News PAC-MAN Museum + - Announcement Trailer (Coming May 27, 2022 to NSW, PS4, Xbox, Steam) [Release Date Trailer Added!]

[VolcanicDynamo]

We got a new compilation of Pac-Man titles coming to the major consoles and PC. 14 games are on this one, including a few games that have not seen a rerelease or haven't seen one in a while:

• Pac-Man
• Super Pac-Man
• Pac & Pal
• Pac-Land
• Pac-Mania
• Pac-Attack
• Pac in Time
• Pac-Man Arrangement (Arcade)
• Pac-Man Arrangement (Console)
• Pac-Man Championship Edition
• Pac-Motos
• Pac 'N Roll Remix
• Pac-Man Battle Royale
• Pac-Man 256

Playing the games clears missions, which gets you coins to decorate a virtual arcade that you can walk around in with Pac-Man. Said arcade is also the menu you use to select the games.

This also makes three unique ways to purchase the original Pac-Man on Nintendo Switch alone - Namco Museum, Arcade Archives, and now this.

What do you all think? Is this an interesting line up? Excited for any of the games in particular? Will Ms. Pac-Man ever be freed from legal rights limbo? I'm particularly excited to see a rerelease of the arcade Pac-Man Arrangement (for a long time we only ever got the console version), and I've never tried Pac in Time.

EDIT: We now have a release date: May 27, 2022. See the new trailer below:

 

[TheMoon]

• Pac-Man Championship Edition

oh finally!

edit: also, this just makes me want Nintendo to do NES Remix again with stuff like this (a place to walk around in and customize, extra unlockables etc, games for different hardware)

 

[Brock Reiher]

Really good collection. Wasn't expecting to see Battle Royal!

 

[Seik]

I'm a happy Pac-Man guy right now.

Also someone should make a 3D version of a Baby Pac-Man pinball machine at some point, that would be interesting as hell since it's still stuck in its ridiculously rare physical cabinet version.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

I'm beyond excited! The fact Pac-In-Time is being acknowledged at all is amazing! The game never had a re-release after the DOS/SNES/Game Boy originals.

Pretty sure this is also the first appearance of Battle Royale on consoles, right?

They got both versions of Arrangement, and Pac 'n Roll & Moto for the first time in HD?!

A COMPLETE 3D HUB WORLD! and 256 is finally on Switch after me wishing for so long... Aaaaaaa

 

[winstein]

The collection of games is a mix of expected games (Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man), cool additions (both versions of Pac-Man Arrangement), and surprising ones (Pac 'N Roll Remix, Pac-in-Time). It's indeed a really hefty collection. I suppose the exclusion of Ms. Pac-Man is a shame, though.

Thank you for reading.

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

For comparison, the previous Pac-Man Museum (which is now delisted as of last year) had the following games:

• Pac-Man
• Ms. Pac-Man (only as DLC)
• Super Pac-Man
• Pac & Pal
• Pac-Land
• Pac-Mania
• Pac-Attack
• Pac-Man Arrangement (Console)
• Pac-Man Championship Edition
• Pac-Man Battle Royale

So we got five extra games but no Ms. Pac-Man (thanks legal rights limbo). The original Pac-Man Museum was released on Steam, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2014. It was also planned to be released on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS but was cancelled, meaning this is the first time a few of these games have been released on a Nintendo console, such as Battle Royale and the console Pac-Man Arrangement.

 

[Brock Reiher]

That's super excited. I'm perfectly fine with no Ms Pac-Man tbh

 

[CyberWolfBia]

For comparison, the previous Pac-Man Museum (which is now delisted as of last year) had the following games:

• Pac-Man
• Ms. Pac-Man (only as DLC)
• Super Pac-Man
• Pac & Pal
• Pac-Land
• Pac-Mania
• Pac-Attack
• Pac-Man Arrangement (Console)
• Pac-Man Championship Edition
• Pac-Man Battle Royale

So we got five extra games but no Ms. Pac-Man (thanks legal rights limbo). The original Pac-Man Museum was released on Steam, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2014. It was also planned to be released on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS but was cancelled, meaning this is the first time a few of these games have been released on a Nintendo console, such as Battle Royale and the console Pac-Man Arrangement.

Oh yeah, I remember that one compilation; they had a little Ghostly Adventures theme going on too, since it was new at the time;

Never really understood the cancellation on 3DS and Wii U, especially with Pac-Man being announced for Smash4 around that time.

Championship Edition 1 at least was on 3DS within Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions

 

[Chie]

That's super cool, I'd definitely be down for it. Wonder about the price and a physical release.

 

[Beard]

The original Pac-Man CE on Switch? God is real, at least for today.

 

[TheDok]

Hope people realize the original Championship Edition is a different and far simpler game compared to Championship Edition+. The latter is essentially a full sequel with a way bigger scope.

Still, the original is quite good and not worth skipping over

 

[Barely Able]

Shame there is no Ms Pac-Man. Maybe that will get an ACA release (doubtful but my hope). I would have liked to see Pac-Man 2 included as well. Maybe there are some hidden games. Still, great collection with quite a few obscure releases and a fun presentation.

 

[Beard]

Hope people realize the original Championship Edition is a different and far simpler game compared to Championship Edition+. The latter is essentially a full sequel with a way bigger scope.

Still, the original is quite good and not worth skipping over

The original CE is better than DX and 2 imo. Much better, I feel. But all the CE games are really fun.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

That's super cool, I'd definitely be down for it. Wonder about the price and a physical release.

I hope they do make a cartridge! I reached on Bamco US on Twitter asking about a physical release, but I don't know if they'll reply (if they even got the info);

 

[Clix]

Really good line up, but where the the Super Nintendo point and click Pac Man adventure game?

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

That's super excited. I'm perfectly fine with no Ms Pac-Man tbh

Shame there is no Ms Pac-Man. Maybe that will get an ACA release (doubtful but my hope). I would have liked to see Pac-Man 2 included as well. Maybe there are some hidden games. Still, great collection with quite a few obscure releases and a fun presentation.

Legal Issues Limbo truly is the worst place for such a classic to be, but I can't complain with what they have given us. I think Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures is probably the only weird exclusion, at least keeping in mind that Championship Edition DX is on Steam and is backwards compatible on Xbox.

...wait, I think I know why Pac-Man 2 isn't here - it has Ms. Pac-Man as a character in the game, the Genesis version even having a playable Ms. Pac-Man arcade game based on the NES version. Dang it all!

Oh yeah, I remember that one compilation; they had a little Ghostly Adventures theme going on too, since it was new at the time;

Never really understood the cancellation on 3DS and Wii U, especially with Pac-Man being announced for Smash4 around that time.

Championship Edition 1 at least was on 3DS within Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions

I never got it too, perhaps they thought it wouldn't sell well and would require more effort? Wii U was a sales flop and 3DS would require more of a porting effort. A shame, too, I would have purchased it.

The original CE is better than DX and 2 imo. Much better, I feel. But all the CE games are really fun.

I hope I can get into the original. I'm not very good at it, haha. But I do love me some Pac-Man, and I could always practice more with this release.

 

[9-Volt]

I'm tired of Namco re-heating and serving same Pac-man collection for every single system. Where the hell is my Pac-man World HD collection, you dumasses? Bring back the glory of 3D platformer Pacman!

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Legal Issues Limbo truly is the worst place for such a classic to be, but I can't complain with what they have given us. I think Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures is probably the only weird exclusion, at least keeping in mind that Championship Edition DX is on Steam and is backwards compatible on Xbox.

...wait, I think I know why Pac-Man 2 isn't here - it has Ms. Pac-Man as a character in the game, the Genesis version even having a playable Ms. Pac-Man arcade game based on the NES version. Dang it all!

Oh, Bamco doesn't have an issue with Ms. Pac-Man as a character; after all, she does appear in Pac-Land and that's included in this compilation. (presumably they'll even have a statue for her as a decoration for the 3D room); --And Pac-Man 2 was re-released already on the Wii U Virtual Console as well

My Nintendo Store – Nintendo Official Site

Shop at the My Nintendo Store for exclusive Nintendo merchandise, video games in digital and physical formats, Nintendo Switch™ systems, and much more.

www.nintendo.com

but the game itself is always a weird situation, yeah; Now, it seems the ATGames lawsuit is over? so perhaps they'll sell it as DLC

I'm tired of Namco re-heating and serving same Pac-man collection for every single system. Where the hell is my Pac-man World HD collection, you dumasses? Bring back the glory of 3D platformer Pacman!

look, I'd love to have the World trilogy on modern platforms, but honestly this collection is the best one they've put in decades, no joke! They cared to have stuff that never got a re-release or it not as widespread like Battle Royale.

Also, worth pointing out that World 3 never got a Japanese release, so maybe that's one barring for them.

 

[Nabbit]

Do we know which Pac-in-Time we're getting? The SNES one was a completely different game than the other versions I think.

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

I'm tired of Namco re-heating and serving same Pac-man collection for every single system. Where the hell is my Pac-man World HD collection, you dumasses? Bring back the glory of 3D platformer Pacman!

dead and buried in the ground

...on a serious note, assuming it's not just a lack of interest, I wonder if it has to do with, once again, Ms. Pac-Man. World 1 and 3 feature her as part of the story, and World 2 has Ms. Pac-Man as an unlockable game.

Like, look at this shot from the Pac-Man Museum + trailer:

It showcases the unlockable statues for different Pac-Man characters. We got all the standard Pacs (Professor Pac-Man is cut off here, but he's there, too), but instead of Ms. Pac, we have some other female Pac character (is she original? I don't recognize her from any game but I could have forgotten one). If they can't use Ms. Pac for a statue, then I imagine using her in games where she has full voice acting would also be a no go. Unless that's just a redesign of the character? I mean, it could be.

Oh, Bamco doesn't have an issue with Ms. Pac-Man as a character; after all, she does appear in Pac-Land and that's included in this compilation. (presumably they'll even have a statue for her as a decoration for the 3D room); --And Pac-Man 2 was re-released already on the Wii U Virtual Console as well

My Nintendo Store – Nintendo Official Site

Shop at the My Nintendo Store for exclusive Nintendo merchandise, video games in digital and physical formats, Nintendo Switch™ systems, and much more.

www.nintendo.com

but the game itself is always a weird situation, yeah; Now, it seems the ATGames lawsuit is over? so perhaps they'll sell it as DLC


look, I'd love to have the World trilogy on modern platforms, but honestly this collection is the best one they've put in decades, no joke! They cared to have stuff that never got a re-release or it not as widespread like Battle Royale.

Also, worth pointing out that World 3 never got a Japanese release, so maybe that's one barring for them.

Notably, all the other references to Ms. Pac that we still have are from before August 2019, when AtGames announced they got the Ms. Pac-Man rights from GCC. I wonder if things have changed in terms of what they can reference. My conspiracy theory is that this new character is "replacing" Ms. Pac unless it's a redesign, but I'd really like to be proven wrong. I mean, she is also in the intro to Pac in Time, right? They call her Mrs. Pac, but it's her. Once we get footage of that, then we can easily see what they're able to do.

Do we know which Pac-in-Time we're getting? The SNES one was a completely different game than the other versions I think.

It's the SNES release.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Key art!

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

Key art!

Gosh, this is so dang GOOD.

 

[9-Volt]

It showcases the unlockable statues for different Pac-Man characters. We got all the standard Pacs (Professor Pac-Man is cut off here, but he's there, too), but instead of Ms. Pac, we have some other female Pac character (is she original? I don't recognize her from any game but I could have forgotten one). If they can't use Ms. Pac for a statue, then I imagine using her in games where she has full voice acting would also be a no go.

That's interesting because Ms Pac-Man was part of the previous Pac-Man museum on Xbox 360. I believe they offered it as a free DLC. Wonder what happened since then.

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

That's interesting because Ms Pac-Man was part of the previous Pac-Man museum on Xbox 360. I believe they offered it as a free DLC. Wonder what happened since then.

The matter has changed a bit as of 2019 - here's an article that goes into it:

"The rights to Ms. Pac-Man are caught up in a messy legal battle"

 

[CyberWolfBia]

dead and buried in the ground

...on a serious note, assuming it's not just a lack of interest, I wonder if it has to do with, once again, Ms. Pac-Man. World 1 and 3 feature her as part of the story, and World 2 has Ms. Pac-Man as an unlockable game.

Like, look at this shot from the Pac-Man Museum + trailer:

It showcases the unlockable statues for different Pac-Man characters. We got all the standard Pacs (Professor Pac-Man is cut off here, but he's there, too), but instead of Ms. Pac, we have some other female Pac character (is she original? I don't recognize her from any game but I could have forgotten one). If they can't use Ms. Pac for a statue, then I imagine using her in games where she has full voice acting would also be a no go. Unless that's just a redesign of the character? I mean, it could be.


Notably, all the other references to Ms. Pac that we still have are from before August 2019, when AtGames announced they got the Ms. Pac-Man rights from GCC. I wonder if things have changed in terms of what they can reference. My conspiracy theory is that this new character is "replacing" Ms. Pac unless it's a redesign, but I'd really like to be proven wrong. I mean, she is also in the intro to Pac in Time, right? They call her Mrs. Pac, but it's her. Once we get footage of that, then we can easily see what they're able to do.

It's the SNES release.

I just assumed it's just Ms. Pac-Man with a fancy new hat? Maybe it's the old bow design is causing issues these days? Then again, she appears as her old self in both Pac-Land and Pac-In-Time, as you mentioned;

EDIT: also.. wouldn't Pac-Man 2 be delisted on Wii U if the unlockables or the character were causing issues? It's still up for purchase!

 

[Twilight]

I'll actually get this, Arrangement is awesome.

 

[Boyfriend]

I'll actually get this, Arrangement is awesome.

a fellow man of culture i see

 

[CyberWolfBia]

by the way, they did tried to pull a full-on Ms. Pac-Man replacement with Pac-Marie in 2016 (that was post Ghostly Adventures which has its own continuity, with its own cast);

But it never caught on and neither was implemented in any game appearences only merch. And the Pac lady with a pink hat on Museum Plus doesn't resemble her, outside the palette

 

[Boyfriend]

by the way, they did tried to pull a full-on Ms. Pac-Man replacement with Pac-Marie in 2016 (that was post Ghostly Adventures which has its own continuity, with its own cast);

But it never caught on and neither was implemented in any game appearences only merch. And the Pac lady with a pink hat on Museum Plus doesn't resemble her, outside the palette

there was also pac-little (who was basically Jr, but... not) introduced at the same time for pac-store, which was attempting to launch this soft rebranding. but given that the store never launched globally and there were no games around the time they didn't see any reason to include them

i'm guessing hat lady is in fact Ms. Pac-Man but with a visually distinct design to completely distinguish her from the original arcade title, and both pac-marie and pac-little are gone in favor of the original family cast

fun fact, the ghosts also got redesigns for this and... it's weird.

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

by the way, they did tried to pull a full-on Ms. Pac-Man replacement with Pac-Marie in 2016 (that was post Ghostly Adventures which has its own continuity, with its own cast);

But it never caught on and neither was implemented in any game appearences only merch. And the Pac lady with a pink hat on Museum Plus doesn't resemble her, outside the palette

I wouldn't have minded to see her and the "new" Pac Jr. in at least ONE Pac-Man game, even if it meant no Ms. Pac. But hey, we do have Junior here, so there's no issue with using him at least. I prefer Pac-Marie's design to the new "Ms. Pac", but I'll live.

there was also pac-little (who was basically Jr, but... not) introduced at the same time for pac-store, which was attempting to launch this soft rebranding. but given that the store never launched globally and there were no games around the time they didn't see any reason to include them

i'm guessing hat lady is in fact Ms. Pac-Man but with a visually distinct design to completely distinguish her from the original arcade title, and both pac-marie and pac-little are gone in favor of the original family cast

fun fact, the ghosts also got redesigns for this and... it's weird.

These ghosts, too, as like four alternatives, it would be fine to see them as well. If only we got the Pac-Store here. There was an old Pac-Man Café that was in Orlando that I went to a couple of times on vacations as a kid - I wish it was still open. Food was alright but the arcade was sick.

 

[Kingo]

This is a great collection of games, hopefully the price is right. Obviously there’s some stuff missing, but with a franchise as big as Pac-Man you’re never going to get everything, unfortunately.

 

[Red Monster]

No Pac-Man 2, no buy

 

[Nabbit]

Thanks, @VolcanicDynamo! Do you know which is supposed to be the better version of Pac-in-Time?

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

Thanks, @VolcanicDynamo! Do you know which is supposed to be the better version of Pac-in-Time?

Both the SNES version and the other versions (Game Boy, Mac OS, and MS-DOS) have the same mechanics, but the SNES version has completely unique levels. The other versions are licensed reskins of a game called Fury of the Furries, though the same devs worked on the original and the SNES version. I haven't played either - I'd assume both PC and SNES are good, but the SNES version is probably the more unique get.

 

[Brock Reiher]

I'm tired of Namco re-heating and serving same Pac-man collection for every single system. Where the hell is my Pac-man World HD collection, you dumasses? Bring back the glory of 3D platformer Pacman!

ngl this is way better than that

 

[fiendcode]

Hyped for this. The arcade/unlocking stuff looks great too, giving me Namco Museum PSX vibes.

 

[b00t]

In for Pac-Man BR, that shit was too addicting when I got to play it in arcades with friends.

 

[Jave]

Buying on Switch mainly for Pac-Land arcade. I think we've only gotten the bad Famicom port on Nintendo consoles before.

 

[Boyfriend]

i'm kind of surprised at all the demands for pac-man world all of a sudden

i guess the time is ripe for nostalgia but like, they're pretty middling platformers

whereas pac-man arrangement is an all time classic

 

[GoGoDezmo]

Oooh, I like this. I always think about getting the Namco Museum collections but never do. But this is an absolute must have collection in my eyes. And hey, maybe they could add in other games later through dlc?

 

[CyberWolfBia]

i'm kind of surprised at all the demands for pac-man world all of a sudden

i guess the time is ripe for nostalgia but like, they're pretty middling platformers

whereas pac-man arrangement is an all time classic

I love the World games to death (well.. 3 way less than the first two), but I've always said they are just okay platformers in the wide market of the genre of the time; Nothing too spetacular, but nothing offensively bad either (and it's my opinion on the Ghostly Adventures games as well; different contexts but same value imo);

Still, they're very beloved by a whole generation, and would be good to have them avaiable on modern platforms for preservation sake; Seeing Bamco is willing to acknowledge the other platformers of the series, I don't see any reason barring these games to come back (aside maybe the fact World 3 never had a Japanese release);

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

Hyped for this. The arcade/unlocking stuff looks great too, giving me Namco Museum PSX vibes.

I do miss the more in depth museum stuff, got a lot of nostalgia for walking through those halls, but I do love customizing your own game space! Makes the game selection process more fun!

In for Pac-Man BR, that shit was too addicting when I got to play it in arcades with friends.

You know, I only played BR a couple of times. I'm pretty sure this collection lacks online (didn't see anything talking about it, anyway) and I wish at least BR had it!

Buying on Switch mainly for Pac-Land arcade. I think we've only gotten the bad Famicom port on Nintendo consoles before.

Man, the last time I seriously played Pac-Land was on Namco Museum Vol. 4, and even then only very briefly. I wanna try it again, get a taste for the game that inspired Mario 1.

i'm kind of surprised at all the demands for pac-man world all of a sudden

i guess the time is ripe for nostalgia but like, they're pretty middling platformers

whereas pac-man arrangement is an all time classic

I love that we got Arrangement back, but hey, why not both, right?

Oooh, I like this. I always think about getting the Namco Museum collections but never do. But this is an absolute must have collection in my eyes. And hey, maybe they could add in other games later through dlc?

There's precedent for Ms. Pac-Man at least, even if the legal situation has changed! I'd take more of the loose ends, though I imagine even then something like Pac-Man World is probably not happening.

 

[Terrell]

BATTLE ROYALE YAAAAAAAS!!!!!!!
I have reason to be excited, this version was a hell of a lot of fun, easily my favourite Pac-Man game in the past decade. Makes this an instant buy.

Pretty sure this is also the first appearance of Battle Royale on consoles, right?

Nah, it was in the original Pac-Man Museum on 360, PS3 and PC. The original Museum was scheduled for release on Wii U and 3DS but those versions were cancelled.

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

For those wondering, Pac-In-Time is the SNES version.

It certainly has the better soundtrack of the ports, which you can legally download for free from the composers Bandcamp page.


Pac-Attack is also the SNES version. Even though the previous Pac-Man Museum used the Genesis port, and Pac-Man World 2 featured a remake that was originally created for the Japan-only Namco Anthology series of PS1 games.

As for the rest of the titles. This is notably the first time both the original arcade Pac-Man Arrangement and the "modern" version (CS?) made for the PSP Namco Museum Battle Collection have been bundled together, while Pac-Motos and Pac ‘n Roll Remix came from the Wii's "Namco Museum Remix" compilation.

Pretty sure this is also the first appearance of Battle Royale on consoles, right?

There was actually an iPad demo several years ago. Which predates it's appearance in the original Pac-Man Museum by a few years.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

speaking of Pac-Man World.. this a little cute nod


mind you, I don't think it's much more than that, but... what if...

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

For those wondering, Pac-In-Time is the SNES version.

It certainly has the better soundtrack of the ports, which you can legally download for free from the composers Bandcamp page.


Pac-Attack is also the SNES version. Even though the previous Pac-Man Museum used the Genesis port, and Pac-Man World 2 featured a remake that was originally created for the Japan-only Namco Anthology series of PS1 games.

As for the rest of the titles. This is notably the first time both the original arcade Pac-Man Arrangement and the "modern" version (CS?) made for the PSP Namco Museum Battle Collection have been bundled together, while Pac-Motos and Pac ‘n Roll Remix came from the Wii's "Namco Museum Remix" compilation.

There was actually an iPad demo several years ago. Which predates it's appearance in the original Pac-Man Museum by a few years.

Oh wow, those are some great catches! I'll have to take a listen to the Pac In Time soundtrack when I get the chance. And SNES Pac-Attack! I know the two are pretty similar, and hey, one less emulator to have to optimize, but it's neat to see the other version released for once.

speaking of Pac-Man World.. this a little cute nod


mind you, I don't think it's much more than that, but... what if...

It's a cute nod for sure!

...but what if.........

 

[Nabbit]

Both the SNES version and the other versions (Game Boy, Mac OS, and MS-DOS) have the same mechanics, but the SNES version has completely unique levels. The other versions are licensed reskins of a game called Fury of the Furries, though the same devs worked on the original and the SNES version. I haven't played either - I'd assume both PC and SNES are good, but the SNES version is probably the more unique get.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing, I'm definitely intrigued to check it out.

 

[edamame]

This collection looks great, but only thing that gives me pause is that part that says "you can use the coins to play arcade games or use them to customize the arcade." So unless I missed something it sounds to me like you need to spend in game currency just to play the games in the collection. What happens if you spend all your coins customizing the arcade? You can't play? I'd like some more clarification on how the coin system works.

 

[Nintendianajones64]

As always with me

No Ms Pac-Man, No buy.