Bonus Fruit
| Bonus Fruit | |
|---|---|
 Pac-Man holding a strawberry using Bonus Fruit in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. | |
| User | Pac-Man |
| Universe | Pac-Man |
| “ | Throw a variety of objects with  .
|
” |
| —Smash for 3DS's foldout | ||
Bonus Fruit (フルーツターゲット, Fruits Target) is Pac-Man's neutral special move in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Overview
A chargeable move, Pac-Man holds out a bonus item from his original appearance and cycles through them, starting at the iconic Cherry. The items cycle in the same order they do in the original arcade game: Cherry, Strawberry, Orange, Apple, Melon, Galaxian, Bell, and Key. Pac-Man cannot cycle past the key, and will instead put the key away for later use. After reaching the Orange, each item takes longer to charge. Pac-Man can save his selected fruit by shielding or dodging, and continue to cycle starting from the last fruit he selected by holding the special button (tapping it will instead use the stored fruit). On the ground, Pac-Man can quickly interrupt the charging process by tapping the shield button. During the charging process, opponents can attack the item, which causes hitlag but no other effects.
Once an item is selected, Pac-Man throws the item as a projectile, with each one having unique properties when thrown. Only one Bonus Fruit can exist at any time for each Pac-Man; it cannot be used again until the item thrown disappears from the stage, and Pac-Man cannot produce a Bonus Fruit if his opponent is currently holding it. Being hit either while charging or when holding a grabbed fruit as an item (regardless of whether it is Pac-Man or an opponent) has a high chance of causing the holder to drop the held fruit.
Thrown items can be caught out of the air (by opponents as well as by Pac-Man), and can be picked up while traveling or if they land on the ground, though they disappear quickly if left alone; if they collide with hitboxes (such as players or Fire Hydrant), they will pop upwards and disappear much quicker. If they have already been thrown normally as an item and do not collide with any hitboxes, the user cannot regrab the thrown item.
Bonus Fruits will follow their usual trajectories even if they collide with a surface; the exceptions are the Galaxian and Bell, which stops traveling upon hitting a wall, and goes through solid surfaces during its initial travel, respectively. Their trajectories can be affected by exterior push sources, most notably from Fire Hydrant's water. If thrown in different angles as caught items, they behave in unique ways due to them still following their programmed behaviors, such as the Melon staying in place and drifting down slowly.
Notably, all Bonus Fruit variants can be re-caught and will not disappear for around 3 seconds upon coming to a rest if dropped from the air, in addition to bouncing twice and refreshing their "lifetime" upon each re-catch, giving Pac-Man a rather powerful and lasting item game once a fruit is caught. Learning to re-catch each fruit is therefore one of the most important areas to master while playing Pac-Man, as it is possible to accomplish several feats with extreme technical skill (such as using the key to start zero-death, infinite footstool combos). A compiled guide to re-catch every Bonus Fruit on competitively legal stages can be found here.
| Fruit | Properties | Damage | KO percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry | Bounces twice and lands for a moment before disappearing. | 4% | 467% |
| Strawberry | Bounces three times and lands for a moment before disappearing. Travels slightly more total distance than the cherry, and can travel almost the length of Final Destination if thrown from a short hop. | 6% | 349% |
| Orange | Travels in a straight line for about roughly half the length of Final Destination's platform before disappearing. Knocks characters in a semi-spike angle. | 8% | 217% |
| Apple | Bounces across the floor four times in quick hops before disappearing. Thrown at a strong diagonal angle downwards, useful for interrupting offstage opponents attempting to jump towards an edge. Deals mostly vertical knockback, and can travel almost the length of Final Destination if thrown from a short hop, though slightly less than the strawberry. | 9% | 137% |
| Melon | Travels slowly in a very slight arc, and has considerable knockback. Flies slow enough that Pac-Man is able to run up to catch it. Can be used to stop approaches and will KO at high percents. | 12% | 146% |
| Galaxian | Does a quick shuttle loop before continuing to fly off either straight ahead or at several angles diagonally upward from the direction it was thrown. Inflicts the same amount of damage every time it connects. Passes through enemies, but immediately stops and drops as an item if it hits a wall. | 9% | 220% |
| Bell | Travels slowly in a high arc before suddenly stopping short and falling straight down, passing through opponents. Causes paralysis if it connects (unless dropped lightly in the air as an item), and bounces thrice upon hitting the ground before disappearing, which can also cause paralysis if an opponent touches it then. Notably passes through all solid ground during the initial high travel arc. | 8% | 186% |
| Key | Travels at high speed in a straight line and deals high damage and knockback. Passes through opponents and has the highest knockback out of all Bonus Fruit charges, being the most reliable KOing projectile out of all fruits. | 15% | 131% |
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Bonus Fruit | 2. Freaky Fruit | 3. Lazy Fruit |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Summon a variety of fruit to throw at your foes. Some of them seem a little less edible, though..." | "Summon fruit that move in strange and unpredictable ways, or even travel farther." | "Summon slow-moving fruit that tend to stick around for quite some time." |
- Bonus Fruit: Default.
- Freaky Fruit: Gives the fruit awkward and sporadic behavior, making them harder to avoid, at the cost of less damage. Also takes slightly longer to cycle past the orange. With the exception of the Galaxian and Bell, all fruits disappear immediately on hit, preventing fruit-grabbing after hitting an opponent.
| Fruit | Properties | Damage | KO percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry | Bounces quickly three times back and forth in gradually higher arcs. Sends opponents towards Pac-Man. | 2% | |
| Strawberry | Bounces slowly four times back and forth in broad but low arcs that cover a lot of ground. Sends opponents towards Pac-Man. | 4% | |
| Orange | Travels very quickly in a straight line that is the length of Final Destination's platform before disappearing. | 2% | |
| Apple | Bounces extremely quickly across the stage. Starts off with short hops that don't cover much ground, but progressively get even faster and travels more distance as it continues. | 9% | |
| Melon | Travels into a high arc the length of half of Final Destination and bounces once. The second bounce sends it backwards, and it disappears before it touches the ground. | 13% | |
| Galaxian | Travels rapidly in a straight line about the length of Final Destination before making a sudden turn, and flies the opposite direction at a 30 degree angle, loops around and travels in a straight line, then disappears. | 7% | |
| Bell | Travels forward for a moment, before curving upwards and moving directly upwards rapidly. If hit up close, the opponent will be led into the second upward hit, though this may not work at higher percentages. Does not cause paralysis. | 6% | |
| Key | Stays in place upon being thrown, only hitting anything directly in front of Pac-Man. Disappears almost immediately, and does not have any knockback. When used on an airborne opponent, it has a strong meteor smash effect. | 10% |
- 3. Lazy Fruit (known as Bone-Idle Fruit in the PAL version): The fruit will travel at an excessively slow pace, and do not disappear, instead sticking around for a while. It also changes each fruit's general behavior, making them weaker, but harder to avoid.
| Fruit | Properties | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Cherry | Bounces five times at a slow rate before disappearing. | 1% |
| Strawberry | Bounces once in a slow arc, and continues to hop in place four times. | 3% |
| Orange | Sluggishly travels for a short distance. | 5% |
| Apple | Exhibits behavior similar to the strawberry, but travels faster and will bounce more frequently and higher. | 6% |
| Melon | Shares the apple's characteristic, but with even higher bounces and will travel even faster. | 8% |
| Galaxian | Travels a short distance before performing 8 rapid, small shuttle loops that inflict damage per hit and can potentially trap an opponent. | 2% |
| Bell | Travels straight up from Pac-Man's hand for a while before dropping quickly. Will cause paralysis. | 7% |
| Key | Spins rapidly and travels slowly, knocking back foes as it follows a set path. | 7% |
Trophy information
All kinds of fruits appear in the original PAC-MAN—along with some other items in later rounds—and they're a great way to rack up a high score. Here, PAC-MAN's standard special lets him throw one of these. Different ones have different movement patterns and launching ability. Press the button again to pick!
- PAC-MAN (1980)
- PAC-LAND (1984)
Origin
Bonus fruits are one of the staples of the Pac-Man arcade games. They appear near the ghost's lair in most games, and vanish after a set time. Consuming one yields bonus points depending on the fruit. The fruits in the original Pac-Man are, in order: Cherry, Strawberry, Orange, Apple, Melon, Galaxian Starship, Bell, and Key. Upon reaching the Key, the fruit no longer changes for the remainder of the game. In the original arcade game, after reaching Orange, the fruit begins changing every other level rather than every level (meaning Orange appears for two levels, then Apple for two levels, and so on). This is reflected in Bonus Fruit by having its charge time double once it reaches Orange.
The paralyzing effect and sound effect of the Bell comes from the bell in Mappy[1], which would make any enemies freeze momentarily in place on contact.
The Galaxian Ship's movement is based off its original appearance in Galaxian.
Gallery
Bonus fruits in Pac-Man.
Bonus Fruit's Key in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Trivia
- Oddly enough, in the All-Star Rest Area, the Galaxian will not make any sounds at all when thrown.
- Bonus Fruits are not affected by the size of Pac-Man: for example, a Pac-Man under the effects of a Super Mushroom will still charge a standard-sized fruit.
References
