Pac-Man Plus
Pac-Man Plus is a 1982 arcade maze video game developed and published by Bally Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Namco's original Pac-Man.[1][2] In it, players control the yellow, pie-shaped character through a teal-outlined maze to consume dots and power pellets while evading four pursuing ghosts, with gameplay enhancements including faster movement speeds, unique bonus prizes like branded soda cans and cakes, and randomized effects from power pellets such as temporary maze invisibility or partial ghost energization.[1][2] Released as a conversion kit for existing Pac-Man cabinets, the game aimed to extend the arcade phenomenon's popularity amid a wave of bootleg modifications, but its unapproved alterations— including modified character designs with Pac-Man gaining arms and legs on the cabinet artwork—strained Bally Midway's licensing relationship with Namco, ultimately contributing to the termination of their agreement.[1][2] Following the success of the licensed Ms. Pac-Man earlier that year, Pac-Man Plus introduced heightened difficulty through faster speeds and escalating random events, such as the maze becoming permanently invisible in later stages, which divided players and critics for deviating from the original's balanced design.[1][3] Despite its controversial status, Pac-Man Plus reflected the early 1980s arcade industry's fervor around the Pac-Man franchise, which had generated billions in revenue since 1980, preserving its place in gaming history as a bold, if rogue, evolution of the iconic title.[1][2]Overview
Release Information
Pac-Man Plus was released in late 1982 by Bally Midway in North America.[4] The game debuted as an unauthorized enhancement to the original Pac-Man arcade title.[1] It was distributed exclusively as a conversion kit designed for upgrading existing Namco Pac-Man arcade cabinets, allowing operators to modify hardware without purchasing new machines.[2] Marketed as a "legal PAC-MAN conversion," the kit included updated ROMs and components to implement new features while maintaining compatibility with the base Pac-Man system.[5] The kit targeted arcade operators facing declining revenue from the original Pac-Man due to player fatigue and the proliferation of unauthorized clones and speed-up modifications.[4] By providing an upgrade, Bally Midway aimed to revitalize cabinets and recapture player interest in a legitimate manner.[4] Availability was limited to the arcade sector, with kits sold directly to operators; no home console ports were available at the time of launch.[2] The release focused primarily on the North American market under Bally Midway's licensing, with a minimal international rollout as Namco maintained direct oversight of Pac-Man variants in Japan.[1]Relation to the Pac-Man Series
Pac-Man Plus was released in 1982 by Bally Midway, positioning it two years after the original Pac-Man arcade game from 1980 and contemporaneously with Ms. Pac-Man, also released that year by the same publisher.[6][7] As a non-canon variant within the franchise, it functioned primarily as a hardware upgrade kit for existing Pac-Man cabinets rather than a standalone title.[8][9] Conceptually, Pac-Man Plus emerged as an unauthorized modification designed to counter the proliferation of bootleg clones that had saturated arcades and eroded revenue from the original game.[9] Unlike full sequels such as Namco's Super Pac-Man, also released in 1982, it served as an iterative enhancement to prolong the commercial viability of the core Pac-Man experience without overhauling the foundational design.[8][6] Developed independently by Bally Midway, Namco's North American licensee, it reflected efforts to refresh player interest amid market fatigue, though Namco later disowned it and excluded it from official compilations.[8][7] The game retains essential elements of Pac-Man lore, including the titular character, the four pursuing ghosts, and maze-based navigation, while introducing variability to disrupt the predictable patterns of the original.[8][6] This approach preserved the franchise's iconic identity but adapted it for sustained arcade appeal.[9] Within the broader Pac-Man franchise, Pac-Man Plus exemplified Bally Midway's strategy to maintain the title's dominance following the 1980 arcade boom sparked by the original game's unprecedented success.[7][9] It bridged the gap to subsequent entries, such as the 1983 Jr. Pac-Man, by encouraging operators to upgrade bootleg hardware to legitimate versions, thereby stabilizing the series' market presence before the 1983 video game crash.[9][8]Gameplay
Core Mechanics
In Pac-Man Plus, the player controls Pac-Man, a yellow, pie-shaped character, who navigates a single-screen maze to consume all 240 Pac-Dots while avoiding pursuit by four colored ghosts named Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (cyan), and Clyde (orange). Successful completion of a level advances to the next, with gameplay difficulty escalating as ghost speeds increase and power pellet effect durations shorten across progressively faster rounds.[1] Power Pellets, located in each maze corner, grant Pac-Man temporary invulnerability upon consumption, with effects on the ghosts that vary randomly (detailed below); this generally reverses ghost behavior so they become edible blue entities that flee while vulnerable, with the effect lasting for a duration that diminishes in later levels.[10] Bonus items periodically appear at the maze center, offering additional points with escalating values from 100 to 5,000 across levels, and also affect ghost vulnerability.[11] The scoring system awards 10 points per Pac-Dot, 50 points per Power Pellet, and escalating values for sequentially eaten vulnerable ghosts starting at 200 points for the first and doubling thereafter up to 1,600 for the fourth. Bonus items contribute between 100 and 5,000 points depending on the current level, and eating them can double ghost point values under certain conditions.[11] Gameplay spans 256 levels mirroring the original Pac-Man's structure, culminating in a "kill screen" on the 256th level where graphical glitches render further progress impossible.[10] Brief intermission animations between certain levels depict familial scenes involving Pac-Man and ghosts, such as a baby carriage chase or a picnic outing.[1] Controls consist solely of a 4-way joystick for directional movement, with no other inputs required beyond standard navigation.[1] Ghost behaviors follow algorithmic patterns inherited from the original Pac-Man, with each ghost employing distinct pursuit strategies to corner the player, though modified for increased speed and aggression.[10]Modifications and New Elements
Pac-Man Plus introduces several visual alterations to enhance its distinct identity while retaining the core maze layout of the original game. The maze walls feature a green tint instead of the traditional blue, providing a refreshed aesthetic that alters the overall color palette without changing the structural design. Additionally, the bonus item sequences have been modified to include new items, such as a Coca-Cola can appearing in round 1 and awarding 100 points when collected, alongside other redesigned prizes like glasses, peas, apples, grapes, Galaxian ships, bread, and pancakes that replace the standard fruits.[1][12][13]| Round(s) | Item | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coke can | 100 |
| 2 | Glass | 300 |
| 3-4 | Peas | 500 |
| 5-6 | Apple | 700 |
| 7-8 | Grape | 1000 |
| 9-10 | Galaxian | 2000 |
| 11-12 | Bread | 3000 |
| 13+ | Pancakes | 5000 |