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Pac-Mania 1987 Namco

1987

Pac-Mania (c) 1987 Namco.
Pac-Mania is a 1- or 2-player (alternating) game in which players maneuver the new Pac-Man through a world of 3-D mazes. He's back in action... but with a new twist, BOUNCE power! Ready for a new generation of Pac-Man players, he can't wait for the chance to show off his new aerial maneuvers to the crowd! The 'boss' ghost Clyde has recruited the talents of 2 new ghosts, Sue and Funky. Pac-Man must use his speed and cunning to outwit these annoying pests.
Pac-Man now faces new challenges as he enters the worlds of Block Town, Pac-Man's Park, Sandbox Land, and Jungly Steps. Fortunately for Pac-Man, he has the help of 2 'special items' - a green and red power pill. The green pill adds temporary speed, and the red awards double points. It's a whole new ball game for Pac-Maniacs!
Game play begins with the opportunity for players to level select among one of three playfield worlds : Block Town, Pac-Man's Park or Sandbox Land. With Block Town being the easiest and Sandbox Land being the harder, players are accordingly rewarded for selecting and completing the challenges in this mode.
The player's main objective is to eat all dots and power pills in the mazes while avoiding persistent ghosts. Using the new BOUNCE button, players can bounce their way over the ghosts to avoid being caught. But two new ghosts have been added to insure that Pac-Man doesn't have it too easy. In fact, one of them can also bounce in the air like Pac-Man. Fortunately, these rivals of Pac-Man are only found in the more demanding worlds and mazes.
During play, the appearance of fruit and green/red power pills will trigger the bell. This alerts players immersed in the game who might otherwise miss these valuable items. A green power pill awards extra speed; it is good until a yellow or red power pill is eaten and expires or a game life is lost. Red power pills award double points, and continue to do so until a game life is lost.
An optional continue feature is offered to allow players to continue their progress without having to start back at the beginning. It's a great way for Pac-Maniacs to learn and practice strategies without having to re-start games from the beginning. Bonus thresholds are offered at various score values, and are adjustable.

>>> TECHNICAL DETAILS
---------------------
Namco System 1 hardware
Game ID : PN
Main CPU : 6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sub CPU : 6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound CPU : 6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
MCU: HD63701 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound Chips : YM2151 (@ 3.57958 Mhz), Namco advanced 8-channel stereo WSG, stereo DAC
Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 224 x 288 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.61 Hz
Palette colors : 24-bit RGB palette
Players : 2
Control : 4-way joystick
Buttons : 1 (BOUNCE)

>>> TRIVIA
----------
Released in November 1987.
Licensed to Atari for US distribution.
After the superb platform action of the series' previous game, 'Pac-Land', Namco chose to return the series to its roots with the re-introduction of the 'eat all of the pills in the maze game-play of the earlier classics. Pac-Mania feels somewhat different to its illustrious predecessors, however, due to Pac-Man's newly-acquired 'jump' ability. The mazes are now rendered with an isometric, pseudo 3-D viewpoint, allowing the player to jump over the chasing ghosts and make an escape.
The 'Pac-Man's Park' maze is basically the original 'Pac-Man' maze in an isometric 3-D perspective.
Another new feature in this game is the appearance of several 'special items' (in addition to the traditional fruit bonuses - cherries, strawberries, oranges, apples, bananas, apricots, bells, and keys). These items include candy, hamburgers, ice cream cones, coffee, and 2 special kinds of power pills. The pills, which appear in addition to the traditional power pills, give Pac-Man more points for eating ghosts and also give him extra speed, both of which come in very handy during game-play. Pac-Mania was to be Pac-Man's last arcade outing.
Donn Nauert holds the official record for this game with 385,570 points.
Victor Entertainment released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Namco Video Game Graffiti Vol.4 - VDR-5282) on 08/03/1989.

>>> GAME UPDATES
----------------
Difference Between US and Japanese Version :
US version :
- The first Block Town only has 1 Level.
- The first Pac-Man's Park, Sandbox, and Jungly Steps Worlds only have 2
levels each.
- Spunky shows up on the second Sandbox World level.
- Top 10 Score List. Will let you write initials, before continuing.
- The 'Pac-Mania' Logo has Pac-Man, Pinky, and Blinky circling around the logo.
- There's Stage Select
- Items are placed differently
- Courage Bonus this would activate once you got past Block Town.
- Total Levels : 19
Japanese version :
- First Block World has 2 levels. And every other world after that has three
levels.
- Spunky shows up on the third Jungly Steps level
- No Stage Select. However, if one Japanese Machine has Stage Select, you cannot
continue.
- No Top 10 Score List.
- The 'Pac-Mania' Logo doesn't have Pac-Man, Pinky, and Blinky circling around
the logo.
- Total Levels : 23
- SCORING -
Dot : 60 points
Power pill (energizer) : 300 points
Red pill (special energizer) : 7650 points (doubles ghost values up to 7650)
Green pill (speed up) : 1000 points
Ghosts : 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 7650 points
Cherry : 1000 points
Strawberry : 2000 points
Peach : 3000 points
Apple : 4000 points
Banana : 5000 points
Flower : 6000 points
Bell : 7000 points
Key : 8000 points
Candy : 4000 points
Green apple : 6000 points
Coffee cup : 5000 points
Small ice cream cone : 6000 points
Large ice cream cone : 8000 points
Silver bell : 9000 points
Galaxian : 7650 points
Silver key : 10000 points
Hamburger : 7000 points
Silver Galaxian : 7650 points

>>> TRICKS AND TIPS
-------------------
* On the first couple of stages where power pellets last long, try to get 3 or 4
ghost near a power pellet. Once they are there, it is possible to eat all of
the ghost on the board. You'll also rack up lots of points this way after
eating the Pink Pill.
* On later stages, try clearing the pellets on top of the maze first. Not all of
the ghost will come out at once, once the level starts.
* On later stages, power pellets won't last long. Use those to distract the
ghost as you clear the board.
* Jumping is very important. You can jump at least 3 ghost lengths.
* When a ghost is on your tail, a good way to lose him is to turn around and
jump over the ghost.

>>> GAME SERIES
---------------
1. Pac-Man (1980)
2. Ms. Pac-Man (1981)
3. Super Pac-Man (1982)
4. Pac-Man Plus (1982)
5. Jr. Pac-Man (1983)
6. Pac & Pal (1983)
7. Pac-Land (1984)
8. Pac-Mania (1987)
9. Pac-In-Time (1994, Nintendo Super Famicom)
10. Pac-Man 2 - The New Adventures (1994, Nintendo Super Famicom and Sega Mega Drive)
11. Pac-Man VR (1996)
12. Pac-Man World (1999, Sony PlayStation)
13. Pac-Man - Adventures in Time (2000, PC CD-ROM)
14. Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness (2000, Sony PlayStation)
15. Ms. Pac-Man - Quest for the Golden Maze (2001, PC CD-ROM)
16. Pac-Man All-Stars (2002, PC CD-ROM)
17. Pac-Man Fever (2002, Sony PlayStation 2)
18. Pac-Man World 2 (2002, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft XBOX; 2004, PC CD-ROM)
19. Pac-Man vs. (2003, Nintendo GameCube)
20. Ms. Pac-Man - Maze Madness (2004, Nintendo GameBoy Advance)
21. Pac-Man World 3 (2005, Sony PSP, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft XBOX, PC CD-ROM, and Nintendo DS)
22. Pac'n Roll (2005, Nintendo DS)
23. Pac-Pix (2005, Nintendo DS)

>>> DESIGNERS / PROGRAMMERS / STAFF
-------------------------------------
Game Design : St. Daimyojin
Character Design : T. Yamashita
Graphic Design : A. Usukusa
Visual Design : Satoshi S., Babe. Teshima, Yukari M., Kazuya G., Tomoyuki S.
Music and Sound : Junko Ozawa, Yuri., Y. Tomuro
Game Program : Taro. Shimizu
System Program : Taro. Shimizu, Kosei M., Dr. Tam., H. Yamazaki
System Design : T. Ogawa, T. Okada, Makoto Inoue, Dr. Tam.
Director : St. Daimyojin, T. Iwatani
Presenter : Fun First Pro., Namco Limited

>>> GAME PORTS TO OTHER SYSTEMS
-------------------------------
* Consoles :
Nintendo Famicom (1990)
Sega Master System (1991)
Sega Mega Drive (1991)
Sony PlayStation (1997, 'Namco Museum Vol.5')
Nintendo Game Boy Advance (2001, 'Pac-Man Collection')
Sony PlayStation 2 (2002, 'Namco Museum') : initially locked.
Microsoft XBOX (2002, 'Namco Museum') : initially locked.
Nintendo GameCube (2002, 'Namco Museum') : initially locked.
Sony PlayStation 2 (2005, 'Namco Museum 50th Anniversary') : initially locked.
Microsoft XBOX (2005, 'Namco Museum 50th Anniversary') : initially locked.
Nintendo GameCube (2005, 'Namco Museum 50th Anniversary') : initially locked.
* Computers :
Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1988)
Atari ST (1988)
Amstrad CPC (1988)
Commodore C64 (1988)
Commodore Amiga (1988)
MSX2 (1989)
Acorn Archimedes (1991)
Tandy Color Computer 3 (1992, 'PacDude Monster Maze')
Sharp X68000
PC [MS Windows, CD-ROM] (2005, 'Namco Museum 50th Anniversary') : initially locked.
* Others :
Mobile Phones (2005)

>>> OTHER GAME RESOURCES
---------------------
Game's rom.
Machine's picture.

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