Editing Pac-Man (SSB4)

|ranking = 45

Although Pac-Man has been voiced by numerous actors in the past, Pac-Man has no voice actor in this game, and instead uses modified and recycled sounds from several [[Bandai Namco]] arcade games such as the 1980 ''Pac-Man'' game and ''Pac-Land''.

Pac-Man's moveset involves signature aspects of his home series, such as utilizing fruits and eating Power Pellets,<ref>[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/476548659048239104 Pac-Man has some interesting abilities like throwing fruit and eating power pellets #SmashBros]</ref> while also referencing numerous other [[Namco]] games in a few ways, most notably via his up taunt. While Pac-Man retains his classic "wedge" form, he only uses it occasionally, such as for his down tilt and his side taunt. Instead, he mostly uses his "ball" form that appeared on game cabinet artwork and advertising before it debuted in-game in the Japanese version of ''Pac-Land''.

Pac-Man is ranked 45th out of 55 on the [[tier list]], placing him at the top of the F tier. Pac-Man's strengths lie in his unique item-oriented playstyle, which involves a capable camping and projectile game via the use of [[Bonus Fruit]] for a range of items, along with [[Pac-Jump]] and [[Fire Hydrant]] for stage control. These traits synchronize well with Pac-Man's regular moves, the overwhelming majority of which allow him to rack up damage effectively because of their low start-up lag and low base knockback. Pac-Man also boasts a great [[recovery]] thanks to [[Power Pellet]] and Pac-Jump covering great distances, both of which are further supplemented by his ability to [[wall jump]].

However, Pac-Man suffers from numerous flaws, which include mediocre mobility and average range. The aforementioned low base knockback of his moveset also significantly hinders his ability to KO effectively, which is further compounded by his strongest attacks having high overall lag. Finally, his most notable flaws include what is considered the most ineffective [[grab]] game among the cast, along with all his special moves being exploitable either via [[reflection]], direct usage by his opponents, or even [[gimp]]ing his recovery. This, in turn, gives Pac-Man particularly disadvantageous matchups against characters with projectile-nullifying abilities like {{SSB4|Fox}}, {{SSB4|Mario}}, but most notoriously, {{SSB4|Villager}} and {{SSB4|Rosalina & Luma}}.

Overall, Pac-Man excels at [[mindgame]]s and damage racking, although he has a high learning curve because of his items requiring constant micromanagement. Pac-Man's weaknesses and learning curve have resulted in him being considered non-viable in the current metagame, as well as overall attaining a small playerbase throughout ''SSB4''{{'}}s lifespan, but he has nevertheless achieved a decent amount of success, such as {{Sm|Abadango}} in the early metagame, {{Sm|Tea}} towards the end of the game's competitive lifespan, and {{Sm|Sinji}} throughout the game's competitive lifespan.

Pac-Man is a [[Weight|middleweight]] whose attributes slightly deviate from the typicality of his weight class. Although his [[air speed]] is average and his [[air acceleration]] is above average, his [[walk]]ing and [[dash]]ing speeds are slightly below average, while his [[falling speed]], [[gravity]], and [[traction]] are below average. As a result, these traits make him a rather [[Falling speed#Floaty|floaty]] character, albeit not to the degree of {{SSB4|Luigi}}. Pac-Man is also able to [[Crawling|crawl]] and [[wall jump]], although the former is largely impractical because of his crouch's tall height.

Pac-Man, like {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}}, is reliant on his item-producing [[special move]]s to control the flow of battle and win in the [[neutral game]]. Two special moves, [[Bonus Fruit]] and [[Fire Hydrant]], grant him numerous mix-ups for almost any situation: each object provided by Bonus Fruit has different attributes, which makes them good [[spacing]], [[combo]], and [[edge-guarding]] options, and some notably possess early KO potential as a way to overcome his smash attacks' slow speeds and low ranges, such as the Apple or the Key. This allows him to confuse and force movements from his opponents to put them in disadvantageous positions, especially off-stage. With extreme technical skill, Bonus Fruit can even be used for [[Footstool Jump|footstool jump]]-initiated [[zero-to-death combo]]s, making Pac-Man one of the few characters with this ability in no-item scenarios.

[[Fire Hydrant]], when used in the air, functions similarly to [[Stone]], which makes it useful for covering landings or breaking combos. It is also Pac-Man's most powerful projectile when launched, which makes it a viable KO option from a distance. In addition to its offensive potential, Fire Hydrant has defensive potential, thanks to its shots of water possessing a [[Windbox#Pushing attacks|push]] effect. As a result, the water can be used to space, [[gimp]] poor recoveries, and even force opponents into Pac-Man's attacks. Apart from his projectiles, Pac-Man also possesses a slow, but potent, KO option in [[Power Pellet]], which functions both as a great recovery and [[mindgame]] option, as it can be aimed prematurely and made to curve in creative angles using his Fire Hydrant's push effect, and can also be confirmed off of [[Bonus Fruit]]'s Bell. [[Pac-Jump]] is an effective vertical recovery should all three trampoline jumps be used, and makes it safe to edge-guard off-stage, as Pac-Man will likely make it back onto the stage. It is also difficult to gimp, especially from an overhead perspective, thanks to Pac-Man's jumps having unblockable hitboxes, and can function as a great [[out of shield]] option when used properly.

Outside of his specials, Pac-Man has a good combo game. Though his ground attacks are weak with slight ending lag, his neutral attack and tilts are fast and extend his hitboxes (forward tilt) or slide him forward (down tilt), letting him attack out of shield easily or poke opponents at a safe distance. His up tilt can chain into itself at low percentages and up aerials, while his down tilt can reliably combo into his dash attack. The latter hits multiple times with nearly no ending lag and allows Pac-Man to follow up with almost any ground move, such as his safe and fast neutral attack. Pac-Man is also capable in the air; his aerials are fast and can chain into themselves, especially his forward and up aerials, his neutral aerial is a useful out of shield option and both it and his back aerial are effective off-stage finishers, making him overall good at damage racking and edge-guarding.

However, Pac-Man has many exploitable flaws. One of his biggest issues is his inability to KO early because of the overwhelming majority of his moveset having low base knockback. Although his tilts and aerials are fast, only his clean neutral aerial and clean back aerial possess actual KO potential. This, in turn, is further compounded by their reliability being most apparent at high percentages and/or while near the left or right [[blast line]]s. His main KO options, his smash attacks, can KO near the edge easily thanks to their respectable damage outputs and knockback growth, but are very punishable and predictable because of their considerable amounts of start-up and ending lag. Pac-Man also has viable KOing options in Bonus Fruit's key and flying Fire Hydrant, but former needs to be charged for 2.37 seconds (specifically 142 frames) in order to be accessible, whereas the latter can be easily used against Pac-Man just as he is about to launch it. Additionally, Pac-Man's average range and awkward hitboxes can make landing hits or spacing difficult against opponents with high reach, while his below-average movement speed can make it difficult to both chase down opponents or create space and charge his Bonus Fruits, especially against rushdown-oriented characters.

Another prominent issue is his grab game: his grabs carry extremely high risk due to their extreme lag and notoriously awkward hitboxes, with only the starting animation having three separate grab hitboxes that last for very short times. This makes it far riskier to use his grab for punishes compared to other characters. This is further burdened by his unimpressive throws, with only his down throw having combo potential, most notably into Bonus Fruit's key, Power Pellet, a dash attack, or a short hopped forward aerial into neutral aerial. Although the latter combo does not work on characters whose hurtboxes are low after missing a tech, it can still be beneficial, as Pac-Man can instead [[lock]] the opponent with a short hopped forward aerial at low to medium percentages.

Despite their perks, all of Pac-Man's special moves can be used against him. Bonus Fruit's objects are [[item]]s that can only exist once at a time, hence opponents can grab them out of the air, nullifying one of Pac-Man's only projectiles so long as they hold onto it. So long as Bonus Fruit is nullified, Pac-Man is disadvantaged at spacing, KOing and mindgames, while a competent opponent can use his own Bonus Fruit against him. This significantly hinders Pac-Man's matchups against characters who are able to reflect projectiles, with two particularly notable examples: {{SSB4|Villager}} can [[Pocket]] Bonus Fruit for long periods and thus strongly hinder his offense, whereas {{SSB4|Rosalina & Luma}} can use [[Gravitational Pull]] to completely nullify both of his projectiles and render him absolutely helpless at zoning.

His Fire Hydrant can be turned against him as well; it can be knocked back or reflected by opponents, even in the first few frames when it is released, making it possible for Pac-Man to immediately be dealt noticeable damage. Its push effect also affects him, and can cost Pac-Man a stock if he is careless. Despite being strong, Power Pellet is highly predictable and can be interrupted by any attack, which drops a healing Power Pellet that can be used by the opponent, and his Pac-Jump, though giving great vertical height, can also be used by opponents for [[gimp]]ing Pac-Man's own recovery. Due to these possibilities, a good Pac-Man player must keep watch of where his items are in order to inflict the highest knockback possible at a safer range, and avoid his items' abilities being turned against him.

Pac-Man benefits from his [[Character customization|custom moves]]. Freaky Fruit deals less damage, but each fruit and object has its own erratic pattern and thus can provide even greater mix-ups. Lazy Fruit is slower and deals less damage, but the fruits and objects take longer to disappear, which enables them to be usable more than once and provide different mix-ups. Distant Power Pellet is much more maneuverable which allows Pac-Man to mix up his recovery more easily at the cost of less damage and knockback. Enticing Power Pellet travels less distance but produces a windbox which can be used to gimp recovering opponents and is much more powerful. Power Pac-Jump functions like a traditional recovery move in that it only provides one jump, but it immediately launches Pac-Man very high and enables him to hit multiple times while ascending, making it suitable for offensive playstyles. Meteor Trampoline decreases in height after each jump, but the fourth jump can [[bury]] grounded opponents and, true to its name, [[meteor smash]] airborne ones, as its name implies. On-Fire Hydrant does not shoot out as far, but it shoots fireballs instead of water, shoots three times instead of twice, takes less damage to launch, and the hydrant itself deals more damage. Finally Dire Hydrant explodes when it touches a surface, opponent, or after a set distance which makes it less risky to use since opponents cannot launch the hydrant, the explosion improves the move's horizontal range, and because Pac-Man jumps higher when he deploys the hydrant it can be used to dodge projectiles.

Overall, while Pac-Man excels at mindgames and damage racking, his moveset's overall low base knockback and poor range makes it difficult for him to KO opponents. As a result, he is dependent on utilizing traps and zoning in order to continually deal damage and set up a KO, such as collectively using his air game, Bonus Fruit, and varied recovery to edge-guard. While Pac-Man's special moves grant him a uniquely versatile moveset, they can also hinder him in battle, as one careless move can decide the momentum of not only himself, but even the entire match.

*{{Sm|Abadango|Japan}} - The best Pac-Man player in the world in the early metagame, placing highly at major such as 4th at {{Trn|EVO 2015}} and 17th at {{Trn|Umebura F.A.T.}} He has since dropped Pac-Man for other characters.

Following the release of the first tier list, Pac-Man's tournament results sharply declined due to a less consistent playerbase and Abadango's switch to more viable characters. This further hurt Pac-Man's viability, leading to a drop to 38th on the second tier list, then to 45th on the third tier list. These drops also solidified him as a low-tier character that was unviable in the metagame, with some believing Pac-Man was potentially one of the worst characters in the game.

Countering that perception, however, were solid results from dedicated mains. {{Sm|Sinji}} notably became a consistent threat at majors in 2017, which prevented Pac-Man from dropping further, and he remained at 45th place on the fourth and final tier list. In addition, 2018 saw Tea attend more events, resulting in strong results such as 2nd at {{Trn|SoCal Regionals 2018}} and 3rd at {{Trn|Umebura Smash 4 Final}}. Due to these positive developments, several players began arguing that Pac-Man was better than previously perceived, although with the end of the game's competitive lifespan in 2018, Pac-Man's true viability remains a mystery.

**Interestingly, each icon also represents one half of his pose in his official artwork, although his head icons have both of his eyes open.