Editing Pac-Man

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|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.

|firstgame    = ''{{b|Pac-Man|game}}'' (1980)

|lastappearance= ''Pac-Man SuperFast!'' (2024)

|artist      = Tōru Iwatani<br>Tadashi Yamashita

|voiceactor  =

'''Pac-Man''', also stylized as '''PAC-MAN''' ({{ja|パックマン|Pakkuman}}, ''Pacman'', originally written ''Puckman''), is the main character in the eponymous {{uv|Pac-Man}} series. He is [[Bandai Namco]]'s mascot and one of the most widely recognized video game characters in the world.<ref>[https://www.ibtimes.com/gobble-gobble-pac-man-turns-40-2980847 Gobble Gobble: Pac-Man Turns 40]</ref>

Pac-Man debuted as the main playable character in the arcade game, ''Pac-Man'', in 1980. His minimalist yet iconic design was inspired by multiple sources: a rounded simplification of the Japanese character 口 (''kuchi''), meaning "mouth"; a 1970s toyline by Tomy; and a pizza missing a single slice. His name is derived from the Japanese onomatopoeia ぱくぱく (''paku paku''), meaning to rapidly open and close one's mouth. Japanese promotional art for the 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''.

 

Due to his simplistic character, Pac-Man's personality can also vary between depictions, usually adapting to the trends in children's entertainment at the time — 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. The present-day incarnation of Pac-Man has been depicted as athletic, universally friendly towards even villains (to the point of ''Pac-Man World Re-Pac'' relegating the source material's infamously cruel comeuppance for Toc-Man to a bad ending, and adding a new, peaceful good ending), and supportive; with promotional materials featuring motivational advice. Regardless of personality and appearance, he is typically shown to have a ravenous appetite, owing to the original game's focus on eating dots and [[Bonus Fruit]].

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.<ref>[http://mynintendonews.com/2014/07/03/miyamoto-requested-pac-man-in-smash-bros-brawl/ My Nintendo News: "Miyamoto Requested Pac-Man in Smash Bros. Brawl"]</ref>

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.

{{main|List of SSB4 trophies (Pac-Man series)}}

|desc-ntsc=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.

|desc-pal=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.

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=Arcade|game1=PAC-MAN|release1=1980|console2=Arcade|game2=PAC-LAND|release2=1984}}

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=Arcade|game1=PAC-MAN|release1=1980 (JP)|console2=Arcade|game2=PAC-LAND|release2=1984 (JP)}}

|name=PAC-MAN (Alt.)

|image-3ds=PacManAltTrophy3DS.png

|image-wiiu=PacManAltTrophyWiiU.png

|desc-ntsc=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!

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=Arcade|game1=PAC-MAN|release1=1980 (JP)|console2=Arcade|game2=PAC-LAND|release2=1984 (JP)}}

[[File:Pac-Man SSBU.png|thumb|200px|Pac-Man in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.]]

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SSBU spirit PAC-MAN.png|946. '''''PAC-MAN'''''

*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 ''{{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.

*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.<ref>[http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/06/26/800/ Source Gaming: “My First Conception is My Landmark,” Sakurai’s Famitsu column vol. 456]</ref>

*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.

*As the first appearance of a yellow, hungry character named Pac-Man was a Tomy bank toy in the 1970s, he is technically the only playable ''Smash'' character to not be created specifically with gaming in mind, and the second to debut in a medium outside of gaming or direct promotional materials for games after [[Lucario]], though whether the game was based on the toy or simply a coincidence is often disputed by ''Pac-Man'' historians.

[[Category:Third-party characters]]

[[Category:Bandai Namco]]