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By Doug Trueman
1984-1989: Pac-Popularity
Declines
1984: Jr. Pac-Man
Platform: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Publisher Atari
Click to enlarge |
Despite the nearly perfect translation
of Jr. Pac-Man to the Atari 2600 (it was translated for the 5200 but never released), this
title marked the beginning of the decline in Pac-Popularity. Though it was one of the best
home translations the series had seen up to this point, Pac-Man was entering a slow
downward spiral. Jr. Pac-Man for the 2600 had all the features that made the arcade
version popular: the larger scrolling mazes, the bouncing toys that increased the value of
the pellets they came in contact with, and the larger number of power pellets to wreak
havoc on Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Tim. Unfortunately, this was the last Pac title that
would actually feature the classic maze style of play, and the series' popularity took a
dive accordingly.
Click to enlarge |
Shots of the never-released Atari 5200
version. |
Shots of the never-released Atari 5200
version. |
1984: Pac-Land
Platform: Arcade
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
It would be easy to denounce Pac-Land as a cheap Super Mario Bros. rip-off, but the fact
of the matter is that Pac-Land came out a full year before Mario and Luigi burst onto the
North American scene and changed gaming forever. But it is fair to say that Pac-Land is
utter crap and should never have been created.
Click to enlarge |
Click to enlarge |
Click to enlarge |
A side-scrolling quasi-platformer, Pac-Land had you fill the giant shoes (and mouth) of a
cartoon-style Pac-Man, complete with red boots and a fedora. As a moving orifice that
could never be satiated, Pac-Man had to jump over cacti, ride on the roofs of cars, use
springboards to jump over vast pools of water, and avoid delightfully cute ghosts who were
out to kill him. Handicapping Pac-Man was a constantly dwindling energy meter that had to
be refilled by eating - what else? - power pellets. If you reached the end of the game's
five levels, you rescued Princess Buttercup and saved the day.
Unlike Mario, Pac-Land didn't set the gaming world on fire, because there wasn't enough to
do. The enemies were mindless, the graphics dull, and the entire theme was sickly sweet.
This coin-op was such a bomb that it took Namco four years to get up the courage to
release another game with "Pac" in the title.
1988: Pac-Mania
Platform: Arcade, Genesis, Sega Master System
Developer: Various
Publisher: Namco
The sad thing about the four-year delay between Pac-Land and Pac-Mania was that it wasn't
long enough. This multiplatformed game appeared on several different systems, but it was
equally atrocious on all of them. Pac-Mania was an isometrically viewed game (meaning that
the camera is up and off in a corner). The goal was the same: Run around collecting
pellets, avoiding ghosts, and munching on power pellets when the going gets rough. The
gimmicks in this title were the quasi-3D camera angle
Click to enlarge |
Click to enlarge |
Click to enlarge |
and the fact that Pac-Man could jump over ghosts at will. The mazes were much too big for
a single screen, so the camera scrolled appropriately. Unfortunately, it was often very
difficult to know which directions had been cleared of their pellets and which were still
fertile. Ghosts outnumbered Pac-Man by way more than four to one, though more than four
were never on the screen at once. Pac's new jumping ability was only useful on the first
few levels; later on, the ghosts could jump as well as he could, easily crashing into him
in midair for the kill. This title should be avoided like Pinky in a bad mood.
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