Pac-Man (SSB4)

Pac-Man in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Pac-Man
Other playable appearance	in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Super Pac-Man
Tier	F (45)

“	PAC-MAN Hungers for Battle!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Pac-Man (パックマン, Pakkuman), stylized in-game as PAC-MAN, is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was revealed on June 10th, 2014 during the E3 2014 Super Smash Bros. roundtable, alongside the Mii Fighters. Pac-Man is one of six third-party characters in SSB4, alongside Capcom's Mega Man and Ryu, Sega's Sonic and Bayonetta, and Square Enix's Cloud. Although Pac-Man has been voiced by numerous actors in the past, Pac-Man lacks a voice actor in this game, and instead emits 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, 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 is only depicted in it occasionally, such as for his down tilt and his side taunt. Instead, he is mostly depicted 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 54 on the tier list, placing him at the top of the F tier. This renders him as both the highest-ranking low-tier and the lowest-ranking third-party character in the game. Pac-Man's strengths lie in his unique item-oriented playstyle, which involves a capable camping and projectile-zoning game via the usage of Bonus Fruit for a range of items, along with Pac-Jump and Fire Hydrant for stage control. Bonus Fruit is notable for providing different projectiles with distinguishing properties, with Bell being the most effective one as it confirms into KOs. Fire Hydrant 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. These traits synchronize well with Pac-Man's regular moveset, 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 fantastic recovery thanks to Power Pellet and Pac-Jump covering considerable distances, both of which are further supplemented by his ability to wall jump.

However, Pac-Man suffers from numerous flaws. His mediocre mobility and poor range leaves him vulnerable to speed demons and characters with high disjoints, such as Sonic and Cloud, respectively. The aforementioned low base knockback of his moveset also drastically hinders his ability to KO effectively, which is further compounded by his strongest attacks suffering from 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 gimping his recovery. This, in turn, gives Pac-Man especially disadvantageous matchups against characters with projectile-nullifying abilities like Fox, Mario, but most notoriously, Villager and Rosalina & Luma.

Overall, Pac-Man excels at mindgames 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. Prior to switching to Mewtwo, Abadango achieved several impressive placings at both the regional and national levels, while Koolaid (prior to switching to Sheik), Ginko, Sinji, Tea, and Zage have each managed to achieve decent results at the regional and national levels, as well as utilizing his edge-trapping abilities and shield-breaking capabilities to devastating effect.

Attributes

Pac-Man is a middleweight whose attributes slightly deviate from the typicality of his weight class. Although his air speed is slightly above average and his air acceleration and jumping height are above average, his walking and dashing speeds are slightly below average, while his falling speed, gravity, and traction are each below average. As a result, these traits make him a rather floaty and relatively speedy character for a middleweight, albeit not to the degree of Luigi 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 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 versatile in multiple applications, such as spacing, combo and edgeguarding. In addition, some of these projectiles also possess surprisingly early KO potential as a method to overcome the sluggishness and low ranges of his smash attacks, 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. In conjunction with extreme technical skill, Bonus Fruit can even have utility for footstool jump-initiated zero-to-death combos, making Pac-Man one of the few characters with this ability in no-item scenarios.

Fire Hydrant, when performed in the air, 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 shots of water possessing a 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 sluggish, but potent and chargeable KO option in Power Pellet, which functions both as a great recovery and an option for mindgames, 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 bounced off, 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, and can function as a great out of shield option with proper usage.

Outside of his special moveset, Pac-Man boasts a superb combo game. Though his grounded moveset has rather sub-par power with slight ending lag, Pac-Man's neutral attack and tilt attacks are quick. 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. His up tilt can chain into itself at low percentages and up aerials while KOing at higher precents, while his down tilt can reliably combo into his dash attack. The latter hits multiple times with essentially the lack of ending lag and allows Pac-Man to follow up with almost any grounded move, such as his safe and quick neutral 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.

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 due to its strong knockback. Due to its low trajectory, it can be used to set up for a lock at medium percents. Due to its low power, 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 airs, making it a reliable burst approaching option. Back aerial is Pac-Man's strongest aerial, making it a reliable KO move at high precents. 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 the least effective among Pac-Man's aerials, but is useful for edgeguarding or as a combo finisher offstage, while the final hit's moderate knockback allows it to KO at higher precents near the blast lines.

While his grab game is among the worst across the entire cast, it is not fundamentally useless. It has some certain perks; his grabs have long ranges. His pummel is tied with Mario's pummel as the second most-damaging pummel in the game. However, using it at lower percents is generally unoptimal, as the opponent can easily break out of Pac-Man's grab after only a single pummel due to its moderate sluggishness. However, it can be useful for damage-racking against opponents at medium/higher percents. Forward throw's low knockback allows it to lead into possible combo set-ups with Bonus Fruit. Back throw is a reasonably strong KO option near the edge, although it is generally inferior to Mario and Luigi's similar back throws due to its sub-par knockback growth in comparison. In addition, it lacks collateral hitboxes and its deceptive ending lag prevents reliable follow-ups. His up throw is the weakest of Pac-Man's throws damage-wise, but its rather low ending lag allows to be a decent combo starter at lower precents. If Pac-Man is pushed upwards by the Fire Hydrant's water, it can combo into an up aerial for a KO combo. It can also have utility as a "last resort" KO option at higher precents with high levels of rage. Finally, down throw is Pac-Man's most useful throw, leading into most notably 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/medium percentages. However, his grab game is almost heavily offset by a number of prominent setbacks: his grabs, while long-ranged, carry extremely high risk due to their considerable lag and notoriously awkward hitboxes, with only the starting animation possessing three separate grabbboxes that last for minimum periods. This makes it far riskier to make usage of his grabs for punishes compared to other characters. This is further burdened by his unimpressive throws, due to their limited utility, lack of combo ability or reliable follow-up potential (aside from up and down throw) and KO potential; his strongest throw (back throw) only KOs reliably at very high precents near the ledge.

Alongside the setbacks to his grab game, Pac-Man suffers from several exploitable flaws. One of his biggest issues includes an 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 his clean neutral aerial and clean back aerial possess actual KO potential, while forward tilt and up tilt can KO at very high precentages. This, in turn, is further compounded by their reliability being most apparent at high percentages and/or while near the horizontal blast lines. His primary KO options, his smash attacks, can KO near the edge easily and early 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 turned 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. While his back throw and up throw are decent KO options as well, it requires grabbing the opponent first; this tends to be a risky challenge, due to Pac-Man's slow and misleading grab. Additionally, Pac-Man's mediocre range and awkward hitboxes can make landing hits or spacing difficult against opponents with high disjoints (especially swordfighters), Cloud and Link. His sub-par overall mobility can also make it difficult to chase down opponents, create space and/or cycle through Bonus Fruit, especially against rushdown-oriented characters, such as Fox and Captain Falcon.

Despite their perks, all of Pac-Man's special moves can be 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 make usage his own Bonus Fruit against him. This significantly hinders Pac-Man's matchups against characters who are able to reflect projectiles, with a pair of particularly notable examples: Villager can Pocket Bonus Fruit for long periods and thus strongly hinder his offense, whereas Rosalina & Luma can perform Gravitational Pull to completely nullify both of his projectiles and render him absolutely helpless at zoning.

Fire Hydrant, another projectile, 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 a stock if he is careless. Despite being a powerful KOing option, Power Pellet is very predictable and can be interrupted by any attack, which drops a healing Power Pellet that can be eaten by the opponent, and Pac-Jump, though being an excellent vertical recovery, can also be bounced by opponents for gimping Pac-Man's own recovery. Due to these possibilities, a professional Pac-Man player must guard 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 customized moves. Freaky Fruit deals less damage, but each fruit and object have their own erratic pattern and thus can provide even greater mix-ups. Lazy Fruit is slower and deals less damage, but the fruits and objects have longer durations, which enables them to be usable more than once and provide different mix-ups. Distant Power Pellet has much more manueverability, which allows Pac-Man to mix up his recovery more easily at the cost of inflicting less damage and knockback. Enticing Power Pellet travels less distance, but produces a windbox which can be used to gimp recovering opponents while possessing much more power. Power Pac-Jump functions like a traditional recovery in that it only provides a single jump, but it immediately launches Pac-Man at a considerable height and enables him to hit multiple times while ascending, making it suitable for offensive playstyles. Meteor Trampoline decreases in terms of 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, requires less damage to launch, and the hydrant itself inflicts more damage. Finally, Dire Hydrant explodes when it touches a surface, opponent, or after a set distance, which makes it less risky for usage 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 have utility 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.

Update history

Pac-Man has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in game updates, but was slightly nerfed overall. Update 1.0.4 has brought Pac-Man's greatest nerfs: this update ncreased the ending lag to his up smash and lowered the damage output of Bonus Fruit's Galaxian. Initially, the former move was noticeably more effective in the initial release of the game, as Pac-Man's up smash had much less ending lag. This only gave it much more safety, but it also made it a reliable combo tool at lower percents. Following this update, the increased ending lag on Pac-Man's up smash greatly hindered the move, as it became more punishable and it overall has less utility. However, Fire Hydrant and Power Pellet had their durability and healing output slightly increased, respectively, necessitating players using them even more wisely than before, lest the opponent capitalizes on using their effects to their own advantage.

The changes to shielding mechanics brought about by 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 enable Pac-Man to utilize some new options for pressuring shields through combinations of back aerial, Bonus Fruit's key, and Fire Hydrant, which gave him access to his shield-breaking capabilities. Lastly, update 1.1.5 marginally increased the knockback of his smash attacks and back aerial, which slightly improved his KO potential.

Overall, Pac-Man's potency has been worsened relative to the cast compared to release due to the severity of his nerfs, especially in update 1.0.4, and his flaws becoming more and more exploitable as the metagame progressed. Despite his received buffs and his newfound shield-breaking capabilities brought by the changes to shielding mechanics since update 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, a majority of his buffs were mostly quality-to-life improvements and only improved his potency marginally at best. As such, Pac-Man fares noticeably worse by the end of SSB4's development in comparison to the initial release of Smash for Wii U.

1.0.1

• The pause menu glitch where Pac-Man would continuously move in a distorted direction has been fixed.

1.0.4

• Up smash's ending lag increased: frame 38 → 50.
• Bonus Fruit's Galaxian deals less damage: 11% → 9%.
• Power Pellet heals more damage: 1% → 2%.
• Fire Hydrant takes more damage to be launched: 12% → 13%.

1.0.6

• Up and down-angled forward tilt have more startup lag (frame 4 → 5), now matching the non-angled version.
• Pac-Jump can no longer be Pocketed.

1.1.0

• Fixed a glitch where Pac-Jump could send opponents through the stage.
• The formerly removed glitch where Pac-Man could send Fire Hydrant through stages has returned. This is the first known case of a removed glitch returning to the game.

1.1.1

• Fixed reintroduced glitch where Pac-Man could send Fire Hydrant through stages.

1.1.5

• Forward smash has more knockback scaling (97 (clean)/100 (late) → 99/102).
• Up smash's second hit has more knockback scaling (95 (clean)/90 (late) → 97/92).
• Down smash has more knockback scaling (84 (clean)/90 (late) → 86/92).
• Back aerial's clean hit has more knockback scaling (98 → 100).

Moveset

• Pac-Man can crawl and wall jump. However, Pac-Man's crawl is generally impractical because of his crouch's tall height.

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	A one-two combo followed by a bicycle kick. It has decent range for a neutral attack and thanks to its very minimal start-up lag, it is useful as an anti-pressure option as a follow-up from his dash attack. While the hitbox on Pac-Man's arm can lock opponents on the first and second hits, there are few setups into it, but it is otherwise practically impossible to setup into it. The third hit also has noticeable ending lag for a neutral attack of its kind.
			2%
			4%
Forward tilt			8%	A side kick. It can be angled, being capable of jab resetting at low percentages if angled down. It has quick startup lag, but has rather noticeable ending lag. It is also useful for spacing beginning at 45%. Its minimal base knockback and very high knockback growth allows it to KO middleweights at around 160% by the edge of Final Destination, but is unsafe on shield and on hit at low percentages.
Up tilt			7%	An upward-arcing headbutt. It can combo into itself from 0% to low percentages, into back aerial at low percentages, and into neutral and up aerials from low to medium percentages. It can KO middleweights at around 180% on Final Destination. It has similar usefulness to other up tilts, such as Mario's and Fox's, being able to combo into itself at lower percents and into certain aerials at higher percents. It also renders Pac-Man's head intangible throughout its hitbox's duration, slghtly giving it a window of safety. However, its hitbox is somewhat misleading because of it following the trail emitted by its animation, giving it a disadvantageous blind spot in front of Pac-Man at his feet, meaning it is possible to miss a small or crouching character, such as Pikachu and Mr. Game & Watch, respectively.
Down tilt			6%	Transforms into his "wedge" form and chomps below himself at a diagonal angle. It has deceptive range, thanks to Pac-Man chomping forward before retreating, which makes it useful for spacing. Using it repeatedly also allows Pac-Man to pseudo-crawl. However, its hitbox has a very short duration. The move can be performed in quick succession due to its interruptibility. At lower percents, the move can be used to set up for a lock.
Dash attack			2% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3)	Transforms into his "wedge" form and chomps thrice while sliding forward, with the last chomp launching the opponent. 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 SSB4 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.
Forward smash			16% (clean ghost), 15% (clean arm), 9% (late)	Unleashes Blinky, the red ghost, forward to slam into the opponent. It is Pac-Man's strongest smash attack, as its clean hit KOs middleweights at 109% while near the edge of Final Destination, and has disjointed range. Like Pac-Man's other two smash attacks, it is able to nullify oncoming projectiles. However, it has very high start-up and ending lag, as well as a late hitbox (active right before Blinky disappears) that is drastically weaker. As such, it is considered very unsafe to use, unless the opponent has been stunned or their shield has been broken.
Up smash			3% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2 clean), 8% (hit 2 late)	Unleashes Inky, the blue ghost, overhead to slam into the opponent. It has a weak initial hitbox that connects the opponent into a stronger second hitbox, the latter of which KOs middleweights at 129% on Final Destination when clean. Like all of Pac-Man's other smash attacks, it is able to nullify oncoming projectiles. It also has the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Pac-Man's smash attacks, giving it slightly more safety for usage compared to Pac-Man's other smash attacks, as well as disjointed range. However, it has noticeable start-up and ending lag, as well as a significantly weaker late hitbox, making it easy to punish. Despite possessing disjointed vertical range, it almost lacks horizontal range, to the point that it pratically requires Pac-Man himself to almost touch a grounded opponent.
Down smash			13% (clean), 7% (late)	Unleashes Pinky and Clyde, the piink and orange ghosts, respectively, on both sides to slam into the opponent. It has disjointed range and can punish rolls, while its clean hitboxes are semi-spikes that are strong enough to KO middleweights at 135% while near the center of Final Destination. However, it has the lowest damage output among all of Pac-Man's smash attacks, and is burdened with considerable start-up and ending lag, and significantly weaker late hitboxes, making it unsafe for usage outside of covering options out of a ledge and reading rolls. While it is the weakest of Pac-Man's smash attacks, it does have considerable range on either side of him. Like his other two smash attacks, it is able to nullify any oncoming projectiles.
Neutral aerial			10% (clean), 6% (mid), 3% (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. It also has the lowest amount of landing lag out of his aerials. In addition to being a an extremely useful combo breaker, its clean hitbox's respectable damage output and very high knockback growth enable it to function as a KO option, as it KOs middleweights at 128% while near the left/right blast lines. Due to its low trajectory, it can be used to set up for a lock at medium percents.
Forward aerial			5.3%	A roundhouse kick. It has very minimal start-up and ending lag, being two frames faster in start-up and only two frames longer in ending lag in comparison to Luigi's forward aerial. When coupled with its almost nonexistent base knockback, it is useful for damage-racking and can lock and lead into a wall of pain at low percentages in conjunction with Pac-Man's high aerial mobility, although the latter requires Pac-Man to perform it just before landing or with the assistance of platforms. It easily combos into itself, and can lead into a neutral aerial as a KO or gimping option offstage. Thanks to Pac-Man's above-average air acceleration, this move is also a useful spacing and approaching option despite its minimal power and low range, as he can retreat while using it. Due to its low knockback, it is Pac-Man's most reliable move for locking opponents. In addition, it serves as a quick combo tool, potentially into KO moves. Its speed is comparable to that of Sheik and Diddy Kong's, and can auto-cancel and be performed twice out of a short hop. While the move does have a small chance of tripping opponents, the odds are so low that it is considered rare.
Back aerial			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 124% while near the edge of Final Destination. Despite its power, it is quite quick, as it hits on frame 9. It also has properties of a sex kick, like his neutral aerial. It is able to auto-cancel off of a short hop, making it an effective spacing tool. However, it has the highest amount of landing lag out of his aerials, making it punishable if not auto-canceled. In addition, it has rather mediocre power and damage output for an aerial attack of its kind.
Up aerial			10%	A bicycle kick. 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. It also causes Pac-Man to float slightly, allowing it to connect even if the move is initiated right before landing. 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. Like up tilt, its hitbox is somewhat misleading because of it following the trail emitted by its animation, which can cause it to miss even if Pac-Man's leg touches an opponent. Originates from Pac-Man's flip kick from Pac-Man World 2.
Down aerial			1.5% (hits 1-3), 6% (hit 4)	A series of stomps, similar to Lucas' down aerial, although it lacks the ability to meteor smash. Although it has minimal start-up lag and deals the second-highest damage among all of Pac-Man's aerials if all hits connect, it is Pac-Man's overall least effective aerial attack, due to its initial hits not consistently trapping the opponent and connecting with each other, while the final hit only deals average knockback, KOing middleweights starting at around 183% with rage near the edge of Final Destination. However, the final hit has massive base knockback, which allows it to KO under 60% if close to the left/right blast lines. It also has the second-highest amount of landing lag out of Pac-Man's aerials. However, it is useful for edgeguarding and finishing combos offstage, being able to KO early after a pair of forward aerials. As with up aerial, it causes Pac-Man to float slightly, although the effect is much more subtle.
Grab			—	Emits Boss Galaga's tractor beam from his outstretched palm. While it has relatively long range, it consists of a series of three misleading hitboxes that have intermittent durations with short delays in between with no grabboxes when the beam extends fully and retreats. This, along with its significant start-up and ending lag, makes it notoriously punishable and often considered the worst grab in the game.
Pummel			3.25%	A headbutt. Moderately slow, but tied with Mario's pummel as the second-most damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw			6%	Reels back and shoves the opponent forward. Due to its low damage output, minimal base knockback and below-average knockback growth, it is one of the weakest throws of all kinds in the game. However, it can potentially act as a combo set-up into Bonus Fruit.
Back throw			11%	A giant swing. It is Pac-Man's most damaging throw and his only throw with KO potential, as it starts KOing middleweights at around 142% while near the edge of Final Destination. However, its drastically high ending lag prevents reliable followups, and the spins lack collateral hitboxes, unlike other comparable back throws, such as Mario, Luigi and Wario.
Up throw			5%	Hurls the opponent straight upwards. It deals the least damage out of Pac-Man's throws, but this is compensated by possessing decent combo potential, following up into an up aerial or neutral aerial at 0% to low precents. If Pac-Man is pushed upwards by the Fire Hydrant's water, it can combo into an up aerial for a KO. It is still useful as a late KO option under 200% with rage.
Down throw			1.5% (hits 1-3), 6% (throw)	Pins the opponent to the ground and transforms into his "wedge" form to chomp them three times, with the last chomp launching them. It is a useful combo starter, especially into Bonus Fruit's key at 0% and up to medium percentages, although it can also combo into his dash attack or Power Pellet at low percentages. At low to medium percentages, if the opponent fails to tech the down throw, Pac-Man can also lock them with a short hopped forward aerial and thus perform another set-up. If Pac-Man is being pushed by the Fire Hydrant's water, it can true combo into a forward or neutral aerial, though this can be difficult to pull off.
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 in front of himself, then behind himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a legsweep while climbing up. It has deceptively long range for an edge attack.
Neutral special	Default	Bonus Fruit	4% (cherry), 6% (strawberry), 8% (orange), 9% (apple), 12% (melon), 9% (Galaxian), 8% (bell), 15% (key)	Holds out his hand and cycles through the 8 collectable fruit and items in the Pac-Man series. Each fruit and object has distinct properties, and is associated with a distinct level of charge. It takes 2.37 seconds (specifically 142 frames) to fully charge, and Pac-Man can either throw the charged fruit/object if the special button is pressed once, or continue charging if the button is held down. 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 133% while near the center of Final Destination. Outside of this, Bonus Fruit is useful for intricate zero-to-death combos that are initiated by repeatedly using jab resets and footstool jumps on an opponent while dropping any of its fruits/objects. Capable of assisting Pac-Man's impressive recovery if immediately thrown.
	Custom 1	Freaky Fruit	2% (cherry), 4% (strawberry), 2% (orange), 9% (apple), 13% (melon), 7% (Galaxian), 6% (bell), 10% (key)	Each fruit/object inflicts less damage, but possesses more erratic behavior, such as the key instantly disappearing at the expense of meteor smashing aerial opponents instead of launching them. It also takes a much longer period to cycle past the orange, and fruits disappear upon hitting a hitbox, with the exception of the Galaxian and Bell. The visual effect surrounding the fruit/object during the cycle is orange instead of yellow.
	Custom 2	Lazy Fruit	2% (cherry), 5% (strawberry), 8% (orange), 9% (apple), 12% (melon), 3% (Galaxian), 8%/10% (bell), 10% (key)	Each fruit/object possesses much slower mobility and inflicts less damage, but takes longer to disappear. It also takes longer to cycle past the orange. The visual effect surrounding the fruit/object during the cycle is green instead of yellow.
Side special	Default	Power Pellet	10% (start-up), 4% (dash), 12% (ending), 17% (combined hit)	Extends 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 recovery. It also grants super armor after Pac-Man eats the Power Pellet, and 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 suffers from a lengthy tumbling animation that can cause him to self-destruct or lead himself into punishes, but his fantastic recovery considerably offsets that.
	Custom 1	Distant Power Pellet	10% (start-up), 1% (initial dash), 2% (dash), 6% (ending)	The trail deploys faster, consists of eight Pac-Dots, and grants drastically improved maneuverability. However, it overall sacrifices power.
	Custom 2	Enticing Power Pellet	4% (dash), 15% (ending, full charge)	The final hit boasts more power and the Power Pellet pulls opponents towards it, but the trail takes much longer to deploy and consists of two Pac-Dots.
Up special	Default	Pac-Jump	7% (clean), 6% (mid), 5% (late)	Transforms into his "wedge" form and produces 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. 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. In Team Battles, it is notable for being potentially game-breaking, as two Pac-Men could infinitely bounce off each other's trampolines past the upper blast line, comparatively like the Luigi Ladder. The trampoline originates from Mappy.
	Custom 1	Power Pac-Jump	1.5% (loop), 3% (last)	Functions like a traditional recovery, as it launches at a greater height than the first jump of Pac-Jump and allows Pac-Man to hit multiple times while ascending, but the trampoline vanishes immediately.
	Custom 2	Meteor Trampoline	3% (jump), 4%/5% (meteor)	Subsequent jumps grant less height instead of more height, while the fourth jump will bury grounded opponents upon bouncing on the trampoline and meteor smash aerial opponents upon making contaact with it. There is a weak meteor smashing hitbox below the trampoline on start-up. However, it overall deals less damage.
Down special	Default	Fire Hydrant	9% (drop), 13% (flying), 10% (tumbling), — (water)	Drops 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. If the hydrant receives 13% or more, it will be launched (possessing the angle and speed of the move that launched it) and become the property of the character that dealt the tumbling blow. Upon receiving up to 13% or more, it is launched as a powerful projectile that travels in the trajectory of the move that launched it. The launched hydrant will damage opponents by ramming into them, or potentially Pac-Man himself if it is sent flying by an opponent. While flying, it is powerful enough to KO middleweights at 116% while near the edge of Final Destination. 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.
	Custom 1	On-Fire Hydrant	6% (drop), 15% (flying), 4%/5%/6% (tumbling), 6%/4% (fireballs)	The fire hydrant shoots fireballs instead of water, which can harm opponents and Pac-Man himself. The flames lack much distance compared to the water, but are shot three times instead of twice. The hydrant itself deals more damage at the expense of dealing less knockback, and requires less damage to be launched compared to the original Fire Hydrant.
	Custom 2	Dire Hydrant	9% (drop)	The fire hydrant explodes on impact with an opponent, surface, or after a set distance. The explosion does not harm Pac-Man, but it deals low knockback and lacks Fire Hydrant's original versatility. Pac-Man jumps higher compared to the other down specials upon dropping the fire hydrant, which gives him a method to dodge projectiles if timed correctly.
Final Smash		Super Pac-Man	15% (per hit)	Simultaneously eats a Power Pellet and a Super Pellet, transforming into a drastically enlarged version of his 2D "wedge" form. Upon transforming, Pac-Man can controllably move in the four directions and attempt to chomp his opponents, which deals damage and moderate knockback. Running into opponents chomps them, dealing knockback and turning them into ghost-eyes, comparatively like consumed ghosts in Pac-Man. It is also unique in that, unlike other mobile Final Smashes, it allows Pac-Man to wrap around the screen if he moves off-screen, making it very effective at edge-guarding. After Super Pac-Man finishes its maximum period, Pac-Man will revert back to his traditional 3D appearance.

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	1.6 – Initial dash 1.52 – Run	1.045	0.045	0.015	1.04	0.01 – Base 0.07 – Additional	0.072	1.35 – Base 2.16 – Fast-fall	5	34.099998 - Base 16.477137 - Short hop	34.099998

Announcer call

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• 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.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Performs the "Namco Roulette", which produces sprites of classic items, characters and antagonists compsed by Namco, comparatively like Bonus Fruit. It is the only taunt in the game with variable visual and sound effects.
• Side taunt: Transforms into his "wedge" form and chomps to the right and left at varying intervals while emitting his iconic chomping sound, before reverting to his anthropomorphic form.
• Down taunt: Lays down while Blinky, Pinky, and musical notes hover over him in a circle while an arrangement of the first five notes of the intermission theme from Pac-Man plays.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Scratches his head in a questionable manner.
• Looks at the screen and winks while giving a thumbs-up, comparatively to his pose in his official artwork.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Pac-Man!	Go! Go! Pac-Man!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

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

• Chases a vulnerable ghost in his "wedge" form, then shifts to his anthropomorphic form and poses akimbo.
• 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.
• Drops from the sky in his anthropomorphic form and lands while a sign displaying "7650" pops up from the ground, before striking his signature winking and thumbs-up pose. This is based on Pac-Land, with "765" being Japanese wordplay on "Namco."

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Pac-Man	1132	1131	1122	1121	2132
	2131	2122	3131	3132	3121

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Pac-Man players (SSB4)

•  Abadango - The best Pac-Man player in the world in the early metagame, placing highly at major such as 4th at EVO 2015 and 17th at Umebura F.A.T.. He has since dropped Pac-Man for other characters.
•  Ginko - One of the best Pac-Man players in Japan, co-maining Pac-Man alongside Mewtwo and notably placing 13th at Umebura F.A.T. and 33rd at both Umebura S.A.T. and Umebura Japan Major 2017.
•  Sinji - The best Pac-Man player of all-time and the only solo Pac-Man player ranked on the PGR 100, where he was ranked 85th. He regularly placed between 17th and 33rd at majors between 2017 and 2018.
•  Tea - One of the best Pac-Man players in 2018 who gained more recognition at a national level after placing 2nd at SoCal Regionals 2018 defeating Raito and falln as well as 3rd at Umebura Smash 4 Final, the latter being the highest placement for a Pac-Man player at a major.

Tier placement and history

During the initial release of SSB4, opinions on Pac-Man's viability were high. His potential was packaged in various examples, including the ability for massive amounts of stage control with Fire Hydrant, spacing and combo mix-ups with Bonus Fruit, and a long-distanced and extendable recovery with Power Pellet and Pac-Jump. Along with those, Pac-Man could also pull off advanced set-ups off of footstools in a competitive environment where items could only be produced by a few characters, such as Diddy Kong and Peach. Because of this, most of the community thought that he could be a very viable character with the potential to become a serious top-level threaat when mastered, thanks to players such as Abadango, Ginko, and Tea showcasing these strengths in competitive play during the early metagame.

However, Pac-Man's flaws would quickly become more apparent and, in a turn for the worse, more significant than most would think. Most of the community found out that Pac-Man had a significantly high learning curve, sub-par damage output relative to the cast, and that his special moves were double-edged swords due to being susceptible to reflection against him. He also possessed lackluster fundamental advantages as well, such as his laggy smash attacks, unimpressive KO potential due to his moveset's overall low base knockback, and an abysmal grab game. Lastly, his reliance on projectiles gives him infamously difficult matchups against characters that are capable of negating them, such as Rosalina & Luma and Villager, both of whom are common at high-level play. Altogether, these aspects would lead to several players to believe that Pac-Man was not as viable as originally thought, and would culminate with him being ranked 29th on the first 4BR tier list.

Following this, with Abadango switching to Mewtwo, Koolaid switching to Sheik upon his return from an indefinite hiatus, and the rest of his playerbase simply not being as consistent as they previously were, Pac-Man's viability underwent a noticeable decline. He would drop to 38th on the second tier list, which saw him become the 2nd highest-ranked low-tier character after Mr. Game & Watch. Pac-Man would then drop to 46th on the third and current tier list; in addition to being tied with Ness' for the largest drop between the second and third tier lists, Pac-Man's tier drop was the largest overall tier drop between lists. 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. Sinji notably became a consistent threat at majors in 2017, which prevented Pac-Man from dropping further, eventually leading to a small rise to 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 SoCal Regionals 2018 and 3rd at Umebura Smash 4 Final. Due to these positive developments, several players began arguing that Pac-Man was better than previously perceived. In turn, there has been some debate within the community over whether Pac-Man should be ranked higher or even lower than his current position, as some within the community (most notably ESAM and Mr. R) rank him as one of the worst characters in the game, while players have pointed out Sinji's consistency and good results, such as 25th and 17th placings at Super Smash Con 2017 and GENESIS 5, respectively, although with the end of the game's competitive lifespan in 2018, Pac-Man's true viability remains a mystery.

Trophies

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

PAC-MAN

The yellow, circular hero of the game PAC-MAN, which is recognized as the "Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game" by Guinness World Records. In Smash Bros., he uses several moves inspired by the original PAC-MAN. Wakawaka your foes by charging up the Power Pellet move and aiming at them.

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980)

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984)

The yellow, circular hero of the game PAC-MAN, which is recognised as the "Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game" by Guinness World Records. In this game, some of his attacks are based on the original PAC-MAN. Charge up his Power Pellet move, then aim it right at an opponent to wakawaka them extra hard.

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980 (JP))

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984 (JP))

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

PAC-MAN (Alt.)

PAC-MAN's Fire Hydrant down special pushes opponents away with blasts of water. You can drop the hydrant on top of your opponents to damage them, but they can also attack it to damage you if you're standing on it! His Pac-Jump up special spawns a trampoline he can jump on three times—the third jump is especially high!

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980)

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984)

PAC-MAN's Fire Hydrant down special pushes opponents away with blasts of water. You can drop the hydrant on top of your opponents to damage them, but they can also attack it and hit you with it to cause damage! His Pac-Jump up special spawns a trampoline he can jump on three times, and the third jump is especially high!

Arcade: PAC-MAN (1980 (JP))

Arcade: PAC-LAND (1984 (JP))

Super PAC-MAN trophy

SUPER PAC-MAN

Super PAC-MAN

PAC-MAN's Final Smash turns him into this huge form that appeared in SUPER PAC-MAN. In this form, PAC-MAN eats his foes to deal damage to them and reduce them to just a pair of eyes. He can move freely in all four directions, loop around the screen, and... obtain a score of up to 7,650 points!

PAC-MAN's Final Smash turns him into this huge form that first appeared in the arcade game also called Super PAC-MAN. In this form, PAC-MAN can eat his foes to deal damage to them and reduce them to just a pair of eyes. He can move freely in all four directions, loop around the screen, and...obtain a score of up to 7,650 points!

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• New Challengers 2: Pac-Man is one of the seven opponents fought in this event alongside Greninja, Palutena, Robin, Shulk, Dark Pit, and Mega Man.
• The Big 7650!: Pac-Man must use his Final Smash, Super Pac-Man, and land six hits with it within 15 seconds.
• The FINAL Final Battle: The player must defeat Pac-Man, Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man.
• Yellow Devils: As Mega Man, the player must defeat a giant Pac-Man, Pikachu, and the Yellow Devil.

Co-op Events

• A Fairy Nice Trip: Pac-Man and Link must survive on Pac-Land until the stage reaches Fairy Land as four Kirbys try to hinder the players' progress.
• Food Fight: A damaged Kirby and a damaged King Dedede must defeat Pac-Man, Wario, and Yoshi.
• Getting Healthy: Little Mac and Wii Fit Trainer must defeat Pac-Man and Kirby.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Pac-Man's splash art.

• 

  Pac-Man's amiibo.

• 

  Pac-Man's poster used on the official website.

• 

  Pac-Man alongside fellow third-party characters Sonic and Mega Man.

• 

  Pac-Man, Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man fighting on Battlefield.

• 

  Using his forward aerial against Zero Suit Samus' forward aerial.

• 

  Using Power Pellet.

• 

  Using his up taunt alongside Kirby.

• 

  Using Fire Hydrant on Sheik.

• 

  On Pac-Land, next to the Mother Fairy.

• 

  Using Super Pac-Man, his Final Smash.

• 

  Using his forward tilt on a Pooka in Smash Run.

• 

  Pac-Man and Mario taunting on Pac-Maze.

• 

  Pac-Man using Bonus Fruit.

• 

  Using his up taunt.

• 

  The various Namco-related sprites produced by Pac-Man's up taunt.

Trivia

Pac-Man's two different head icon styles.

• Pac-Man is the only character to have different head icons in both versions of SSB4. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Pac-Man's arm is exposed, showing whatever armband he is wearing if he has one. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Pac-Man is striking a thumbs up with his opposite hand.
  • Interestingly, each icon also represents one half of his pose in his official artwork.
  • Even though Pac-Man is winking in his official render, his head icon has both of his eyes open.
• Pac-Man makes a few references to his home series:
  • During several animations, he emits sound effects drawn from games such as Pac-Man, Pac-Land, Galaxian, Galaga, and Mappy instead of vocalizing.
    • When his token in StreetSmash is KO'd, the death sound effect from Pac-Man is played instead of being silent.
  • During his Final Smash, he can wrap around the screen like in Pac-Man and gain up to 7650 points, a reference to Namco's Goroawase number.
  • Several of his animations—such as his idle, walk, and jump—are based on Pac-Land. His alternate costumes also include the winged shoes power-up from the game.
  • The pose in his official artwork matches the pose in his Pac-Man World artwork.
  • His sleeping animation is a reference to a painting found in Pac-Man World 2.
• As noted within his trailer, Pac-Man is one of the two oldest characters among the cast. He and Mr. Game & Watch debuted in 1980, a year before Mario and Donkey Kong. However, Mr. Game & Watch debuted a month eariler than Pac-Man, which renders the former as the game's oldest fighter, while Pac-Man is the second-oldest.
• Pac-Man and the Mii Fighters are the only characters who do not show panicked facial expressions when drowning. In Pac-Man's case, he drowns while maintaining his grin.
• In an interview, Masahiro Sakurai said that he would have considered dropping Pac-Man from SSB4 if Bandai Namco had required the usage of his design from Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures.
• Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, and Villager are the only characters who have moves based on a series other than their own.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Pac-Man's alt. trophy shows him using Power Pellet, making it impossible to tell which alternate costume is being used, or if one is even being used at all. This makes him the only character with this distinction.
• Pac-Man is the only character to have a taunt that is different between both versions of Smash 4 as his Namco Roulette Taunt has exclusive sprites for both games.
• Pac-Man is the only third-party character in SSB4 that can crawl.
  • He is also the only third-party character in the game to lack a meteor smash as his down aerial.
• Pac-Man is one of only two third-party characters (the other being Mega Man) who do not speak or vocalize in-game, despite having been voiced in his own series.