Pac-Man (SSBU)

Pac-Man in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Pac-Man
Other playable appearance	in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Super Pac-Man
Tier	S- (14)

Pac-Man (パックマン), stylized in-game as PAC-MAN, is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed alongside the rest of the veterans on June 12, 2018. Pac-Man is classified as Fighter #55.

Like in Super Smash Bros. 4, Pac-Man reuses his generic sound effects from various Pac-Man games and Bandai Namco arcade games.

Pac-Man is ranked 14th out of 82 on the Ultimate tier list, which is a significant improvement over his appearance in SSB4 (where he was ranked 45th out of 54). Pac-Man's greatest strengths lie in his zoning capabilities, thanks to his barrage of projectiles in Bonus Fruit and Fire Hydrant. The former is notable for possessing 8 different projectiles with distinguishing properties, with Bell being the most effective one as it confirms into KOs. Meanwhile, the latter is notorious for creating a barrier that a lot of characters can struggle to deal with up close, allowing Pac-Man to continue setting up shop behind it. His recovery is among one of, if not, the best recoveries in the game due to its outstanding traveling distance of Power Pellet and mixup potential and Pac-Jump granting him a high vertical boost. This makes Pac-Man one of the hardest characters to edgeguard due to his amount of options. Pac-Man's normal moveset is also amazing on its own as it benefits from amazing frame-data and safety on shield, which allows him to box out his opponents and rack up damage at ease. Finally, his grab, considered one of the worst in Smash 4, has been buffed significantly to increase its hitbox's detection, allowing it to even beat spot dodges.

Despite his abundance of strengths, Pac-Man is not flawless. Pac-Man lacks reliable methods to KO his opponents early, with his smash attacks being burdened with considerable lag and his moveset being burdened with low base knockback, so shielding can be effective against him. In addition, his mediocre mobility can also create problems with dealing with speed demons and/or creating space in order to cycle through Bonus Fruit. His projectiles can also be reflected against him, with Bonus Fruit being able to be caught when shielded and thrown freely against him, as well as Fire Hydrant being able to be hit and sent flying back at him by his opponent via inflicting enough damage on it. His recovery, while amazing, is relatively exploitable, as both moves can be interrupted in their own respective rights: Power Pellet can be canceled if the pellet is hit before Pac-Man dashes, while Pac-Jump allows up to three total bounces, it can be bounces off by opponents to recover themselves, or force Pac-Man into helplessness if the trampoline is bounced off three times.

Overall, Pac-Man has all the tools he needs to fare well in the metagame while players who have the knowledge of the matchup can have the advantage to easily overcome his weaknesses. Pac-Man continues to receive strong results and representation in both a major and supermajor level from players, such as Tea and JDV.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Pac-Man being the 49th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Kirby or any character in his unlock tree, being the 3rd character unlocked after Jigglypuff.
• Have Pac-Man join the player's party in World of Light.

Pac-Man must then be defeated on Pac-Land (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes

Pac-Man is a middleweight whose attributes deviate slightly from other fighters of his weight class. Although his dashing speed is average, his air speed is slightly above-average and his traction and air acceleration are above-average, Pac-Man's walking speed is slightly below-average, his falling speed is below-average, and his gravity is the 11th-lowest in the game. As a result, these traits make Pac-Man a rather floaty and relatively speedy character for a middleweight, albeit not to the degree of Rosalina & Luma and Mario, respectively. Pac-Man is also able to crawl and wall jump, although the former is generally impractical because of his crouch's tall height.

Like Diddy Kong, Pac-Man is reliant on his item-producing special moves to control the flow of a battle and win in the neutral game. Two special moves, Bonus Fruit and Fire Hydrant, grant him numerous mix-ups for almost any situation. The fruits and objects generated by Bonus Fruit each have different attributes; in addition to being versatile in multiple applications, including spacing, combo, and edgeguarding. In addition, some of them (primarily the apple, melon and key) boast surprisingly respectable KO potential as a method to circumvent the sluggishness and short ranges of Pac-Man's smash attacks. As a result, Bonus Fruit allows Pac-Man to confuse and force movements from his opponents to put them in disadvantageous positions, especially off-stage.

Upon performance in the air, Fire Hydrant has similar functionality 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 bursts of water possessing a push effect. As a result, the water can be used to create space, gimp poor recoveries, and even force opponents into Pac-Man's attacks, such as up throw into up aerial when standing on top of the Fire Hydrant.

Aside from his projectiles, Pac-Man also possesses a slow, but potent and chargeable KO option in Power Pellet. Power Pellet also functions both as a great recovery and option for mindgames: it can be aimed prematurely and made to curve in creative angles using his Fire Hydrant's push effect, and can function as a KO confirm from Bonus Fruit's bell. Pac-Jump is an outstanding vertical recovery should all of its trampoline jumps be bounced off of, 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 possessing unblockable hitboxes. Due to its quick start-up and aforementioned hitboxes, Pac-Jump also functions as a good out of shield option with proper usage.

Disregarding his special moveset, Pac-Man boasts an excellent combo game and a versatile moveset. Though his grounded moveset suffers from low power and moderate ending lag, Pac-Man's neutral attack and tilt attacks benefit from quick frame-data. His tilts, in particular, also give him slightly extended hitboxes (forward tilt and up tilt) or slide him forward (down tilt), letting him attack out of shield easily or poke opponents at a safe distance. Although it has poor horizontal coverage, its good vertical range makes up tilt a decent anti-air and juggling tool that can chain into itself at low percentages and lead into up aerials at medium precents, while his down tilt can reliably combo into his dash attack. Meanwhile, his forward tilt is a reasonably strong spacing tool with decent range and can KO at around 160% by the edge without rage. Pac-Man's dash attack is one of his best approaching options, thanks to it hitting multiple times with essentially the lack of ending lag, the latter of which is what causes it to noticeably rival other dash attacks, allowing Pac-Man to follow up with one of his grounded moves, such as his safe and quick neutral attack.

Complimenting his impressive aerial mobility, Pac-Man's aerial game is excellent. All of his aerial attacks are quick, capable of auto-canceling out of a short hop (aside from his neutral and down aerial) and can chain into themselves (especially his forward and up aerials). In addition, his neutral and back aerials are effective edge-guarding options; their clean hitboxes also make them useful from out of shield and for KOing, respectively. His neutral aerial serves as a viable get-off-me option due to its quick startup. It can also be used to escape combos and kill at higher percents near the horizontal blast zoness due to the clean hit's decent knockback. His forward aerial is versatile for walls of pain and a quick combo tool, potentially leading into KO moves. The move's speed is comparable to that of Sheik and Diddy Kong's forward aerials, making it a reliable burst approaching option. Back aerial is Pac-Man's strongest aerial, making it a reliable KO move at around 120% by the edge. Despite its power, it is quite quick as well, and is useful for walls of pain at lower precents in conjunction with reverse aerial rushing. Up aerial is another reliable KO option due to its decent knockback, thus making it viable for killing off the top blast zones. It is also useful for juggling and partaking in combos at lower precents. While it is slightly slower than other comparable up aerials of its own kind, such as Mario, Zero Suit Samus and Captain Falcon, it has similar combo potential, being able to combo into itself and up tilt, though it is often useful as a finisher after landing a dash attack. Finally, his down aerial is useful for edgeguarding or as a combo finisher offstage, especially being able to KO early after a pair of forward aerials, while the final hit's fairly strong knockback allows it to KO at around 130% near the edge.

Unlike in SSB4, Pac-Man has a respectable grab game; he possesses a rather long-ranged grab with long-lasting hitboxes, giving him a good grab range. His pummel is also quick, allowing him to inflict decent amount of damage before throwing the opponent. His throws have some utility: up throw has combo potential into neutral and up aerials at low to medium percentages, whereas down throw inflicts decent damage and can set up tech-chases (most notably into Bonus Fruit's key, Power Pellet, dash attack, or a short hopped forward aerial into neutral aerial). Although the lattermost combo does not work on characters whose hurtboxes are low after missing a tech, it is still beneficial, as Pac-Man can instead lock the opponent with a short hopped forward aerial at low/medium percentages. Forward throw can be used for mix-ups due to its minimal ending lag and awkward launching angle, whereas back throw is a reasonably strong KO option.

Pac-Man is not flawless, however. Arguably, his biggest flaw includes his inability to KO effectively early because of the overwhelming majority of his moveset dealing low base knockback, even with the inclusion of rage. Although his tilts and aerials are quick, only Pac-Man's down and clean back aerials can KO at reasonable percentages and especially while near the left/right blast lines. While back throw is a reasonable KO option as well, it requires grabbing the opponent first; this tends to be a challenge, because of Pac-Man's slow and comittal grab. Although Pac-Man's smash attacks can KO easily and early while near the edge thanks to their respectable damage outputs and knockback values, they are very punishable and predictable because of their considerable start-up and ending lag.

Although Bonus Fruit's key and a launched Fire Hydrant are viable KO options, but former needs to be charged for 2.37 seconds (specifically 142 frames) in order to be accessible, whereas the latter can be easily launched against Pac-Man just as he is about to launch it. In addition, Power Pellet is another viable KOing option, but is very predictable and easy to avoid due to the pattern of the pellets. Additionally, Pac-Man's mediocre overall range and awkward hitboxes not only makes landing hits or spacing difficult against opponents, but also gives him disadvantageous matchups against characters with disjointed hitboxes (especially swordies), such as Ike and Marth. His mediocre overall mobility can also make it difficult to chase down opponents, create space and/or cycle through Bonus Fruit, especially against rushdown-oriented characters or speed demons, such as Sonic and Fox.

Pac-Man's grab game, while nowhere near as awful as it was in SSB4, is still flawed in some aspects. His grabs, despite being much more consistent, are still somewhat risky due to retaining fairly high ending lag that tether grabs are known for. Although Pac-Man's up throw now has combo potential and his back throw remains a reasonably strong KO option, his forward and down throws leave a lot to be desired. The former throw's increased damage output and base knockback make it only mediocre at best for mix-ups, whereas the latter throw has all but lost its previously minimal combo potential due to its ending lag being increased. In addition, back throw is considered to be generally inferior compared to Mario's similar back throw due to lacking collateral hitboxes during the spins and possessing slightly less power, as well as its deceptive ending lag preventing reliable follow-ups.

Despite their perks, Pac-Man's entire special moveset are capable of infamously getting reflected against him. Bonus Fruit's objects are items 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 even utilize Bonus Fruit's items against him. 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 inadvertently cost Pac-Man if he is careless.

Despite being a powerful KOing tool, Power Pellet is extremely predictable and can be interrupted by any attack, which drops a healing Power Pellet that can be eaten by the opponent, including Pac-Man himself. Pac-Jump, despite propelling Pac-Man at a considerable vertical height, can also be bounced off by opponents for gimping Pac-Man's own recovery. Due to these possibilities, a professional Pac-Man player must guard the location of where his items are in order to inflict the highest potential knockback at a safer range, and avoid his items' abilities being turned against him.

Overall, Pac-Man is a flexible trapper who excels at mindgames and damage-racking, yet his moveset's overall low base knockback and mediocre range make KOing opponents often a hassle. As a result, he has a dependence on using 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. In addition, his special moves, while versatile, are considered to be a high double-edged sword as well, as while Pac-Man's special moves grant him a uniquely versatile moveset, they can also hinder him in battle, as one careless move can ultimately decide the momentum of not only himself, but even the whole match itself.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Potentially due to his low-tier status in Super Smash Bros. 4 (where he is ranked 45th out of 54 on SSB4's tier list), Pac-Man was buffed drastically overall in his transition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. One of Pac-Man's biggest buffs involves his grab, which was widely regarded as the worst grab in SSB4 due to its lag and issues with its grabboxes. It is now drastically quicker overall, functions as a single and continuous hitbox instead of separate and short-lasting ones, and is more in-line with the cast due to the universal increase to ending lag within grabs. When combined with his up throw's newfound combo potential and his back throw remaining a reasonably strong KO option, Pac-Man now possesses a decent grab game.

Additionally, Bonus Fruit now cycles significantly faster and allows Pac-Man to charge cancel by jumping, granting him more options in the process. If Pac-Man picks up one of Bonus Fruit's items he previously dropped, he can begin the cycle at the one he is currently holding. This technique, dubbed the Fruit Recycle, allows Pac-Man to constantly pressure with his Bonus Fruit's items by allowing him to switch items and set up new combos after catching an item. Bonus Fruit's bell, in particular, can now paralyze opponents if it is Z-dropped, granting him a new item set-up.

Pac-Man's other improvements ranges from the universal alterations made to the mechanics in Ultimate. The universal growth to mobility benefits his approach, alongside the rest of the entire roster, in comparison to his mediocre mobility in SSB4. His recovery reaches further, as Power Pellet is faster and less punishable, grants even more distance, suffers much less lag on a wall-collision, and no longer causes tumbling when he runs into the ground, instead allowing him to move along the floor. Pac-Man has also received an abundance of buffs to his standard moveset: his up and down tilts have less lag, and some of his best aerial combo starters (such as neutral aerial and forward aerial) have altered knockback, allowing his attacks to flow better into each other. The universal reduction to landing lag further improves his respectable combo ability by allowing him access to his quick aerials, while dash-canceling's expanded prevalance improves the utility of his tilts, thus granting him newfound approaching options by performing one of his tilt attacks out of a run.

Some of Pac-Man's moveset benefit from their own improvements: down tilt is less punishable due to the changes of the move's momentum and reduced ending lag, dash attack gains an additional hit while possessing even less ending lag (relative to its final hit), down aerial's initial hits link together much better and inflict more damage, and his new up tilt possesses greater frame-data and increased vertical range to improve its utility as an anti-air. Finally, Pac-Man's mediocre KO potential has been improved: his smash attacks have less start-up, Power Pellet's fully charged sweetspot and forward smash are much stronger, back aerial launches at a lower angle, down aerial's final hit is much stronger and launches at a much lower angle, and Bonus Fruit's aforementioned buffs allow Pac-Man earlier access to its key, which has strong KO potential on its own, alleviating one of Pac-Man's biggest weaknesses since Smash 4.

However, Pac-Man received some noticeable nerfs, especially to his combo game. The mechanics of his Bonus Fruit's items have been altered drastically, heavily limiting the variety of item-based techniques he can perform: the time-window for catching the items is now very narrow, as most of the items disappear almost immediately after hitting an opponent, while the cherry and strawberry now have a set distance and no longer linger on the ground. Bonus Fruit's items also cannot be picked up again after being Z-dropped; when combined with the changes to footstools and locks, Pac-Man can no longer perform his notorious zero-to-death footstool combos. While all these changes prevent the opponent from capitalizing on his own fruits, it also makes his item-camping play even more straightforward. Fire Hydrant's physics have also been changed, as it loses more momentum and height from each bounce, making it less effective for coverage and set-ups when it is launched. In addition, many moves are less useful for launching Hydrant, lessening the variety of coverage and pressure.

Pac-Man's aforementioned new up tilt is more situational than his previous up tilt in SSB4, as it can no longer hit opponents directly next to or behind him, and it is unable to launch Fire Hydrant backward. In addition, Pac-Man's neutral and forward aerials have lost their ability to lock, although this is compensated by their adjusted knockback values enabling them to combo at wider percentages. Pac-Jump is even more exploitable than before, as opponents can now hit the trampoline to reduce its availability. Finally, Pac-Man retains several of his former issues from SSB4 despite his numerous amount of noticeable buffs, such as mediocre overall range, his projectiles being easily reflected against Pac-Man, the high emphasis on his items, and a dependence on setups to KO.

Overall, Pac-Man's moveset is more consistent for close-quarters combat, and his tools have been improved to catch up with the quick and aggressive pace of Ultimate. The changes overall make Pac-Man a drastically more formidable fighter, although his playstyle has less of an emphasis over item-stalling and rewards item-positioning and setups more than before. Although Pac-Man's representation is overall minimal, he has obtained very strong results competitively regardless, thanks to the efforts of players such as EKING, Sinji and especially Tea. As a result, Pac-Man has achieved a positive reception across the community overall, where he is near universally considered to be a high-tier character in comparison to his low-tier status in SSB4, with some players like Mew2King and MkLeo even claiming that Pac-Man is a top-tier fighter.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Pac-Man's model features a more subdued color scheme; the yellow of his body is now much lighter compared to the saturated shade used in SSB4, being more consistent with his appearances outside of Smash. His boots now have well-defined soles on the bottom.
• Like most of the cast, Pac-Man is more expressive, no longer being limited to simply smiling and surprised expressions. He now shows an angry expression during his forward smash, down smash, back aerial, and the end of his dash attack. He will also look disappointed if his grab misses, and will appear panicked while drowning, and becomes stunned when falling underwater instead of maintaining his grin. His mouth also briefly opens when he stands up from a crouch.
• Pac-Man's on-screen appearance has been slightly altered, now doing a slow chomp in his classic 2D "wedge" form, before jumping into his modern form. In Smash 4, the chomp is quicker and stops once Pac-Man opens his mouth once.
• Pac-Man's taunts have been altered:
  • Namco Roulette's animation is faster. Its roster includes the exclusive characters from both the Wii U and 3DS versions. Additionally, Heihachi Mishima from Tekken and The Prince of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy have been added.
  • Side taunt has been altered to show Pac-Man alternating chomps left and right twice, instead of twice on one side before turning.
  • Pixelated fairies from Pac-Land appear during Pac-Man's down taunt in place of Blinky and Pinky.
• A fairy now appears in his Pac-Land-inspired victory animation.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Pac-Man's jumpsquat animation takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
• Pac-Man walks faster (1.045 → 1.097).
• Pac-Man dashes faster (1.52 → 1.672).
  • Pac-Man's initial dash is faster (1.6 → 1.87).
• Pac-Man's air speed is slightly faster (1.04 → 1.092).
• Pac-Man has significantly more traction (0.045 → 0.116), going from below-average in Smash 4 to above-average in Ultimate.
• Spot dodge has slightly less ending lag (FAF 26 → 25).
• Forward roll grants one frame less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 4-15).
• Back roll has slightly more startup lag (frame 4 → 5), grants slightly less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
• Neutral air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-27 → 3-29).
• Neutral air dodge has less significantly less landing lag (22 frames → 10).
• Neutral air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 33 → 56).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack's first hit is now a hook rather than a jab.
  • Neutral attack transitions faster (frame 9 → 7).
  • Neutral attack's first and second hits no longer use set knockback, instead possessing minimal knockback scaling (22/16 (set) → 25/15 (base), 25/20 (scaling) (hit 1), 26/15 (set) → 30/35 (base), 30/35 (scaling) (hit 2)), and all but one of its hitboxes launch at a more consistent angle (80°/361° → 361°/361°/180°/361° (hit 1), 80°/361° → 361°/361°/361° (hit 2)), allowing both hits to connect into each other more reliably and jab lock.
  • Neutral attack's first hit deals slightly less damage (3% → 2%).
  • Neutral attack's first and second hits have increased hitlag multipliers (1× → 1.6× (hit 1), 1× → 1.2× (hit 2)), giving the opponent more time to SDI each hit.
  • Neutral attack's first and second hits have had their two larger hitboxes replaced with smaller ones (4.2u/3.5u → 1.5u/1.7u/2u/2u (hit 1), 4.2u/3.5u → 2.5u/2.8u/3u (hit 2)), giving them less range.
  • All hits of neutral attack have shorter durations (frames 4-6 → 4 (hits 1 and 2), 4-7 → 4-5 (hit 3)).
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack hits four times instead of three.
    • All hits after the first one have less startup lag (frame 20/30 → 19/28/37) and the last hit has comparatively less ending lag (FAF 42 → 46).
    • Dash attack deals more damage if all hits connect (9% → 10%).
  • The looping hits have drastically less hitlag (2x → 0.6x), making them much harder to SDI out of.
  • The last hit deals less damage (5% → 4%) with knockback scaling partially compensated (60 → 65).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has altered hitboxes (4u/4u/3u → 4.8u/3.6u/3u) with the outermost hitbox being larger and positioned further out (X offset: 6 → 7), improving its range overall despite the middle hitbox being smaller.
• Up tilt:
  • Pac-Man has a new up tilt: a quick upwards punch.
  • It has more vertical range.
  • It has much less ending lag (FAF 34 → 25), improving its combo potential.
  • It deals slightly less damage (7% → 6.5%) and much less knockback (50 base/100 scaling → 43/68), noticeably hindering its KO potential.
    • However, its reduced knockback further improves its combo potential.
  • Pac-Man's fist has one less frame of intangibility (frame 6-10 → 7-10).
  • Its hitbox is located on Pac-Man's fist. As a result, it is generally smaller overall (6.5u → 5.5u/3.2u), and has much less horizontal reach, missing most characters on the ground even if they stand directly next to him. Due to the same factors, Pac-Man's new up tilt can no longer be used to knock Fire Hydrant backwards.
  • It launches at a slightly higher angle (96° → 93°).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 29 → 27).
  • Pac-Man returns to his original position after attacking, rather than moving forward, improving its safety, but worsening its utility for tech-chasing.
  • It has more base knockback and less knockback scaling (50 base/80 scaling → 65/50), making it safer on hit at lower percents, but hindering its KO potential.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has less startup lag (frame 18 → 16) with its duration increased (frames 18-28 → 16-29, 11 frames → 14).
    • Its FAF remains unchanged, giving its strong hit more comparative ending lag and making it less safe on shield.
  • Forward smash's ghost has a bigger hitbox (4.8u → 5.4u (early), 4u → 4.3u (late)) and extends vertically (Y offset: 5 → 5.4-4.2), improving its range.
  • Forward smash's early hits deal noticeably more base knockback, greatly improving its KO potential despite having less knockback scaling (25 base/99 scaling → 40/97).
• Up smash:
  • Both hits of up smash have less startup lag (frame 13/16 → 11/15) with its duration increased on the second hit (16-26 → 15-28, 11 frames → 14).
    • Its FAF remains unchanged, giving its strong hit more comparative ending lag and making it less safe on shield.
  • Up smash's ghost has a larger hitbox (6u → 6.2u (clean), 4u → 4.5u (late)).
  • Up smash's first hit now uses set knockback (95 base/20 scaling → 125 set/100 scaling) and launches at a lower angle (115° → 135°). This improves its linking ability into the second hit and now allows it to be used to knock a Fire Hydrant backwards, but significantly worsens its reliability as a follow-up option off of Bonus Fruit's Bell.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has less startup lag (frame 18 → 15) with its duration increased (18-28 → 15-28, 11 frames → 14).
    • Its FAF remains unchanged, giving its strong hit more comparative ending lag and making it less safe on shield.
  • Down smash's ghosts have larger hitboxes (6u → 6.2u (clean), 4u → 4.5u (late)) and extend vertically (Y offset: 6 → 5.3-5.8), improving its range.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (12 frames (neutral) → 7, 16 (forward/up) → 10, 22 (back) → 13, 20 (down) → 12).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial deals less knockback (20 base/100 scaling → 45/70). Coupled with its lowered landing lag, it can combo consistently.
  • Its later hits deal more damage (6% → 8.5% (mid), 3% → 6% (late)).
  • Its angle on all hits was changed (361° → 50°). This increases its combo potential, but removes its ability to lock.
  • It has larger hitboxes (7.0u → 7.6u (clean), 5.0u → 7.0u (mid), 3.5u → 4.5u (late)).
  • Its lowered knockback removes one of Pac-Man's former KO options, as it can no longer KO until around 180%.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial deals more damage (5.3% → 7.65%).
  • It has much more base knockback, but much less knockback scaling (7 base/90 scaling → 70/29), increasing the percent range in which the move can combo.
    • Due to the changes to its knockback, forward aerial can no longer lock opponents.
• Back aerial:
  • The changes to the Sakurai angle causes back aerial to launch opponents at a lower angle (40°/45° → 38°), improving its KO potential.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has an altered ending animation.
  • It now pushes Pac-Man back down to where he would have been as the move ends. In order to use the floating effect to boost his recovery, the player must repeatedly interrupt the ending animation of the move with another up aerial.
• Down aerial:
  • Its hits transition faster, with 1 frame less lag between each one.
  • Its multi-hits are larger (5.5u → 6.2u) and have gained an additional hitbox against aerial opponents, improving its range overall.
  • It has much less ending lag (FAF 60 → 50).
  • Down aerial deals more damage (1.5% → 2% (hits 1-3), 6% → 7% (hit 4), 10.5% → 13% (maximum)) with knockback compensated on the final hit (90 scaling → 80).
  • Its multi-hits deal more set knockback (10 → 35 (grounded), 10 → 22 (aerial)), and launch aerial opponents at an altered angle (100° → 130°), improving its linking ability overall.
  • Its final hit sends at a more horizontal angle (65° → 45°), granting it edgeguarding and KO potential.
  • Its final hit always launches in the direction Pac-Man is facing, improving its combo potential while also making it more consistent for edgeguarding.

Throws and other attacks

• Grab:
  • Dash grab and pivot grab have more startup lag, no longer the same as his standing grab (frame 12 → 14 (dash), 12 → 15 (pivot)).
  • All grabs have significantly less ending lag (FAF 76 → 59 (standing), 76 → 67 (dash), 76 → 62 (pivot)).
  • Grab has two long-lasting hitboxes instead of multiple short hitboxes (frames 12-14, 22-24, 32-39 → 12-33 (standing)/14-35 (dash)/15-36 (pivot)).
  • One of grab's hitboxes extends alongside the tractor beam's animation, removing its notorious blindspots.
  • Grab's tractor beam has a smoother extending and receding animation.
  • If the grab misses, Pac-Man will look disappointed.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 16 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 25 → 7), shortening its duration.
  • Pummel deals much less damage (3.25% → 1.3%).
• All throws excluding down throw are now weight-independent.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals more damage (6% → 8%) and has more base knockback (48 → 55), improving its edgeguarding potential.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has a visible wind-effect while Pac-Man spins.
  • Back throw releases the opponent earlier (frame 28 → 25) and has significantly less ending lag (FAF 72 → 60).
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has less ending lag (FAF 45 → 38) and base knockback (60 → 55), granting it combo potential.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw's animation has been sped up significantly.
  • Down throw releases the opponent earlier (frame 39 → 34) with its duration unchanged, increasing its ending lag.

Special moves

• Bonus Fruit:
  • All Bonus Fruit except the second and third fruits cycle significantly faster (frame 54 → 52 (apple), 78 → 72 (melon), 102 → 92 (galaxian), 126 → 112 (bell), 150 → 132 (key)).
  • Bonus Fruit has a shorter charge cancel animation (8 frames → 4).
  • As with other charge specials, Bonus Fruit can be jumped or air dodged out of while charging.
  • Cherry
    • Cherries deals slightly more damage (4% → 4.3%).
    • They deal slightly less knockback overall (40 (base)/80 (scaling) → 41/71)
    • Their lifespan can no longer be extended by keeping them in the air for longer, and they will despawn after a set amount of time.
    • They deal less shield damage (0 → -2.1).
  • Strawberry
    • Strawberries deal slightly less knockback (40 (base)/80 (scaling) → 41/71)
    • Their lifespan can no longer be extended by keeping them in the air for longer, and they will despawn after a set amount of time.
    • Strawberries deal less shield damage (0 → -3).
  • Orange
    • Oranges deal slightly less damage (8% → 7.5%)
    • They have altered knockback values (50 (base)/76 (scaling) → 51/68), which, combined with the lower damage output, drastically weakens their KO potential.
    • Oranges deal less shield damage (0 → -3.2).
  • Apple
    • Apples deal slightly more damage (9% → 9.5%).
    • They have reduced knockback values (60 (base)/100 (Scaling) → 61/91), KOing slightly later despite the increased damage, and more favourable launch angle (75˚ → 80˚).
    • However, the higher launch angle makes it less susceptible to DI, and makes LSI impossible, improving the consistency of the Apple's KO potential.
    • Apples deal considerably less shield damage (0 → -4.7).
    • Apples have a shorter maximum duration (240 frames → 180).
  • Melon
    • Melons deal less knockback (40 (base)/100 (scaling) → 39/94), hindering their KO potential.
    • Melons launch at a slightly higher angle (55˚ → 60˚), slightly improving their vertical KO potential, while slightly worsening their horizontal KO potential.
    • Melons deal significantly less shield damage (0 → -6).
    • Melons move more slowly (initial speed: 1 → 0.85), and accelerate downward more quickly (gravity: 0.005 → 0.006).
  • Galaxian
    • Galaxians deal slightly less knockback (40 (base)/80 (scaling) → 41/72).
    • Galaxians deal considerably less shield damage (0 → -4.5).
  • Bell
    • Bells deal slightly less damage (8% → 7.5%).
    • Bells deal more knockback at low percents, and much less knockback at high percents (30 (base)/120 (scaling) → 70/54). This also means they paralyze opponents for longer at lower percents, but the paralysis duration increases much more slowly.
    • As a result of the above changes, Bells are now incapable of KOing at realistic percents.
    • When Z-dropped, Bells can now still paralyze the opponent.
    • Bells deal slightly less shield damage (0 → -1.9).
  • Key
    • Keys deal more damage (15% → 16%).
    • Keys travel faster (speed: 3.6 → 3.8), and thus have more range.
    • Keys have altered knockback (40 (base)/90 (scaling) → 55/68), KOing later, despite the increased damage.
    • Keys launch at a lower angle (55˚ → 48˚).
    • Keys deal less shield damage (0 → -4).
  • If Pac-Man grabs a fruit he's previously thrown or dropped, Bonus Fruit is able to be recycled through the items again. This allows him to store his items in a similar manner to Pocket, create possible setups from his Bell to his Key, reduce the opportunities for his opponents to use his fruits against him, and keep up pressure with his more powerful fruits for a longer period of time.
    • Bonus Fruit's new recycling mechanic allows fruits to be caught again if they are charged slightly before throwing, as they are considered a newly generated item.
  • Bonus Fruit's toss has less ending lag (FAF 45 → 42).
  • Bonus Fruit's items can only be Z-dropped once before being unable to be caught by anyone. This limits Pac-Man's combo potential and removes his zero-to-deaths, but makes it harder for other players to limit his usage of Bonus Fruit.
  • Dropped fruits (either from being thrown or if an opponent knocks it out of Pac-Man's charge process) will only bounce once before disappearing instead of lingering on the floor for around three seconds. This makes it difficult for anyone to take advantage of dropped fruits, and significantly limits fruit-catching methods.
  • Bonus Fruits that hit an enemy pop into air for a much shorter time. This makes it much harder to recatch fruits after they hit enemies, but it also makes it harder for the enemies to grab it in the air.
  • The sprites used during Bonus Fruit have been redrawn with thinner outlines. If Pac-Man tries generating a fruit while one is in play, a pixelated "pop" effect will display instead of a puff of smoke.
• Power Pellet:
  • All variants of Power Pellet travel further, with the fully-charged version traveling almost the full length of Final Destination.
  • Power Pellet has less ending lag when colliding with a wall, and no longer makes Pac-Man tumble onto the ground when the Pac-Dot trail is aimed at the floor. Instead, he will move along the ground in the last horizontal direction he moved in during the attack.
  • There is now a weak hit right at the start of the dash triggered by grabbing the Pellet, which deals just 1% damage and weak knockback.
  • Pac-Man's trajectory in the air after grabbing the Pellet now curves downwards, slightly weakening its recovery potential.
  • Pac-Man's afterimages when using Power Pellet go from yellow to orange and then red. Pac-Man also flashes white and red after eating the power pellet.
• Pac-Jump:
  • Pac-Jump's trampoline has a hurtbox.
    • This means Pac-Jump's trampoline can be used to block projectiles.
    • The trampoline can be attacked by other players, but not by Pac-Man. Based on the power of the attack, the trampoline's uses will be reduced, from as little to one use or all uses.
  • Pac-Jump has a longer duration (frames 4-17 → 4-21).
  • Pac-Jump's trampoline comes out on frame 10 rather than frame 1, so the move is no longer unblockable.
  • Pac-Jump's attack damage increases with time, similar to Dr. Mario's neutral air (Early: 7% → 5%, Middle: 6%, Late: 5% → 7%).
  • Pac-Man's afterimages when using Pac-Jump are more visible and go from yellow to white.
  • At the peak of each jump, the damage increases.
• Fire Hydrant:
  • Fire Hydrant has altered physics, acting heavier and losing more height and speed from each bounce.
  • Fire Hydrant's heavier physics makes it easier to hit grounded opponents.
  • Fire Hydrant's new physics significantly reduce its overall coverage and distance when bouncing.
  • Aerial Fire Hydrant has more startup lag, matching the grounded version's startup (frame 9 → 12).
    • Its total duration was unchanged, reducing its ending lag.
  • Fire Hydrant's fall attack has a reduced hitlag multiplier (1.5× → 1×).
  • Fire Hydrant's hitbox extends further downwards when falling (Y offset: 6 → 6-2).
• Super Pac-Man:
  • Super Pac-Man has been changed. Pac-Man still transforms into a two-dimensional sprite to launch opponents, but automatically moves forward and loops around the screen, slowly building up speed. His trajectory can be adjusted by aiming him up or down. He will also eat items he runs into during the move. Aesthetically, the move resembles Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, featuring pulsating lights in the background and a rising pitch as the move progresses.

Update history

Pac-Man received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. Update 1.2.0 introduced a universal nerf by removing the ability to Z-drop items out of hitstun. This aforementioned change impaired Pac-Man more than all other fighters, as it removed the defensive strategy of opponents getting hit by Bonus Fruit's item that Pac-Man is holding while attacking, allowing Pac-Man to run away and potentially punish the opponent, heavily hindering his hit-and-run playstyle. However, update 2.0.0 buffed Pac-Man's combo potential by increasing his forward and down aerials' auto-cancel windows and increasing Bonus Fruit's endurance after making contact, widening the window to follow up and more easily keep opponents in hitstun.

Update 3.0.0's near-universal nerf to projectiles' damage outputs to shields noticeably affected Bonus Fruit and Fire Hydrant, hindering Pac-Man's shield-breaking capabilities. Update 3.1.0 improved up smash's first hit ability to link into its second hit by adjusting its launching angle. Update 4.0.0 fixed a notorious flaw with Pac-Man being forced to drop charging Bonus Fruit while being reversed; this no longer makes Pac-Man vulnerable after being reversed and now potentially allows him to punish the opponent. Update 7.0.0 enlarged Pac-Man's shield as part of a near-universal buff, while update 8.0.0 nerfed his rolls slightly by standardizing their lag with the rest of the cast's rolls.

Overall, Pac-Man fares mildly better than he did at the launch of Ultimate. Although his optimal gameplan has changed from that of a zoner to more of a bait-and-punish playstyle because of the universal item and projectile-oriented nerfs and his combo-oriented buffs, Pac-Man's competitive standing has not changed much and he remains among the most significantly buffed veterans in the game (comparatively like Palutena, Roy and Pichu).

1.2.0

• Bonus Fruit's Key will no longer be discarded when it is recycled.
• The universal change removing the ability to Z-drop items out of hitstun reduces Pac-Man's ability to get out of combos when holding a Bonus Fruit.
• Dash grab changes Pac-Man's facial expression like his other grabs.

2.0.0

• Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 43 → 26), which allows it autocancel out of a short hop fast fall.
• Down aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 56 → 50), matching the move's interruptibility.
• Bonus Fruits take longer to disappear after hitting an opponent (30 frames → 32), giving him slightly more time to grab it again.
  • Cherry no longer disappears immediately after hitting an opponent.

3.0.0

• Bonus Fruit deals less shield damage (0 → -2.1/-3/-3.2/-4.7/-4.5/-6/-1.9/-4 (cherry/strawberry/orange/apple/melon/Galaxian/bell/key)).
• Fire Hydrant has more range below it when it is falling (Y offset: 6u → 6u-2u).
• Fire Hydrant deals less shield damage (0 → -2.3/-3.3 (falling/launched)).
• Several basic animations, such as idle and crouch animations, have been adjusted.

3.1.0

• Fixed an issue that resulted in Pac-Man facing the wrong way.
• Up smash's hits connect more reliably. (Hit 1 angle: 112° → 135°).

4.0.0

• Pac-Man will no longer drop his Bonus Fruit if he is hit with a move that reverses while charging the attack.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased.

8.0.0

• Standing and rolling techs have one frame more ending lag (FAF 26 → 27 (standing), 40 → 41 (rolling)), matching the rest of the cast.
• Fire Hydrant can no longer freeze characters holding an assist trophy item if they ledge roll into the hydrant.

Moveset

• Pac-Man can crawl and wall jump.

For a gallery of Pac-Man's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Pac-Hook (パックフック) / Pac-Counter Hook (パックカウンターフック) / Pac-Upper Kick (パックアッパーキック)	2%	A one-two combo followed by a bicycle kick. It has decent range for a neutral attack and thanks to the first and second hits' very minimal start-up lag (frame 4), it is useful as an anti-pressuring option as a follow-up from his dash attack. The first and second hits can lock. However, the third hit has noticeable ending lag for a neutral attack of its kind while dealing minimal knockback.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt		Pac-Kick (パックキック)	8%	A straight side kick. It has quick start-up (frame 5), although it has moderate ending lag. Unlike the majority of forward tilts in Ultimate, it retains minimal base knockback and extremely high knockback growth. As a result, it can KO middleweights at around 160% at the edge of Final Destination, but is unsafe on shield and on hit at low percentages. It can be angled, being capable of jab resetting at low percentages if angled down. It is also useful for spacing beginning at 45%.
Up tilt		Pac-Upper Punch (パックアッパーパンチ)	6.5%	An uppercut. It possesses decent vertical range, low vertical knockback, decent start-up (frame 7) and minimal ending lag. It also grants intangibility to Pac-Man's fist throughout the duration of the hitbox. Altogether, these traits make it useful for starting and/or extending combos, as well as partaking in juggling. However, it cannot hit in front of and/or behind Pac-Man due to its lack of horizontal range, fundamentally making it suitable to being an anti-air attack, poking tool from a platform, or a niche option for covering the opponent's options out of a ledge.
Down tilt		Pac-Bite (パックバイト)	6%	Transforms into his "wedge" form and chomps below himself at a diagonal angle. It has deceptive range, thanks to Pac-Man chomping forward at a decent distance before retreating, which makes it extremely useful for spacing and safe poking. However, its hitbox has a minimal duration. The move can be performed in quick succession due to its interruptibility.
Dash attack		Pac-Dash Bite (パックダッシュバイト)	2% (hits 1-3), 4% (hit 4)	Transforms into his "wedge" form and chomps repeatedly while sliding forward, with the last chomp dealing low vertical knockback. Although it hits on frame 10 and has a long animation, it has a windbox that hits on frame 3, which makes it the second-fastest dash attack in the game, being surpassed only by Little Mac's. When coupled with its very minimal ending lag, it can easily combo into his forward, up, and neutral aerials, or used as a cross-up to escape pressure. In addition, it is the only dash attack in Ultimate to not force the player to come to a stop, giving it incredible safety. It also functions as a combo starter into several moves, especially Pac-Man's up aerial and his Key. While the move does have a windbox at the start, its effect is negligible. Altogether, these traits collectively make it one of Pac-Man's best approaching options in his kit.
Forward smash		Blinky (アカベエ)	15% (sourspot), 16% (sweetspot), 9% (late)	Unleashes Blinky, the red ghost, forward to slam into the opponent. Pac-Man's arm is the sourspot, while Blinky himself is the sweetspot. It is Pac-Man's strongest smash attack, dealing respectable damage and enough knockback to KOs middleweights under 100% while near the edge of Final Destination, and Blinky is a long-lasting and disjointed hitbox. Like Pac-Man's other two smash attacks, it is able to nullify oncoming projectiles. It has moderate start-up lag, hitting on frame 16, however, and is burdened with 26 frames of ending lag, making it punishable without wise usage.
Up smash		Inky (アオスケ)	3% (launcher), 14% (Inky), 8% (late)	Unleashes Inky, the cyan ghost, straight overhead to slam into the opponent. It has a brief hitbox on Pac-Man's clenched fist that deals set knockback, which launches the opponent straight into Inky. Inky is a disjointed hitbox deals respectable damage and knockback, KOing middleweights at around 119% on Final Destination, while also possessing long-lasting late hitbox. It is Pac-Man's fastest smash attack in terms of start-up lag (coming out on frame 11, with Inky coming out on frame 15) and has 24 frames of ending lag.
Down smash		Pinky & Clyde (ピンキー＆グズタ)	13% (clean), 7% (late)	Crouches while unleashing Pinky and Clyde, the pink and orange ghosts, respectively, in front of and behind himself simultaneously to slam into the opponent. Pinky and Clyde are disjointed hitboxes with impressive ranges and are steep semi-spikes, making them effective for gimps and punishing rolls, while dealing enough knockback to KO middleweights at around 135% by the center of Final Destination. Like Blinky and Inky, Pinky and Clyde have long-lasting late hitboxes. However, it is Pac-Man's weakest smash attack both in terms of power and damage output, and the move's 29 frames of ending lag is the highest amount among the rest of Pac-Man's smash attacks.
Neutral aerial		Pac-Roll (パックロール)	10% (clean), 8.5% (mid), 6% (late)	Transforms into his "wedge" form and backflips repeatedly. It has the properties of a sex kick. Thanks to it hitting on frame 3, it is his fastest aerial attack, and one of the fastest aerials of all kinds in the game. When combined with its long-lasting hitbox, very minimal landing lag and low knockback, these traits collectively make it useful for starting and breaking out of combos. Its clean hit is also useful for edgeguarding and can KO middleweights at around 188% by the edge of Final Destination, although the move itself has high ending lag in the air. It auto-cancels in a full hop.
Forward aerial		Pac-Air Kick (パックエアキック)	7.65%	A roundhouse kick. It inflicts average damage, possesses high base knockback and minimal knockback scaling. However, it is the fastest forward aerial in the game in regard to start-up (frame 5), and the second-fastest forward aerial (behind Luigi's) in regard to ending lag. It also has only 10 frames of landing lag and auto-cancels in a fast-fallen short hop. Altogether, these traits collectively make it one of Pac-Man's best tools in his kit, since it can chain into itself or other moves effectively. In addition, it is effective for leading into a wall of pain at low percentages in conjunction with Pac-Man's high aerial mobility. Thanks to Pac-Man's above-average air acceleration, this move is also a reliable spacing and approaching option, as he can retreat while using it. It also serves as a quick combo tool, potentially into KO moves.
Back aerial		Pac-Drop Kick (パックドロップキック)	11.8% (clean), 7% (late)	A dropkick. When combined with dealing the highest damage out of Pac-Man's aerials, it is Pac-Man's strongest aerial, as its clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 121% while near the edge of Final Destination. Despite its power, it is quite quick, as it hits on frame 9, while possessing relatively low ending and landing lag (13 frames) for an aerial of its kind. It also has properties of a sex kick, like his neutral aerial. It is able to auto-cancel out of a short hop, making it an effective spacing tool. The clean hitbox's properties make it Pac-Man's most reliable aerial for KOing, although it boasts rather mediocre power and damage output for an aerial of its kind.
Up aerial		Pac-Somersault Kick (パックサマーソルトキック)	10%	A bicycle kick. It has decent start-up, a very long duration (frames 9-16), minimal knockback and 20 frames of ending lag. Its long range and almost nonexistent base knockback make it a reliable juggling option and a decent anti-air tool. The move's hitbox lasts longer than expected while possessing consistent damage throughout, allowing the late hitbox to connect against opponents or Fire Hydrant for unique followups. While it is slightly slower than other comparable up aerials of its own kind, such as Mario, Zero Suit Samus and Captain Falcon, it has similar combo potential, being able to combo into itself and up tilt, though it is often useful as a finisher after landing a dash attack. It KOs middleweights starting around 162% near the top of Final Destination. It can also auto-cancel in a short hop, and is the only aerial in the game that can perform a functional drop cancel. Resembles Pac-Man's flip kick from Pac-Man World 2.
Down aerial		Pac-Stomp (パックスタンプ)	2% (hits 1-3), 7% (hit 4)	A series of stomps, similar to Lucas' down aerial, although it lacks the ability to meteor smash. Its last hit has massive base knockback and launches at a diagonal angle, which allow it to KO reliably below 50% while nearing to the left/right blast line. In addition, despite its mediocre knockback scaling, the final hit can KO middleweights at around 139% at the edge of Final Destination. Pac-Man's most damaging aerial if all of its hits connect. Outside of KOing, it is also effective for edgeguarding or as a combo finisher offstage, especially being able to KO early after a pair of forward aerials.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Holds his palm out to emit Boss Galaga's tractor beam, drawing opponents in his grip. It has noticeable startup lag, but unlike in SSB4, it consists of a single and long-lasting hitbox that covers the entire beam. It has considerable range and rather low ending lag for an extended grab, but still has rather high overall ending lag similar to tether grabs.
Pummel		Grab Pac-Headbutt (つかみパックヘッドバット)	1.3%	A headbutt. A relatively quick pummel with decent damage to boot.
Forward throw		Pac-Capture Cut (パックキャプチャーカット)	8%	Reels back before shoving the opponent forward. Its below-average knockback prevents it from being able to KO at reasonable percentages. However, it can be useful for mix-ups, due to it launching at 58° and possessing minimal ending lag.
Back throw		Pac-Giant Swing (パックジャイアントスイング)	11%	A giant swing. In addition to being Pac-Man's most damaging throw, it is Pac-Man's only reliable KO throw, and is one of the strongest back throws in the game, as it KOs even the heaviest of characters at around 169% at the edge of Final Destination without rage. Unlike similar throws (such as Mario and Wario), however, it lacks a collateral hitbox during the spins. In addition, its rather deceptive ending lag prevents it from leading into follow-ups.
Up throw		Pac-Upper Throw (パックアッパースルー)	5%	Hurls the opponent straight into the air. It deals the least damage out of Pac-Man's throws, while it has relatively average base knockback and high knockback growth. When combined with its low ending lag, it can combo into neutral and up aerials at low percentages. If Pac-Man is pushed upwards by the Fire Hydrant's water, it can combo into an up aerial for a KO. It can also KO floaty middleweights at around 192% with rage.
Down throw		Pac-Devour (パックデバウアー)	1.5% (hits 1-3), 6% (hit 4)	Pins the opponent to the ground and transforms into his "wedge" form to chomp them four times, with the last chomp launching them. It launches at 43°, making it useful for tech-chasing, especially into Bonus Fruit's key at 0% and up to medium percentages. However, its noticeable ending lag prevents it from possessing true follow-ups.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Sweep kicks around himself in a circle while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Sweep kicks around himself in a circle while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a straight-roundhouse kick in front of himself, then behind himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a legsweep while climbing up. It has deceptively long range for an edge attack.
Neutral special		Bonus Fruit	4.3% (cherry), 6% (strawberry), 7.5% (orange), 9.5% (apple), 12% (melon), 9% (Galaxian), 7.5% (bell), 16% (key)	Raises his hand to cycle through the 8 different and collectable bonus frouits/items from Pac-Man. The fruits, Galaxian, bell and key each have their own damage outputs, knockback values, traveling speeds, and launching angles. All of them can be re-caught once; if Pac-Man has a bonus item in his hand, pressing the special button will continue the cycle from that object's position, also allowing him to re-catch the object again. If charging is interrupted, holding down the special button will make Pac-Man resume charging from the most recent charge. It can be charge-canceled and, while charging in midair, Pac-Man's gravity will be decreased. The thrown projectile functions as an item, which can be grabbed by Pac-Man or opponents with good timing. Conversely, opponents can hit Pac-Man to forcibly drop his Bonus Fruit, either while he is charging or holding his fruit; the latter can also be done to opponents by hitting those who are holding a Bonus Fruit. Pac-Man can only create a single fruit/object at a time, and cannot create another if it is being held by an opponent. Due to its quick speed and high power, Bonus Fruit's key is one of Pac-Man's most viable KO options, as it KOs middleweights at 143% while near the center of Final Destination.
Side special		Power Pellet	4% (before eating Power Pellet), 6% (uncharged), 12% (fully charged)	Summons a trail of Pac-Dots that concludes with a Power Pellet, and then transforms into his "wedge" form before propelling himself forward to devour them. The trail can be extended to a maximum of six Pac-Dots, while the dash has a controllable trajectory that can allow for mindgames and even an incredible recovery since it travels a considerable distance, and can even extend his recovery with Pac-Jump. Pac-Man is granted 8 frames of super armor after eating the Power Pellet, giving it impressive safety. Upon extending a full trail, its finishing hit will boast enough power to KO middleweights at 124% while near the center of Final Destination. Pac-Man is able to fast fall immediately during the move's ending lag, and will not go off ledges during a grounded chomp if the trail does not go past a ledge. Interrupting it during its start-up drops the Power Pellet, which heals 2% and can be eaten by any character. Pac-Man can act out after Power Pellet and is able to automatically ledge-snap throughout its duration, but if he bumps directly into a surface during the chomps, it stops and he goes into a short tumbling animation that can be interrupted early. The string can be angled in all directions.
Up special		Pac-Jump	5%-7% (early), 6%-8.42% (mid), 7%-10% (late)	Transforms into his "wedge" form and summons a trampoline to bounce off of, which will launch Pac-Man higher as it changes color (blue → yellow → red). Extremely quick, coming out at frame 4. Any character can jump on the trampoline, but only Pac-Man will be rendered helpless by it. Any characters, including Pac-Man, who jumps on the trampoline while it is red will be instantly rendered helpless. It can be performed at edge to limit the opponent's get-up options and approach. Subsequent bounces grant more height, but the fourth bounce breaks the trampoline and renders the attempted user helpless. Any opponent other than Pac-Man himself can damage the trampoline, which also changes its coloration before completely nullifying it. Pac-Man himself can hit opponents while ascending, and since the trampoline instantly forcing opponents to jump once touched, it is an effective grounded combo breaker. When performed onstage, the trampoline can be used for mindgames and set-ups. It can be used at edge to limit the opponent's get-up options and approach.
Down special		Fire Hydrant	9% (falling), 13% (tumbling)	Summons a Fire Hydrant underneath himself. When performed in the air, the Fire Hydrant falls downward until it collides with a solid surface. Once grounded, it spurts water out of its sides twice (or on top, if a character is standing on it). This water pushes opponents and items from it. Upon receiving up to 13% or more, it is launched as a powerful projectile that travels in the trajectory of the move that sent it flying. The launched hydrant will damage opponents by ramming into them, or potentially Pac-Man himself if it is sent flying by an opponent. It is a rather powerful projectile when launched, KOing Mario at the edge of Final Destination at 128% with good DI. The Fire Hydrant's velocity only affects the direction an opponent is launched, and does not affect the strength or the angle of the hit. This is also one of the few non-item projectiles in the game that is subject to gravity, bouncing along the ground and slowing down after each bounce. If placed on a steep enough slope, it will tumble down the slope until it disappears. The water does not inflict damage, but has a push effect that can allow for mindgames, mix-ups, and even gimps. Due to it functioning as a constantly active hitbox, the hydrant can actually be counterattacked and Pocketed while it is stationary.
Final Smash		Super Pac-Man	20% (yellow), 28% (red)	Simultaneously devours a Power Pellet and a Super Pellet, transforming into his classic 2D "wedge" form, albeit drastically enlarged, before looping around the stage repeatedly. Pac-Man typically traverses in a straight line, but his angle can be altered to catch opponents fleeing. Upon progression, Pac-Man's mobility speeds up, then begins acquiring a red tint, after which, he inflicts more damage to opponents. The final dash deals the most damage at the expense of possessing slow mobility and creates afterimages. Running into opponents chomps them, dealing knockback and turning them into ghost eyes, similarly to consumed ghosts in Pac-Man. Items can also be eaten in this way, which removes them from play. Every "consumed" opponent or item gives 200 points, then 400, then 800, then 1600, then 3200, then all subsequent ones yield 7650. However, the point value is completely aesthetic. Once the final dash is finished, Pac-Man will revert back to his original anthropomorphic incarnation.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height
Value	95	1.87 – Initial dash 1.672 – Run	1.097	0.116	0.015	1.092	0.01 – Base 0.07 – Additional	0.072	1.35 – Base 2.16 – Fast-fall	3	34.1 - Base 16.48 - Short hop	34.1

Announcer call

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Pops into the stage as his classic 2D "wedge" form, performs a slow chomp, then jumps up into his anthropomorphic 3D form.

• 

  Pac-Man's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Performs the "Namco Roulette", which produces sprites of classic items, characters and antagonists compsed by Namco, comparatively like Bonus Fruit.
• Side Taunt: Transforms into his "wedge" form and chomps to the right and left at varying intervals while emitting his iconic chomping sound from Pac-Man, before shifting back to his anthropomorphic form.
• Down Taunt: Lays on the ground as a pair of fairies from Pac-Land and a few musical notes hover above his head. During this, an arrangement of the first 5 notes of the intermission theme from Pac-Man plays.

• 

  Pac-Man's up taunt, summoning the sprite of Gil.

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  Pac-Man's side taunt.

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  Pac-Man's down taunt.

Idle Poses

• Rubs his head in a questionable manner.
• Looks at the screen and winks while giving a thumbs-up, comparatively like his official render from SSB4.

• 

  Pac-Man's first idle pose.

• 

  Pac-Man's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Pac - Man!	Go! Go! Pac-Man!	Pac - Man! *claps 3 times*	Pac - Man! Pac Man!	Pac - Man! Pac Man!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Goooo - Pac-Man!	Pac - Man!	Pac - Man! *claps 3 times*	Pac - Man!

Victory poses

• Left: Curves into the screen while chomping in his "wedge" form, jumps out as his anthropomorphic form, trips onto the floor, before raising his fist up while slouching clumsily.
• Up: Chases a vulnerable ghost in his "wedge" form, then shifts to his anthropomorphic form and poses akimbo.
• Right: Lands on the ground in his anthropomorphic form while a sign reading "7650" appears, then winks and gives a thumbs-up alongside Buttercup, a fairy companion of his who debuted in Pac-Land. This pose is based his official artwork for the TurboGrafx-16 version of Pac-Land. Both the sign and Buttercup do not appear in Team Battles.

A remix of the jingle that plays when starting a new game in Pac-Man, as well as completing levels in Pac-Man World 2.

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In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Pac-Man players (SSBU)

•  Beji - One of the best Pac-Man players in Japan who regularly places well at Kyushu events, including 5th at KOWLOON 2, 7th at KOWLOON 3, and 17th at KOWLOON 5. He notably upset Kaninabe in the latter event and has also defeated Asimo and Mr.R.
•  EKING - One of the best Pac-Man players in North America and is also one of the best players in the Caribbean, notably dominating the Puerto Rican scene. Outside of his region, he has also placed well at several events including 25th at Let's Make Moves Miami and 33rd at Smash Factor 9. His highest ranking was 129th on the OrionRank 2022.
•  JDV - One of the best Pac-Man players in North America, especially in the post-online metagame where his highest global ranking was 131st on the LumiRank 2023, the second-highest Pac-Man player on the list. He is a regular threat at PNW events and has placed highly at PNW majors, including 17th at Battle of BC 4, Port Priority 7, and Battle of BC 5.
•  MoDzai - The best Pac-Man player in Europe and the only European Pac-Man player ranked globally, at 124th on the OrionRank 2022. He most notably placed 7th at King Of Fields 95 3 and 9th at VCA 2022.
•  Sinji - One of the best Pac-Man players in the world in 2019 thanks to strong major placements such as 7th at both Collision 2019 and MomoCon 2019, leading him to be ranked 25th on the Spring 2019 PGRU. In the post-online metagmae, he remains one of North America's best Pac-Man players who still sees some strong major results, including 9th at Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2024 and 13th at Get On My Level 2022.
•  Tea - The best Pac-Man player of all-time and the only Pac-Man player who has won major-level events, including Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas, Kagaribi 3, and Temple: Hermès Edition. He is one of two players who have won majors in all three Ultimate superregions.

Tier placement and history

Ever since the release of Ultimate, opinions on Pac-Man's viability have been given a positive response, thanks to the received buffs to his mobility, KO potential, Bonus Fruit, and grab game, all of which improved his combo potential. As a result of the buffs, Pac-Man has received strong results from players, especially Sinji and Tea, ever since the early metagame. Tea, in particular, has won several majors and established himself as a top 10 player by 2021. Due to Pac-Man's buffs and strong playerbase, he is often considered a high/top-tier character, which is reflected in his placement on the current tier list, where he is ranked 14th as a top-tier character.

Classic Mode: Ageless Classic

Pac-Man's congratulations screen.

Pac-Man's opponents are fighters who debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) or appeared in an NES game at least once. These fighters are listed in accordance with the dates of their debuts, similarly to All-Star Mode in Super Smash Bros. 4. The exceptions to this are Donkey Kong and Young Link: the former uses his red alternate costume to reference Cranky Kong's color scheme during his time as the first Donkey Kong, whereas the latter is a substitute for the Link from the original The Legend of Zelda due to being the closest to his age compared to Link and Toon Link. The boss of this route, Dracula, also fits this theme due to the original Castlevania (his game of origin) debuting on the NES.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong	75m (Battlefield form)	PAC-MAN
2	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt	No music
3	Ice Climbers and R.O.B.	Wrecking Crew (Battlefield form)	Power-Up Music - Wrecking Crew
4	Young Link, Samus, Simon, and Pit	Hyrule Castle	Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda
5	Little Mac, Mega Man, and Snake	Boxing Ring	Mega Man Retro Medley
6	Marth, Dr. Mario, and Kirby	Dream Land GB	Kirby Retro Medley
Bonus Stage
Final	Dracula	Dracula's Castle	Dwelling of Doom

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Pac-Man has PAC-MAN'S PARK / BLOCK TOWN accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Pac-Man in World of Light

Although Pac-Man is absent from the opening cutscene of World of Light, he was vaporized and later placed under Galeem's imprisonment when the latter proceeded to unleash his beams of lights to engulf the world and the universe, along with the rest of the fighters (excluding Kirby).

By accessing Marth's route, the player can find Pac-Man located between the mushroom-filled area and the Base. Defeating him is necessary to progress through the story, as awakening Pac-Man will result in Galeem creating access to the Base, making Pac-Man's unlock obligatory for the mode.

Later, the fighters prepare their final stand against Galeem and Dharkon, including Pac-Man among them.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
55		Pac-Man	Grab	3,300	Pac-Land (Ω form)	PAC-MAN

Spirit

Pac-Man's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Pac-Man has been unlocked. Unlocking Pac-Man in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

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  946. PAC-MAN

In Spirit Battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
51		Chain Chomp	Super Mario Series	•Metal Pac-Man		4,000	Yoshi's Island (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy favors side specials •The enemy is metal	Main Theme - Super Mario 64
53		Nipper Plant	Super Mario Series	•Tiny Pac-Man Team ×8		1,900	Super Mario Maker (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy loves to jump •Defeat an army of fighters	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Remix)
58		Hothead	Super Mario Series	•Curry Pac-Man		2,000	Mushroom Kingdom U (Slide Lift Tower)	•Item: Hothead	•The enemy breathes fire •The enemy is easily distracted by items •The enemy starts the battle with a Hothead	Castle / Boss Fortress - Super Mario World / SMB 3
108		Starlow	Mario & Luigi Series	•Pac-Man •Luigi •Mario		3,300	Brinstar (Battlefield form)	•Tiny •Giant	•The enemy is giant •The enemy is tiny after a little while	Tough Guy Alert!
109		Broque Monsieur	Mario & Luigi Series	•Pac-Man		1,800	Mario Bros. (Battlefield form)	•Defense ↑ •Item: Blocks	•The enemy has increased defense •The enemy shields often •The enemy's shield has extra durability	Tough Guy Alert!
305		Tap-Tap	Yoshi Series	•Metal Pac-Man		2,200	Yoshi's Island	N/A	•The enemy is metal	Wildlands
311		Burt the Bashful	Yoshi Series	•Giant Pac-Man		2,000	Super Happy Tree (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy deals damage when falling •The enemy is giant •The enemy has increased defense	Fortress Boss - Super Mario World
378		Chef Kawasaki	Kirby Series	•Pac-Man		9,000	Green Greens	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chef Kawasaki) •Item: Food	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy becomes more powerful after eating •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Gourmet Race (Brawl)
441		Magneton	Pokémon Series	•Metal Pac-Man ×3 (50 HP)		2,200	Pokémon Stadium 2 (Electric type)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy is metal	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
444		Electrode	Pokémon Series	•Pac-Man		3,600	Saffron City	•Bob-omb Festival •Item: Exploding Types	•Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
725		Lurchthorn	Kid Icarus Series	•Pac-Man Team ×6		1,800	Reset Bomb Forest (forest)	•Item: Super Scope	•The enemy is easily distracted by items •The enemy starts the battle with a Super Scope •Defeat an army of fighters	Wrath of the Reset Bomb	Lurchthorn's segments
821		Mockiwi	Pikmin Series	•Giant Pac-Man (100 HP) •Ally: Olimar (50 HP)		1,500	Garden of Hope	N/A	•Join forces with a CPU ally •Stamina battle •The enemy is giant	Over Wintry Mountains
875		Mettaur	Mega Man Series	•Pac-Man (120 HP)		1,800	Wrecking Crew	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy shields often •The enemy doesn't like to jump	Cut Man Stage
950		Bonus Fruit	PAC-MAN Series	•Pac-Man ×2		2,100	Pac-Land (Ω form)	N/A	•Timed battle (0:20) •The enemy favors neutral specials	PAC-MAN	Pac-Man
1,039		Bisk	Splatoon Series	•Pac-Man		1,700	Saffron City	•Move Speed ↑	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •The enemy has increased move speed after a little while	Endolphin Surge
1,110		Bytans	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Pac-Man Team ×4		1,800	Kongo Falls (Ω form)	•Item: Balls	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Step: The Plain
1,121		Bubbles	Clu Clu Land Series	•Pac-Man		1,800	75m (Battlefield form)	•Item: Unira	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Clu Clu Land
1,183		Moe	The Legendary Starfy Series	•Pac-Man		1,600	Tortimer Island	N/A	•The enemy shields often •The enemy's shield has extra durability	Tortimer Island Medley
1,208		Telly	Chibi-Robo! Series	•Tiny Pac-Man		3,700	Living Room	•Item: Throwing Types	•The enemy is easily distracted by items •The enemy falls slowly •The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt	Noisy Notebook
1,224		Kurikin	Kurikin Nano Island Story	•Pac-Man ×4		1,400	Hanenbow	•Tiny •Item: Unira	•All fighters are tiny •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Electroplankton (Original)
1,249		Zip	FlingSmash	•Pac-Man		2,200	Golden Plains	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp) •Hazard: Low Gravity	•Gravity is reduced after a little while •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Mole Patrol
1,286		Clip & Snip	Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! Series	•Pac-Man •Kirby		3,600	PictoChat 2	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge	Noisy Notebook	Clip
1,292		Boss Galaga	Galaga Series	•Tiny Pac-Man Team ×5		3,400	Lylat Cruise (Battlefield form)	•Item: Boss Galaga	•Items will be pulled toward the enemy •The enemy is easily distracted by items •Defeat an army of fighters	Galaga Medley	Galaga

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
690		Ball	Game & Watch Series	•Mr. Game & Watch •Pac-Man •Jigglypuff •Kirby		3,900	Flat Zone X (hazards off)	•Item: Balls	•The enemy favors grabs and throws •The enemy's throwing-type items have increased power	Flat Zone 2	Ball
948		Ghosts	PAC-MAN Series	•Kirby •Jigglypuff •Squirtle •Pac-Man		3,500	Pac-Land (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Ghosts)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	PAC-MAN	Clyde
1,427		King Olly	Paper Mario Series	•Toon Link •Giant Metal Pac-Man		9,700	Princess Peach's Castle (Ω form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors air attacks •The enemy is metal	Attack and Run!	Stapler

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Pac-Man's fighter card.

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  Pac-Man's unlock notice.

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  Idling on 3D Land.

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  Using Power Pellet on Wii Fit Trainer on Super Mario Maker.

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  Throwing a melon on Mushroomy Kingdom.

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  Using his down smash on Yoshi on Big Blue.

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  Dodging Mr. Game & Watch's Chef on Tortimer Island.

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  Alongside a tiny Olimar on Distant Planet.

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  Getting hit by Link's Spin Attack on Spirit Train.

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  Alongside Olimar, Mario, and Sonic on Gaur Plain.

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  Air dodging on Green Greens.

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  Using his forward smash on Kalos Pokémon League.

Trivia

• Pac-Man's stock icon, alongside that of the 3 different Mii Fighter types, is among the few ones that do not depict the fighter's head. Instead, it takes on the look of Pac-Man's original arcade sprite, which also served as a life-counter in the original Pac-Man.
  • Instead of possessing recolored sections of his stock icon for his alternate costumes, Pac-Man's alternate costumes are indicated by a colored tubular line underneath his stock icon. The line appears similar to the wall-sections from the original Pac-Man.
• Pac-Man is unlockable in Kirby's Classic Mode column, likely in reference to how they are spherical, easygoing protagonists who are notable primarily for eating antagonists and possessing an extreme appetite.
  • Alongside Jigglypuff and Squirtle, both fighters appear in the "Ghosts" spirit battle; Kirby represents Blinky, Jigglypuff represents Pinky, Squirtle represents Inky, and Pac-Man himself represents Clyde.
  • In addition, Mr. Game & Watch is another fighter to appear in one of the spirit battles where it involves ghosts from the Pac-Man series. In this case, Mr. Game & Watch (using his blue alternate costume) represents TURN-TO-BLUE.
  • Pac-Man is the only third-party character in Kirby's unlock column.
• In Pac-Man's showcase video, it shows that Fire Hydrant's bursts of water can be punched out of the air. However, this cannot be achieved in the released version of Ultimate.
  • On the same video, it also shows that attacking the trampoline from Pac-Jump would turn it green, and it would also put opponents into a helpless state upon jumping on it (regardless of the current level). These also cannot be achieved in the released version of Ultimate.
• Pac-Man is the only fighter whose Classic Mode route features a Round that does not play any music.
• If Pac-Man performs his Final Smash during a match and wins the match, and if his "up" victory pose plays, the 2D "wedge" Pac-Man sprite will not appear, causing Pac-Man's anthropomorphic model to appear out of thin air.
• Oddly enough, the initial animation of his Final Smash (Super Pac-Man) in Ultimate no longer depicts Pac-Man holding the Power Pellet or Super Pellet, as opposed to how it was in SSB4, although he still has the animation of him eating them from the latter, appearing as he is only eating air in Ultimate before transforming into Super Pac-Man.
• The damage output of Pac-Man's forward aerial (7.65%) is a subtle Easter egg. The number "765" can be pronounced in Japanese as "na-mu-ko"; this particular number, known as a goroawase number, commonly makes an appearance in Namco games and is even referenced through Pac-Man's Final Smash.
• Pac-Man, Samus, Dark Samus, and Mr. Game & Watch are the only fighters who do not emit red-flashing eyes in the spirit battle previews in World of Light.
• Humorously, the 3D model used for Pac-Man's "wedge" form is labeled internally as "pizzapacman".
• Pac-Man and Ryu are the only third-party fighters in the base version of Ultimate that do not appear in any of the game's CGI trailers.
• Despite also debuting on the Nintendo Entertainment System or appearing at least once on the NES, Peach, Bowser, Zelda, Palutena, Wario, Ridley, Koopalings, Daisy and Meta Knight do not appear in Pac-Man's Classic Mode route.