometric, 3D format. Because of this, it can sometimes be difficult to remember where the ghosts or the remaining pellets are. Secondly, and more importantly, Pac-Man can now jump. This in principle makes evading ghosts easier. The ghosts are Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (light blue), Clyde (orange), Sue (purple) and two new ghosts Funky (green) and Spunky (steel gray). The name Spunky is not used anywhere on the screen or game cabinet, and it is not even clear which of these two ghosts the name Funky really applies to. The intermission leading into the Sandbox level seems to call both "Funky" — a heading appears above a multitude of both of them saying "Funky's at play" ("Commons are playing outside" in the Japanese version. More on this later). The cabinet art where the ghosts are identified calls the grayish one "Funky", and the green one is not listed at all. But since the green one makes the most appearances in the game, he has taken on the name Funky.

But the most significant feature of these new ghosts is that they can jump as well (whenever Pac-Man jumps), beginning on the fourth and fifth levels, respectively. However Funky doesn't jump as high as Pac-Man and with good timing, Pac-Man can jump over him. Spunky, however, jumps just as high as Pac-Man, and thus cannot be jumped over at all; often he will appear at inopportune times, blocking any escape route. (They continue to be able to jump when edible, and even their bare eyes jump after they have been eaten!)

Making the game yet more difficult is the fact that that the ghosts often travel in bunches spaced in such a way as to render bouncing ineffective, even if Funky and Spunky are not in the group. Even worse, Funky usually appears on a level in pairs, and the last several levels have pairs of Spunkys as well! Since this can add up to as many as nine ghosts on a level, the scoring for eating each of them is the familiar 200, 400, 800, and 1600, followed by 3200, and each ghost afterward is worth 7650 points (765 being a Japanese word-play for Namco).

Finally, the bonus objects in the center of the maze include not only fruits but also additional power pills that accomplish such effects as making Pac-Man go faster, or doubling the amount of points Pac-Man can get by eating ghosts. There are also assorted edibles such as candy, hamburgers, ice cream cones and Galaxian flagships, all worth more than the fruits.

Pac-Mania was plagued by a few problems, chiefly an AI that was too slow and easy in the early levels, only to become ridiculously hard later on. For many, levels 4 or 5 — the Sandbox Land levels — became a sort of glass ceiling that few could survive.

In the Japanese version, Funky is known as "Common", while Spunky is known simply as "Grey Common".

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The levels

(Note: The American version has a level select feature, but takes away the second Block Town stage)

"Block Town": Red, white and blue "Lego" blocks form the maze. The ground is also made to look like a Lego board.
"Pac-Man's Park": the original maze, colored light blue, with green ground (presumably grass) filling the spaces between the railing that serve as the "walls". The escape tunnels on the side split into two in the middle.
Red version of Pacman's Park with blue "filling" ground.
"Sandbox Land": maze is formed by little transparent blue pyramids inbetween pathways, instead of walls. This is where Funky begins jumping. This is the last level that can be selected to start from at the beginning of the game (in the North American version).
Sandbox Land with turquoise pyramids. This is where Spunky debuts.
"Jungly Steps": Blue pathways (no railing) suspended on columns high in the air (Pac-Man cannot fall off, fortunately). They further utilize the 3D atmosphere by appearing as slight "steps", going higher as one goes further to the rear of the maze. Synthesized jungle-style drum music plays in the background.
Green Jungly Steps.
Return to Block Town, but now in pastel colors (light green, grayish green and blue). The action is now a bit faster. Funky and Spunky lose their jumping capability until the next Sandbox.
Red, white and Blue Block Town (like first board).
Red, yellow and blue Block Town.
Blue and green Pac-Man's Park.
Red and blue Pac-Man's Park.
Solid dark blue Pac-Man's Park.
Blue Sandbox Land.
Turquoise Sandbox Land.
Red Sandbox Land.
Blue Jungly Steps.
Green Jungly Steps.
Hot pink Jungly Steps. This is the final level of the game with the default game settings. Afterwards, production credits appear, and high score and initials are entered and the game goes back into attract mode.

Note the Japanese version of Pac-Mania has additional levels but the same four mazes.

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Ports

Pac-Mania was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Sega Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Sharp X68000, and the RISC OS operating system for the Acorn Archimedes. Many of these ported versions are considered to be easier than arcade version. The Amiga version features advanced graphics and a soundtrack that is been rearranged for digitized instrument samples by Ben Daglish.

An accurate emulation of the North American version of the arcade Pac-Mania appears in Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection.

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