Don’t Puck-Man with Pac-Man
Every week I show up to hand y’all the lowdown on the latest entry in Hamster’s bursting-at-the-seams Arcade Archives range. Most of the timeit’s relatively easy— In my advancing years, I’ve played almost every arcade game under the sun. Other timesit’s notably harder, especially with games that never saw the light outside of Japan. This week, however, what evenisthere to say? It’s Namco’sPac-Man.JustPac-Man. As naked as you or I right now.
Hitting the arcades in 1980 — before being remixed, rehashed, tweaked, ported, adapted, and ripped-off for almost every platform going —Pac-Man is the tale of a yellow, hockey-puck shaped fella dashing through a maze, munching up power pellets, and avoiding the pursuit of a crafty gang of cute ghosts. You know all this, of course, because you like video games, and there is arguably none more iconic, more influential, and more enduring franchise of the medium’s golden age.
Check outPac-Manin the video below, courtesy of YouTuberOld Classic Retro Gaming.
Pac-Manwould grow beyond arcade gaming to become a full-on pop culture sensation. Today, some 40 years on from his debut, Pac-Man remains perhaps the single most recognizable video game character of all time, adorning merchandise and paraphernalia across the globe. With a nigh-on endless list of sequels and spin-offs, some terrible cartoons, a pinball machine, and a tabletop edition, (not to mention one hell of a pop song), to his credit —Pac-Manwill never,evervanish from the public conscience. Not a bad legacy at all for a meager handful of yellow pixels.
Pac-Manis available to download now on Nintendo Switch, priced at $8. It may also be available on other platforms.
