Editing Pac-Man (universe)
From SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
|
You aren't logged in. While it's not a requirement to create an account, doing so makes it a lot easier to keep track of your edits and a lot harder to confuse you with someone else. If you edit without being logged in, your IP address will be recorded in the page's edit history. | |
 Log in
|
Create account
| |
The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then publish the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
| Latest revision | Your text | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{ | {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Pac-Man'' (universe)}} | ||
{{ArticleIcons|ssb4=y|ssbu=y}} | {{ArticleIcons|ssb4=y|ssbu=y}} | ||
{{Infobox Series | {{Infobox Series | ||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
|image = [[File:Pac-Man title.png|300px]] | |image = [[File:Pac-Man title.png|300px]] | ||
|caption = [[File:PacManSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert]] | |caption = [[File:PacManSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert]] | ||
|developer = [[Bandai Namco]] | |developer = [[Bandai Namco]] (formerly Namco)<br>Various | ||
|publisher = Bandai Namco<br>Midway Games<br>Atari<br> | |publisher = Bandai Namco (formerly Namco)<br>Midway Games<br>Atari<br>Hasbro Interactive<br>Hamster Corporation | ||
|distributor = | |distributor = | ||
|designer = Tōru Iwatani | |designer = Tōru Iwatani | ||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
|interwikipage = Pac-Man (series) | |interwikipage = Pac-Man (series) | ||
}} | }} | ||
The '''''Pac-Man'' universe''' ({{ja|パックマン|Pakkuman}}, ''Pacman'', initially romanized as ''Puckman''), officially | The '''''Pac-Man'' universe''' ({{ja|パックマン|Pakkuman}}, ''Pacman'', initially romanized as ''Puckman''), stylized in-game, and officially capitalized as '''PAC-MAN''', refers to the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series' collection of characters, stages, and properties from [[Bandai Namco]]'s massively successful and long-running media franchise. A staple of popular culture, it is one of the most lucrative and influential video game franchises in history, with the [[Pac-Man (game)|original title]] being the highest-grossing coin-op arcade game of all time,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/top-10-biggest-grossing-arcade-games-of-all-time|title=Top 10 Highest-Grossing Arcade Games of All Time|publisher=USgamer}}</ref> popularizing the concept of a video game mascot — the titular [[Pac-Man]] — and spawning a wave of sequels and spin-offs, as well as animated series, songs, and merchandise. It was first represented in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', and returned in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', both developed by Bandai Namco. | ||
==Franchise description== | ==Franchise description== | ||
Masaya Nakamura's company, Nakamura Amusement-machine Manufacturing Company (or [[Bandai Namco|NAMCO]]), founded | After Masaya Nakamura's company, Nakamura Amusement-machine Manufacturing Company (or [[Bandai Namco|NAMCO]]), founded Namco's American subsidiary in order to license its video arcade machines to companies such as Atari and Midway Games for distribution in the U.S., Namco released its first internally designed video arcade game in 1978, ''Gee Bee''. Following this, Namco developed and released the highly popular fixed shooter game ''Galaxian'' in 1979 to compete with Taito Corporation's successful earlier game, ''Space Invaders''. ''Galaxian'' revolutionized the arcade industry as the first game to use RGB-color graphics, and it and its 1981 sequel ''Galaga'' became fixtures in what was subsequently remembered as the "Golden Age of arcade video games" — the peak era of arcade video game popularity and technological innovation. | ||
However, Namco's project in between, 1980's ''Pac-Man'', would arguably become even more definitive of both the era and Namco's legacy. A young Namco employee named Toru Iwatani designed the game with the intention to appeal to a wider audience beyond young boys and teenagers — demographics that were typical of the time because of the prevalence of space shooter-themed arcade machines. He therefore fashioned a game out of maze-like elements and a colorful aesthetic with cute character designs, including a player character he originally named "Puckman" after the Japanese phrase ぱくぱく ("paku paku"), an onomatopoeia used to represent the sound of eating. | However, Namco's project in between, 1980's ''Pac-Man'', would arguably become even more definitive of both the era and Namco's legacy. A young Namco employee named Toru Iwatani designed the game with the intention to appeal to a wider audience beyond young boys and teenagers — demographics that were typical of the time because of the prevalence of space shooter-themed arcade machines. He therefore fashioned a game out of maze-like elements and a colorful aesthetic with cute character designs, including a player character he originally named "Puckman" after the Japanese phrase ぱくぱく ("paku paku"), an onomatopoeia used to represent the sound of eating. The character and the game itself were renamed ''Pac-Man'' for the North American release, as it was realized the original name could be vandalized to resemble profanity by changing the P into an F. | ||
The original ''Pac-Man'' is set in a static, neon-colored maze, where the wedge-shaped [[Pac-Man]] must traverse every corridor and lane at least once in order to eat every | The original ''Pac-Man'' is set in a static, neon-colored maze, where the wedge-shaped [[Pac-Man]] must traverse every corridor and lane at least once in order to eat every pellet distributed across the screen. Pac-Man is at constant risk from four differently-colored "[[ghosts]]" that roam the maze with the intention to collide into him, which will cost him a life. Each of the four ghosts has a unique way of targeting Pac-Man, giving them character beyond being simple enemies. Whenever Pac-Man eats through any four of the larger [[Power Pellet]]s in a maze, the ghosts temporarily turn vulnerable, and will be briefly taken out of the game when Pac-Man collides with a ghost in this state. When a maze is cleared, the board will be reset, and the game essentially continues endlessly until the player runs out of lives (or reaches level 256, the bugged "kill screen" which cannot be cleared). The point score — the ultimate objective of the game, like with many arcade games — can be further increased by eating [[Bonus Fruit|fruits]] that appear at certain thresholds. When all levels are cleared perfectly, the maximum possible score is 3,333,360 points. | ||
Despite its initially lukewarm reception in Japan, it is difficult to overstate the immense impact that the North American release of the game ''Pac-Man'' had. It quickly became far more popular than anything seen in the game industry up to that point, grossing over $1 billion in quarters within a decade, and towards the end of the 20th century, the game's total gross in quarters had been estimated at more than 10 billion quarters ($2.5 billion), making it the highest-grossing video game of all time. It established the maze chase game genre, and is also credited for laying the foundations for the stealth genre due to its emphasis on avoiding enemies rather than fighting them; ''Pac-Man'' is often cited as an inspiration for the original {{uv|Metal Gear}}. | Despite its initially lukewarm reception in Japan, it is difficult to overstate the immense impact that the North American release of the game ''Pac-Man'' had. It quickly became far more popular than anything seen in the game industry up to that point, grossing over $1 billion in quarters within a decade, and towards the end of the 20th century, the game's total gross in quarters had been estimated at more than 10 billion quarters ($2.5 billion), making it the highest-grossing video game of all time. It established the maze chase game genre, and is also credited for laying the foundations for the stealth genre due to its emphasis on avoiding enemies rather than fighting them; ''Pac-Man'' is often cited as an inspiration for the original {{uv|Metal Gear}}. | ||
It | It introduced what is argued to be the first original gaming mascot, and in doing so demonstrated the potential of characters in video games. It was the first video game to feature power-ups, and is often credited as the first game to feature cutscenes, albeit not to the degree that Nintendo's own revolutionary arcade game, {{uv|Donkey Kong}}, had the following year. Finally, it is one of the earliest games to become popular with a female audience, and this wide appeal allowed it to become gaming's first licensing success. Pac-Man was determined to have the highest brand awareness of any video game character among American consumers. | ||
''Pac-Man'' became one of few games to have been consistently published for over | ''Pac-Man'' became one of few games to have been consistently published for over three decades, with many remakes and sequels released on numerous platforms. This is not to mention the influx of unauthorized ''Pac-Man'' clones that took place soon after the original release, nor of the ill-fated port of the game for the Atari 2600 (which ironically was a contributing factor to the infamous {{s|wikipedia|1983 video game crash}} in North America due to the debilitating technical limitations of the console). An American-produced derivative titled ''Ms. Pac-Man'', developed by Namco licensee Midway (today Warner Bros. subsidiary NetherRealm Studios), garnered a great deal of success of its own due to improvements over the original title; despite its development happening without Namco's consent, the company approved of the character, received the rights to the property, and subsequently included the feminine take on ''Pac-Man'' in various ''Pac-Man'' compilations and ports. | ||
As the series progressed with continued releases that explored different genres, the iconic yellow wedge shape that ordinarily defined the title character onscreen was phased out for a design closer to his appearance on the promotional artwork printed on the arcade machines themselves — an abstract, spherical humanoid with rudimentary limbs and a massive face with a stick-like nose that varied in length between appearances. This design was first seen in-game in the 1984 title ''Pac-Land'', in part to tie in with a [[wikipedia:Pac-Man (TV series)|Hanna-Barbera animated series]] about Pac-Man that ran for two seasons in 1982 and 1983. ''Pac-Land'' is an innovative title in itself as one of the first side-scrolling platform games, and one of the first games to include {{s|wikipedia|parallax scrolling}}. It is considered a major foundation for later mascot platformers, codified by 1985's ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' | |||
As the series progressed with continued releases that explored different genres, the iconic yellow wedge shape that ordinarily defined the title character onscreen was phased out for a design closer to his appearance on the promotional artwork printed on the arcade machines themselves — an abstract, spherical humanoid with rudimentary limbs and a massive face with a stick-like nose that varied in length between appearances. This design was first seen in-game in the 1984 title ''Pac-Land'', in part to tie in with a [[wikipedia:Pac-Man (TV series)|Hanna-Barbera animated series]] about Pac-Man that ran for two seasons in 1982 and 1983. ''Pac-Land'' is an innovative title in itself as one of the first side-scrolling platform games, and one of the first games to include {{s|wikipedia|parallax scrolling}}. It is considered a major foundation for later platformers, codified by 1985's ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' | |||
The steady stream of ''Pac-Man'' games was more-or-less halted for roughly six years after ''Pac-Mania'' for the arcades in 1987, before resuming on consoles with ''Pac-Attack'' in 1993. Through releases on a variety of competing platforms, including the PC, the formerly maze-based series explored genres as varied as puzzle, adventure, platformer, party, racing, and even pinball. These games often introduced a colorful cartoon world, not unlike that of {{uv|Mario}} and {{uv|Sonic}}, and a wide variety of characters outside of the original cast of the arcade game, not the least of which were Pac-Man's wife and children. It could be argued that, as recently as the early 2010s, ''Pac-Man'' as a property was easily more relevant as a forerunner to modern video games than as a starring video game franchise, due to the tendency of these experimental ''Pac-Man'' games to cater to young child demographics and garner at-times mediocre reception, but Namco nonetheless continues to honor the character as its company mascot. | The steady stream of ''Pac-Man'' games was more-or-less halted for roughly six years after ''Pac-Mania'' for the arcades in 1987, before resuming on consoles with ''Pac-Attack'' in 1993. Through releases on a variety of competing platforms, including the PC, the formerly maze-based series explored genres as varied as puzzle, adventure, platformer, party, racing, and even pinball. These games often introduced a colorful cartoon world, not unlike that of {{uv|Mario}} and {{uv|Sonic}}, and a wide variety of characters outside of the original cast of the arcade game, not the least of which were Pac-Man's wife and children. It could be argued that, as recently as the early 2010s, ''Pac-Man'' as a property was easily more relevant as a forerunner to modern video games than as a starring video game franchise, due to the tendency of these experimental ''Pac-Man'' games to cater to young child demographics and garner at-times mediocre reception, but Namco nonetheless continues to honor the character as its company mascot. | ||
| Line 85: | Line 81: | ||
The ''Pac-Man'' universe returns mostly unchanged. One major change is that all Bandai Namco songs, excluding {{uv|Tekken}} songs, are now labeled as ''Pac-Man'' songs. These songs include new remixes from ''{{iw|wikipedia|Galaga}}'', ''{{iw|wikipedia|Mappy}}'', and ''{{iw|wikipedia|Dragon Spirit}}''. | The ''Pac-Man'' universe returns mostly unchanged. One major change is that all Bandai Namco songs, excluding {{uv|Tekken}} songs, are now labeled as ''Pac-Man'' songs. These songs include new remixes from ''{{iw|wikipedia|Galaga}}'', ''{{iw|wikipedia|Mappy}}'', and ''{{iw|wikipedia|Dragon Spirit}}''. | ||
===Fighter=== | ===Fighter=== | ||
*55. [[File:Pac-ManIcon(SSBU).png|50px|right|link=Pac-Man (SSBU)]]'''{{SSBU|Pac-Man}}''' ([[Unlockable character|Unlockable]]): Pac-Man returns as an unlockable fighter after being a starter in ''Smash 4''. He remains | *55. [[File:Pac-ManIcon(SSBU).png|50px|right|link=Pac-Man (SSBU)]]'''{{SSBU|Pac-Man}}''' ([[Unlockable character|Unlockable]]): Pac-Man returns as an unlockable fighter after being a starter in ''Smash 4''. He remains unchanged from his previous appearance, and retains his Final Smash [[Super Pac-Man]], with a different functionality. | ||
===Stage=== | ===Stage=== | ||
| Line 91: | Line 87: | ||
===Assist Trophy=== | ===Assist Trophy=== | ||
*'''[[Ghosts]]''': Return from ''Smash 4'' | *'''[[Ghosts]]''': Return completely unchanged from ''Smash 4''. | ||
===Music=== | ===Music=== | ||
| Line 120: | Line 116: | ||
{{main|List of spirits (Pac-Man series)}} | {{main|List of spirits (Pac-Man series)}} | ||
== | ==Games with elements appearing in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series== | ||
The ''Pac-Man'' universe has | The ''Pac-Man'' universe has games represented throughout the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series with a total of 9 games. The latest game represented in this universe is ''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man World 3}}'', released on November 15, 2005. | ||
===''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man}}''=== | ===''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man}}''=== | ||
| Line 127: | Line 123: | ||
*Playable character: | *Playable character: | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} [[Pac-Man]] made his debut in this game. Pac-Man transforms into his ball form during certain moves, which is how he appeared in this game. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} [[Pac-Man]] made his debut in this game. Pac-Man transforms into his ball form during certain moves, which is how he appeared in this game. | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's limbed form first appeared in | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's limbed form first appeared in Japanese arcade cabinet artwork for this game. | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Many elements from Pac-Man's moveset debut in this game, such as the [[Ghosts]], the [[Bonus Fruit]], Pac-Dots, and [[Power Pellet]]s. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Many elements from Pac-Man's moveset debut in this game, such as the [[Ghosts]], the [[Bonus Fruit]], Pac-Dots, and [[Power Pellet]]s. | ||
*Stages: | *Stages: | ||
| Line 157: | Line 153: | ||
===''{{iw|wikipedia|Super Pac-Man}}''=== | ===''{{iw|wikipedia|Super Pac-Man}}''=== | ||
*Playable character: | *Playable character: | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's Final Smash | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's Final Smash is based off of this game. | ||
===''{{s|wikipedia|Pac-Man (TV | ===''{{s|wikipedia|Pac-Man (TV Series)}}''=== | ||
*Stages: | *Stages: | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4-WIIU}} The game [[Pac-Land]] was created as a tie-in to the show, which appears as its own stage in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate''. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4-WIIU}} The game [[Pac-Land]] was created as a tie-in to the show, which appears as its own stage in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate''. | ||
| Line 167: | Line 163: | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's limbed form makes its first in-game appearance in this game. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's limbed form makes its first in-game appearance in this game. | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's down special summons a [[Fire Hydrant]] from this game. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's down special summons a [[Fire Hydrant]] from this game. | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Various of Pac-Man's animations and sound effects are based on this game. | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} One of Pac-Man's victory poses is based on this game. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} One of Pac-Man's victory poses is based on this game. | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's blue and white costumes in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' are based on his in-game sprite and official artwork of the Wing Shoes, respectively. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's blue and white costumes in ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'' are based on his in-game sprite and official artwork of the Wing Shoes, respectively. | ||
| Line 185: | Line 181: | ||
===''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man World}}''=== | ===''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man World}}''=== | ||
*Playable character: | *Playable character: | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's side special is loosely inspired by the flying Pac-Dot chains from this game. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's side special is loosely inspired by the flying Pac-Dot chains from this game. | ||
*Misc: | |||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4-WIIU}} The game is referenced in the Pac-Man's House trophy description. | |||
===''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man World 2}}''=== | ===''{{iw|wikipedia|Pac-Man World 2}}''=== | ||
| Line 199: | Line 196: | ||
*Playable character: | *Playable character: | ||
**{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's ability to [[wall jump]] was taken from this game. | **{{gameIcon|SSB4}} Pac-Man's ability to [[wall jump]] was taken from this game. | ||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
