Pac-Man Plus
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Products | Pac-Man Plus |
Pac-Man Plus is an arcade game created and launched by Bally Midway in 1983.[1] It belongs to the Pac-Man franchise.
Gameplay
The mechanics of Pac-Man Plus are largely similar to the original Pac-Man. Players navigate Pac-Man through a maze, aiming to consume all Pac-Dots while evading four ghosts. Eating a Power Pellet temporarily turns ghosts blue and vulnerable, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points. Completing the maze causes it to refill, enabling continuous play.
Distinctive changes include visual alterations: the maze's color shifts from blue to green, vulnerable ghosts appear shorter with a stem and leaf detail, traditional fruit items are replaced by new objects like a can of Coca-Cola, and the ghosts’ eyes are drawn closer together. Gameplay modifications feature bonus items that render ghosts both invisible and vulnerable while doubling their score value. Power Pellets may trigger random effects such as making the maze disappear or turning only three ghosts blue, disrupting predictable clearing patterns. Furthermore, the ghosts move faster and act more aggressively, intensifying the game’s difficulty and pace.
Development
Midway marketed Pac-Man Plus as "the only legal PAC-MAN conversion package," highlighting it as both "Exciting!" and "New!".[2] The product served as an upgrade kit compatible with Namco Pac-Man arcade hardware, incorporating a module that connected via ribbon cable to the original Z-80 microprocessor socket. This module contained its own Z-80 CPU alongside additional circuitry, all sealed in epoxy resin to prevent reverse-engineering attempts. The kit replaced the four primary program ROMs with new software, swapped two ROMs for updated character and maze visuals, and added two smaller ROMs containing revised color information to finalize the modification.
Reception
Arcade Express awarded the title an eight out of ten rating, commenting that it "retains all the graphics, challenge, and excitement of the original while removing patterned gameplay." The introduction of random ghost movements and unexpected events provides "an intriguing new dimension for Pac enthusiasts."
Legacy
No official home console versions were released at the time. More recent adaptations include a J2ME mobile edition and ports featured in various TV Games produced by Jakks Pacific and Bandai.
Independent developers have also created homebrew ports of Pac-Man Plus for classic systems such as the ColecoVision Pac-Man Collection by Opcode Games, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari 7800.
In 2018, Pac-Man's Pixel Bash, an arcade machine by Bandai Namco Amusements, incorporated Pac-Man Plus among its selection of 31 or 32 classic Namco titles. This machine was made available in both Coin-Op and Home editions.
That same year, Arcade1Up released a home arcade cabinet featuring both the original Pac-Man and Pac-Man Plus. Later in 2020, Arcade1Up’s Pac-Man 40th anniversary cabinet (Generation 3) included seven games, with Pac-Man Plus among them.
In 2022, Arcade1Up collaborated with Sam’s Club to launch a Pac-Man Plus themed cabaret legacy edition containing a game lineup identical to Bandai Namco’s 2021 legacy edition. Initially, this cabinet was incorrectly labeled as Super Pac-Man, but corrections are currently being implemented.
External links
- Pac-Man Plus on Arcade History