For those unlucky readers that have followed me for the past 14 years on this site, you know that I’m a huge retro nerd. I play every old game released, remixed, and re-issued from the 80s, just so I can get my arcade kicks on whenever I feel like it. Just last week, I played a bevy of old retro games that included Konami’s Track & Field, the entire Capcom Arcade Stadium collection, and Dragon’s Lair. I like old arcade titles and I don’t regret a minute reliving them.
With that backstory out of the way, I was as giddy as a kid in a Dave & Busters when I saw that Bandai Namco released Pac-Man Museum+ on the PlayStation. It was essentially a step through time that brought together 14 Pac-Man titles with their flavor of fun and failure. They weren’t all gems, but they certainly were breadcrumbs that have led to what we have now with more recent Pac-Man releases. That said, I am sincerely sad the VR Pac-Man game from the 90s didn’t make it to the collection. Maybe a PSVR 2 launch title? One can only hope. Just avoid that one. It’s bad.
Anyway, let’s get going on this collection.
Pac-Man Delight
If you had the opportunity to live through the 80s, then you understand the Pac-Man fever that existed back in the day. You had Pac-Man collectible cards from Topps, Pac-Man Cereal, and even a Pac-Man board game from Milton Bradley. You also had Pac-Man Fever…the literal song, which reached the top 10 at some point. Anyway, Pac-Man came in a lot of varieties in an early transmedia fashion that could only make George Lucas proud. And this is the motif for this Museum+ release.
There are 14 Pac-Man-related games in the Pac-Man Museum+ title. As stated above, they’re not all gems, but they are experiences and experiments that led to newer Pac-Man titles, such as Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 which came out in the early part of the 2010s. Some of these Pac-Man games through time brought some amazing innovation to the series and probably sparked some great ideas as the industry moved forward with new technology and new ways to see Pac-Man. Attempts at trying something new should always be commended on the surface, even if they ultimately didn’t work out underneath. That said, let’s breakdown the list of games included:
Pac-Man: The original quarter muncher. I remember playing this at my mom’s athletic club in Atlanta when the game was first released. It was neat playing something where eating was the focus, though level variety was non-existent. Still, the classic game holds up and the fact that you can play a perfect replica of the arcade classic is a nice fallback when you’re getting that arcade itch.
Super Pac-Man: While most consider Ms. Pac-Man the sequel, it wasn’t created by Namco. Super Pac-Man was a release after the original and it was…different. While the ghosts still existed in the game, as well as power pellets, the big change was the emergence of locked gates that held your munchables behind them and that could only be opened by eating keys placed all over the level. To make this even more ‘unique’, Pac-Man could turn into Super Pac-Man by eating green super power pellets, which turned our Pac dude large and for a short time invincible, though he couldn’t eat ghosts unless the original power pellet was included in the meal. The loosey-goosey controls made this a perfect arcade frustration, as you would have probably pumped a lot of quarters to complete this game. It was a frustrating follow-up that did no justice to the Pac-Man brand. No amount of bonus stages could tame the bubbling anger that a player would eventually get from this experience. I see this as Namco’s Donkey Kong 3 attempt at trying something different, as Nintendo did with DK, but ultimately failing in the long run. It’s nice to have Super Pac-Man on a collection, but wow, it’s still a frustrating game after all these years.
Pac & Pal: What a fascinating game. This takes the concept and structure of Super Pac-Man and proposes addition by subtraction. While there are still gates around goodies, instead of keys to open the gates, there are cards that open gates to the object the card reflects. For example, if you flip over a card with an orange on it, then it opens the gate with the orange fruit behind it. In addition to this change, it also adds superpowers that allow you to power up Pac-Man and defeat ghosts in various ways. Again, it’s fascinating, and a perfect example of how one game improves another. While it isn’t as frustrating as Super Pac-Man, it still is kind of loosey-goosey with controls. I like it, as it does go off the Pac-Man blueprint.
Pac-Land: A 1984 side-scroller that simply doesn’t work at all. I know a lot of people love this game, but it gives off some serious ColecoVision Smurfs vibes. Trust me, you don’t want those vibes. The controls are stiff, the animation is below par, even for 1984, and it just simply doesn’t work the way it should regarding progression, excitement, and variety. The chance was nice to take, but in my opinion, it simply didn’t pay off. Still, it’s history.
Pac-Mania: Namco must have taken some years off to rethink what they wanted to do with their Pac-Man goldmine. Instead of piggybacking off Pac-Land for their next title, they went back to the old traditional way to play but had an isometric 3D twist to the viewpoint. Instead of hovering over the Pac-Man level, you were almost at the ground level. In addition, they added some new ghosts and different stage designs. It was a good way to start heading to a 90s 3D environment, but sadly also the blueprint to the VR failure that hasn’t reared its head since its release. It’s a good game of Pac-Man, though it’s a little slow. I like the change-up with the traditional gameplay and the safe bets with the new ghosts.
Pac-Attack: Trying to catch the Tetris and Columns wave before it subsided, Pac-Attack is a simple puzzle game that is slightly confusing, but also entertaining. Essentially, ghosts and line-tiles (like Tetris) fall from the heavens. You must align the lines and stack the ghosts, then unleash the fury that is Pac-Man on the ghosts to make horizontally complete lines. Again, it’s a simple puzzle game that adds a bit of variety to the standard Tetris format, as well as some good music to boot. It works weirdly.
Pac-in-Time: Attempt #2 at side-scrolling Pac-Man, and just as entertaining. Did anyone know there was a Ghost Witch? I didn’t, but she is the enemy. Anyway, I commend this game for its girth (50 stages) and for loosening up the controls. Those were big corrections from the original title. It’s a frustrating experience, though, as you will constantly have to go back and forth with the control guide to figure out what in the heck you’re doing. Good intentions, but just not good execution in the end.
Pac-Man – Arrangement: Is this a Pac-Man mafia game? No. It’s a cool and colorful traditional Pac-Man game that has a lot of personality with its movement (everything is moving) and some clever gameplay designs that make it into Pac-Man Championship Edition down the line (jumping pads). I like the vibe it has going on and even amid death, you enjoy how gleeful and playful the game is from beginning to end. I also like that ghosts stack in this game and become even more vicious. It’s all damn cool.
Pac-Man – Arrangement (2005): The good folks at Namco built upon the idea from their 90s original Arrangement game and took it to a new level. The game features bigger stages visually, though smaller in space. It also features warp pads, an RPG journey across multiple-stage varieties, and boss fights. The latter of which was a brilliant addition that would find its way back to Pac-Man Championship Edition years down the road. This was a big leap in the Pac-Man franchise and one that is an absolute blast. My only complaint? A bit too easy, but I’ll take it.
Pac-Man Championship Edition: Toru Iwatani supervised this game and set the future standard for follow-ups with the same name. This is purely a competitive, short-level game that wants you to set a high score, and compete against other players. The joy of this game is also precise controls and the speed of the game as you progress in it. It’s a wonderful Pac-Man game that had a DX+ edition and a true sequel that took the series up quite a notch.
Pac-Motos: Ballblazer, Pac-Man edition. Going off the same concept as the LucasFilm Games classic Atari title, you use Pac-Man in a 3D environment to bounce balls off stages to win the game. The game features boss fights where Pac-Man uses his entire body to take care of the job. This is a silly concept, though just a little bit addictive. There are power-ups to make it interesting, but it’s certainly a departure from the Pac-Man blueprint of gobble-gobble-power-pellet.
Pac’n Roll: It took the concept of Motos, the idea structure of Marble Madness, and made one of the most frustrating Pac-Man games since Super Pac-Man. The idea was heading in the right direction, but the controls were infuriating when it came to pinpoint accuracy. Maybe that was the point of the game, but it didn’t make it better when it came to not overshooting targets or items. The power-ups didn’t make this better either. I had never gotten to experience this game before this collection, so that’s a plus.
Pac-Man Battle Royale: This made me want to play Pac-Man Versus so badly on the Gamecube. It’s a competitive battle where Pac-People face off to see who can eat the other or force death via ghosts on opponents. It’s no fun playing solo, but it’s a helluva experience when you have the whole family involved. I played this at a local arcade in Annapolis this past week with my kids and had a blast.
Pac-Man 256: The ‘256’ in the title refers to the killscreen in the original Pac-Man game when you make it to the 256th level. The idea behind the game is that you are perpetually running away from the killscreen while trying to get the highest score, power-ups, and coins, all while avoiding ghosts that are predictably patterned. In addition to this, you can upgrade power-ups, which makes for one of the best Pac-Man games since Championship Edition 2. I’m glad they included this one. It is worth its weight in gold.
While I might have some strong opinions on some of these games, it’s great having the bunch in one collection. There’s something remarkable about Namco and Bandai Namco’s efforts when it comes to how they have evolved their signature mascot over the decades. The fact that he is a cross-generational character speaks volumes about how well they have kept him alive and well. For any video game history freak, like myself, this is a must-have. For those who have not experienced Pac-Man’s journey over the years, this is also a must-have. Every gamer should experience every type of Pac-Man.
Other goodies
While the 14 games above are the crux of the package, the game also features some lovely add-ons that make the experience of owning this even better. You get to unlock arcade cabinets, music, and collectibles as you journey through Pac-Man’s history. You also get to customize your very own arcade, which will certainly make some people froth at the mouth. The more you play all the games in that arcade, the more coins you get to unlock goodies to make your collection and customization even brighter and bigger.
In addition to earning coins and customizing your arcade digs, you also get a history lesson with each arcade game. While it certainly isn’t an entire history from top-to-bottom on the collection’s arcade creations, you get some insight into what was changed, added, or attempted when making the games. Being a huge history buff, this was right up my alley of entertainment in addition to the entertainment.
Conclusion
I’m a sucker for old arcade games and having a 14-game Pac-Man collection at my fingertips is everything thing I thought it might be. Bandai Namco’s Pac-Man Museum+ is a must-have for Pac-Man fans and arcade junkies.
