Editing Pac-Man

|image        = {{tabber|title1=Anthropomorphic|content1=[[File:Pac-Man.png|250px]]|title2=Original|content2=[[File:pacmanvintage.png|x250px]]}}

|caption      = [[File:PacManSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert-dark]]

Official artwork of Pac-Man's two main forms.

|lastappearance= ''{{s|wikipedia|Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs}}'' (2024)

As a character, Pac-Man initially began with very few personality traits, reflecting his simplistic appearance in the games. 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 {{uv|Mario}} and {{uv|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 can also vary between depictions — for instance, ''Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures'' 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'' 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 reinterprets the character as a naïve high school student with a mysterious, tragic backstory. More modern promotional materials have shown an athletic and supportive side to the character. Regardless of appearance, he is typically shown to have a ravenous appetite, owing to the original game's focus on eating dots and [[Bonus Fruit]].

*''Super Smash Bros. 4'' is not Pac-Man's first appearance in a crossover fighting game; he had previously appeared in ''{{S|wikipedia|Street Fighter x Tekken}}'' in a {{S|wikipedia|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.