Pac-Man

For fighter info, see Pac-Man (SSB4) and Pac-Man (SSBU).

Pac-Man
Official artwork of Pac-Man's two main forms.
Universe	Pac-Man
Debut	Pac-Man (1980)
Smash Bros. appearances	SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble (2025, via update)
Console/platform of origin	Arcade
Species	Pac-Person
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Pac-Land
Created by	Tōru Iwatani
Designed by	Tōru Iwatani Tadashi Yamashita
Article on Wikipedia	Pac-Man (character)

Pac-Man, also stylized as PAC-MAN (パックマン, Pacman, originally written Puckman), is the main character in the eponymous Pac-Man series. He is Bandai Namco's mascot and one of the most widely recognized video game characters in the world.

Origin

Pac-Man debuted as the main playable character in the arcade game, Pac-Man, in 1980. His minimalist design is an icon of video gaming; according to designer Tōru Iwatani, the popular story that he was inspired by a pizza missing a single slice is "half true", and his primary inspiration was a rounded stylization of the Japanese kanji 口 (kuchi, mouth). His name is derived from the Japanese onomatopoeia ぱくぱく (paku paku), meaning to rapidly open and close one's mouth. The toy company Tomy released products featuring a round, yellow character named "PacMan" prior to the release of the arcade game; while it is disputed whether this was a conscious inspiration, it is known that Tomy settled out of court in exchange for the right to produce licensed Pac-Man toys.

Japanese promotional art for the Pac-Man arcade game depicted Pac-Man with a slightly more humanoid design, featuring limbs with orange gloves and red boots, as well as a long nose; this design would be refined over time and subsequently featured in the games beginning with the 1984 arcade title Pac-Land. The international cabinet art, released by Midway Games, depicted Pac-Man as a more surreal, animalistic creature with red eyes and no arms, but this design would be short-lived, and international license holders were given leeway to experiment with the character design, a common practice in the 1980s, and typically skewed much closer to the original Japanese design.

As a character, Pac-Man initially began with very few personality traits, reflecting his simplistic appearance in the games. Cutscenes throughout the original Pac-Man arcade games titled "Coffee Breaks" would show various cartoon scenarios with Pac-Man, revealing a somewhat quick-witted character capable of outsmarting enemies on the fly, but not revealing much else. Later installments in the franchise, such as the Pac-Man World series, expand on the character and his backstory. In these games, he is a father with a large family that he deeply cares about, and he is characterized as a relatively laid-back hero who is willing to help wherever he is needed. Both of these traits were first established in Hanna-Barbera's Pac-Man cartoon series, which — unlike American multimedia adaptations of franchises such as Mario and Sonic — was greatly influential to the Pac-Man universe and set the groundwork for most media that followed, thanks in part to a large portion of Pac-Man titles having been developed outside of the character's home country in Japan. His relationship with the ghosts — Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde — has also changed over the years: they have been depicted as archenemies, allies of circumstance, or even friendly rivals.

Due to his simplistic character, Pac-Man's personality has also varied between depictions; while he is universally shown to have a ravenous appetite (owing to the original game's focus on eating dots and Bonus Fruit), the way he is depicted often reflects trends in children's entertainment in the Western world.

For instance, Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures, released in the 1990s during a large-scale revival of vintage slapstick cartoon tropes, portrays the character as an archetypal golden-age cartoon anti-hero who is overly emotional and often selfish, needing the player's intervention to succeed in his goals. Pac-Man World 3, released in the 2000s following a shift towards snide verbal comedy in children's media, portrays Pac-Man as a flippant, sarcastic hero who is prone to cracking somewhat edgy jokes and does not take the conflicts he faces seriously. The Pac-Man & the Ghostly Adventures franchise, introduced in the 2010s at a time where children's cartoons were embracing serialised plotlines, reinterprets the character as an orphaned high school student with a mysterious, tragic backstory.

In the present day, most depictions of Pac-Man feature his abstract form and depict him with little to no personality, as in the original arcade games. When shown in his anthropomorphic form, the current-day Pac-Man is most consistently depicted as compassionate (even to villains, as seen in the 2022 remake of Pac-Man World), athletic, and supportive — promotional materials feature the character living an active lifestyle and giving motivational advice.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

While Pac-Man is completely absent from Brawl, he was reportedly requested by Shigeru Miyamoto to be another third-party character in Brawl. However, Sakurai rejected the idea as he felt that Pac-Man appearing in his famous 2D form seemed too far-fetched.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

As a playable character

Pac-Man in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Pac-Man is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4, revealed behind closed doors at the E3 Smash Bros Q&A and made known to the general public via Nintendo of America's official Twitter account before being covered on 'Pic of the Day' the following morning.

Pac-Man ranks at 46th place on the Smash 4 tier list in the F tier. His Bonus Fruit special move acts as an effective projectile with differing attacks depending on its state upon being thrown. He also has a strong combo game at his disposal, able to perform combos both on the ground and in the air. However, his Bonus Fruit, Power Pellet, and Fire Hydrant specials can all be turned against him easily, creating some risks for himself in battle. He also suffers from an unreliable grab due to its high lag, and has trouble scoring KOs. Nevertheless, Pac-Man can excel by using his combo ability and the versatility in his specials. Currently, Pac-Man has a few dedicated players, but low tournament results.

Trophies

PAC-MAN's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

PAC-MAN's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

PAC-MAN

The yellow, circular hero of the game PAC-MAN, which is recognized as the "Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game" by Guinness World Records. In Smash Bros., he uses several moves inspired by the original PAC-MAN. Wakawaka your foes by charging up the Power Pellet move and aiming at them.

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980)

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984)

The yellow, circular hero of the game PAC-MAN, which is recognised as the "Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game" by Guinness World Records. In this game, some of his attacks are based on the original PAC-MAN. Charge up his Power Pellet move, then aim it right at an opponent to wakawaka them extra hard.

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980 (JP))

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984 (JP))

PAC-MAN (Alt.)'s trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

PAC-MAN (Alt.)'s trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

PAC-MAN (Alt.)

PAC-MAN's Fire Hydrant down special pushes opponents away with blasts of water. You can drop the hydrant on top of your opponents to damage them, but they can also attack it to damage you if you're standing on it! His Pac-Jump up special spawns a trampoline he can jump on three times—the third jump is especially high!

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980)

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984)

PAC-MAN's Fire Hydrant down special pushes opponents away with blasts of water. You can drop the hydrant on top of your opponents to damage them, but they can also attack it and hit you with it to cause damage! His Pac-Jump up special spawns a trampoline he can jump on three times, and the third jump is especially high!

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980 (JP))

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984 (JP))

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a playable character

Pac-Man in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Pac-Man returns as a playable character alongside the series' entire playable cast in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this time as an unlockable character.

Spirit

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  946. PAC-MAN

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	パックマン, PAC-MAN	—
English	PAC-MAN	—
French	PAC-MAN	—
German	PAC-MAN	—
Spanish	PAC-MAN	—
Italian	PAC-MAN	—
Chinese	吃豆人, PAC-MAN	Bean eater
Korean	팩맨, PAC-MAN	—
Dutch	PAC-MAN	—
Russian	ПЭКМЕН	—
Portuguese	PAC-MAN	—

Trivia

• With his debut in May 1980, Pac-Man is one of the earliest-created characters introduced in the Super Smash Bros. series, alongside Mr. Game & Watch. He is the oldest third-party character, and the oldest character introduced in Smash 4.
• Pac-Man appeared as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 34 years after his debut, therefore having the largest gap of any playable character in the Smash series between their first appearance and Smash debut.
• Super Smash Bros. 4 is not Pac-Man's first appearance in a crossover fighting game; he had previously appeared in Street Fighter x Tekken in a Mokujin mech, as an exclusive guest fighter on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions. This game also features Ryu and Ken from the Street Fighter side, Kazuya from the Tekken side, as well as a version of Mega Man based on the North American box art of the original Mega Man game for the NES.
• Pac-Man has had several prior crossovers with Nintendo franchises (mainly Mario) before Super Smash Bros. He previously appeared in all three Mario Kart Arcade GP titles as a playable racer. In addition, Mario appeared as the announcer in the Nintendo-developed installment of his series, Pac-Man Vs.
• Masahiro Sakurai stated in an interview that he would have considered dropping Pac-Man from Smash 4 entirely if Namco didn't allow them to use his classic design over his more modern Pac-Man & the Ghostly Adventures design.
• Pac-Man is one of the three playable third-party characters with no voice clips. The other ones are Mega Man and Steve.
• Pac-Man and Kazuya are the only characters to have a taunt with an official name, with Pac-Man's being Namco Roulette. Incidentally, they are both owned by Bandai Namco.
• Pac-Man is the first third-party character to debut in the arcades.

External links

• Article on PAC-MAN Wiki