Editing Pac-Man

As a character, Pac-Man initially began with very few personality traits, reflecting his simplistic appearance in the games. Cutscenes throughout the original ''Pac-Man'' arcade games titled "Coffee Breaks" would show various cartoon scenarios with Pac-Man, revealing a somewhat quick-witted character capable of outsmarting enemies on the fly, but not revealing much else. Later installments in the franchise, such as the ''Pac-Man World'' series, expand on the character and his backstory. In these games, he is a father with a large family that he deeply cares about, and he is characterized as a relatively laid-back hero who is willing to help wherever he is needed. Both of these traits were first established in Hanna-Barbera's ''Pac-Man'' cartoon series, which — unlike American multimedia adaptations of other Japanese franchises such as {{uv|Mario}} and {{uv|Sonic}} — was greatly influential to the ''Pac-Man'' universe and set the groundwork for most media that followed, thanks in part to a large portion of ''Pac-Man'' titles having been developed outside of the character's home country. His relationship with the [[ghosts]] — Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde — has also changed over the years: they have been depicted as archenemies, allies of circumstance, or even friendly rivals. Various ''Pac-Man'' games released during the 1980s, particularly those produced by Midway with minimal Namco oversight, would introduce new friends and family members for Pac-Man, primarily sharing his basic character design with some kind of stereotypical accessory added - such as {{iw|wikipedia|Ms. Pac-Man}}, Pac-Man's wife who wears a bow and possesses a mole on her cheek, {{iw|wikipedia|Baby Pac-Man}}, Pac-Man's daughter who initially bore a pink bonnet, and {{iw|wikipedia|Professor Pac-Man}} who wears glasses and an Oxford cap. These characters held over in new games after Midway lost the license to use Pac-Man, though the majority of them would later be replaced by conceptually similar characters due to legal feuds with microconsole manufacturer {{iw|wikipedia|AtGames}}. Pac-Man's world has also been developed with characters from other Namco games, such as [[Pooka]]s from {{uv|Dig Dug}} and [[Boss Galaga|Galaxian]]s from the {{uv|Galaxian}} series, existing as a natural part of his insular universe as opposed to a multiverse or shared canon.

In the present day, most depictions of Pac-Man feature his abstract form and depict him with little to no personality, as in the original arcade games. When shown in his anthropomorphic form, the current-day Pac-Man is most consistently depicted as compassionate, athletic, and supportive — promotional materials feature the character living an active lifestyle and giving motivational advice. This iteration of the character is prominently featured in ''Pac-Man World Re-Pac'' and ''Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac'', the latter of which gives Pac-Man plenty of in-game dialogue that did not exist in the original. Particularly emphasized is his pacifism; he prefers not to fight if given the opportunity, and he will unconditionally forgive his enemies if he believes he can reason with them. This aspect is best shown in ''Pac-Man World Re-Pac'', which adds a "true" ending not present in the original game — where Pac-Man forgives the game's villain Orson for stealing his identity and kidnapping his family — and relegates the original game's ending — where Pac-Man simply eats Orson — to a non-canon "false" ending, which is achieved by not clearing goals that were mandatory in the original. When necessary, Pac-Man is willing to defend himself in combat, and he does not hold back towards truly evil villains who mortally threaten him, his family, or his home, such as Wormwood and Spooky.