Category:Pac-Man: Difference between revisions

Video games in the Pac-Man series.

Version history

Pac-Man has an interesting "family tree," having had sequels developed by two different companies in two different countries.

The original

• Pac-Man: Developed by Namco in Japan and released in 1980. Distributed in the United States by Bally Midway.

2nd generation

• Ms. Pac-Man: Developed by General Computer Corporation and released by Bally Midway in 1981 without Namco's permission. Rights to the title now belong to Namco.
• Super Pac-Man: Developed by Namco and released in 1982 as the official sequel to Pac-Man.
• Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man: Developed by Bally Midway's pinball division and released in 1982. Strictly a pinball game, but contains a small mini "video" game.

2.5 generation

• Pac-Man Plus: Developed by Bally Midway and released in 1982 in an attempt to compete with unauthorized bootleg versions of Pac-Man that were appearing in the market. Unauthorized by Namco.
• Baby Pac-Man: One of only three video game/pinball hybrids ever made, developed by Bally Midway and released in 1982. Unauthorized by Namco.

3rd generation

• Jr. Pac-Man: Developed by General Computer Corporation and released by Bally Midway in 1983 without Namco's permission.
• Pac & Pal: Developed by Namco and released in 1983 as the official third game in the Pac-Man series. The American release would have been titled Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp, but either Bally Midway passed on the rights, or they were not offered the rights.

Beyond the maze

• Pac-Land: Developed by Namco and released in 1984. One of the first side scrolling platform games ever made (appeared before Super Mario Bros.) Distributed in the United States by Bally Midway.
• Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures: Developed by Namco and released in 1994, the player no longer has direct control over Pac-Man, but rather interacts with him in an attempt to help him solve puzzles.
• Pac-In-Time: Developed by Namco and released in 1995. A return to traditional platform mechanics, allowing Pac-Man to jump and even use a grappling hook to reach new destinations and collect all of the dots in each level. Pac-Man is also given the uncharacteristic ability to spit fireballs.

Return to the maze

• Pac-Mania: Developed by Namco and released in 1987. Presented with a pseudo-3D isometric view, Pac-Man gains the ability to jump over his foes. Distributed in the United States by Atari.
• Pac-Man Arrangement: Developed by Namco and originally released in 1996 as part of the Namco Classic Collection Volume 2. Returns to a more traditional view point, but with enhanced graphics and additional game elements such as a special fifth ghost.

A different genre entirely

• Pac-Attack: Developed by Namco and released in 1993. Originally known as Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, elements of this Tetris-like clone were altered to fit a Pac-Man theme.

In a world all his own

• Pac-Man World: Developed by the American branch of Namco for the PlayStation and released in 1999. A platform game presented primarily in a 3D side-scrolling view.
• Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness:Developed by the American branch of Namco and released in 2000. Similar in style to Pac-Man World, but more maze focused.
• Pac-Man World 2: Developed by the American branch of Namco for several systems currently available in 2002. The game play is now more free roaming 3D than the first Pac-Man World.
• Pac-Man World 3: Developed by the American branch of Namco for several systems currently available in 2005. More of the same in Pac-Man World 2 with several improvements.
• Pac-Man World Rally: Developed by the American branch of Bandai-Namco for several systems currently available in 2006. A Super Mario Kart kart-racing clone.