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A) Joystick: The joystick helps you direct Pac-Man through the maze. You can hold the joystick in direction that you would like Pac-Man to go before he is able to turn that way, and he will turn as soon as possible.
B) Super Speed: This button can only be used while Pac-Man is in his large super mode. While holding this button down, Pac-Man will move substantially faster through the maze. Be aware that this makes turning corners a little harder to do.
C) 1 or 2 Players: Push these buttons to begin a one or two player game.
Once again, you control Pac-Man as you guide him through the maze and on to victory. Pac-Man's one and only goal is to gobble up every target item. He must avoid contact with the four ghosts unless they are temporarily afraid of Pac-Man as a result of eating one of the four power pellets, or when Pac-Man is super as a result of eating one of the two super power pellets. Pac-Man moves faster when he's not eating targets than when he is. He is also capable of turning around corners faster than the ghosts, so make as many turns as possible when the ghosts are on his tail. The number of extra lives given depends on the machine settings, but you typically get one extra life at 30,000 points, with the possibility of getting a second at 80,000 or 100,000 points, and an additional possibility to get even more.
After eating one of the super power pills, Pac-Man becomes large and in charge. As Super Pac-Man, he gains a number of abilities, including:
When Pac-Man's super power is about to expire, he flashes white just like the ghosts do when they are about to change back to normal.
The familiar ghosts are back, but this time they aren't even properly introduced. Regardless, they basically behave the same. The red ghost Blinky shadows your trail. The pink ghost Pinky tries to stay one step ahead of Pac-Man. The blue ghost Inky will usually turn away if you take him head on. And the orange ghost Clyde does his own thing for the most part. The ghosts behavior is a tad more random than in the original Pac-Man so patterns can not be relied upon. The ghost will also exhibit a "stutter" behavior from time to time where they seem to shake in one spot briefly before continuing on. This can some times save you if you are being chased, or it can mess you up if you are following behind a ghost too closely.
When Pac-Man eats one of the four regular (blinking) power pellets positioned near the corners of each stage, the ghosts will turn blue for a short period of time. The higher the level, the shorter that time becomes, until the ghosts don't turn blue at all (but they do change direction.) Eating consecutive ghosts while they're scared can earn you 200, 400, 800, and 1600 points if you nab all four. But watch out when they start flashing because they're about to change back to their former ghostly selves.
50
100
100
200
400
800
1600
200 (doubles after every 4th stage, up to 1600)
2000
5000
See Stages below.
| Stage | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | ![]() |
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| Points | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 |
| Stage | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target | ![]() |
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| Points | 90 | 100 | 110 | 120 | 130 | 140 | 150 | 160 |
After stage 16, all targets are worth 160 points each.
Super Pac-Man remains true to the intermission formula established in the first Pac-Man. These intermissions are more like the simple humorous anecdotes found in the first Pac-Man, than the episodic stories told by the intermissions found in Ms. or Jr. Pac-Man.