Pac-Land joins the Arcade Archives, but something is seriously amiss…
This week’s Arcade Archives entry features one of video gaming’s most iconic and beloved characters, Pac-Man, as retro publisher Hamster brings Namco’s somewhat odd platforming adventure Pac-Land to PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Released to arcades in 1984, Pac-Land sees our pill-popping pal leave the sanctity of his maze and — now sporting arms, legs, and a jaunty hat — stride out into the big wide world. The side-scrolling adventure was based upon Hanna Barbera’s abominable Pac-Man animated show, which was busy boring kids on Saturday mornings. Pac-Land also features a strange, Track & Field-inspired control system, utilizing three buttons and no joystick.
Despite its rudimentary nature are oddly sparse visuals, Pac-Land was a huge success and is considered an important forerunner to the side-scrolling platform genre that would dominate throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Old Classic Retro Gaming.
One important note, however, is that Hamster’s new re-release of Pac-Land actually has a major alteration. While most of the weekly Arcade Archive entries are borderline ROM dumps, Namco’s Pac-Land has been forced to undergo a bit of visual tweaking, lest the bloodthirsty lawyers come a-callin’.
As spotted by graphic artist “Nick C”, the change concerns Pac-Man’s beloved partner, Ms. Pac-Man, who usually waits to greet our hero at the end of each stage. Ms. Pac-Man’s sprite has been altered in the rerelease, replacing her trademark “red bow, red boots” look to a pink hat and heels, metamorphizing her into a more recently created character in the Pac-Man universe known as “Pac-Mom”.
The reasons behind this change are arduous and annoying.
so apparently I found out
Read more on destructoid.com
