Pac-Man (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Namco's 1993 maze-action game for the NES, Pac-Man.
Pac-Man is one of the most iconic games of all time. It's the game that finally managed to wrench video games away from their total fixation of shooting at aliens.
And while the NES game isn't a perfect port, it is a title that shows off just how well suited the NES was for early 80s arcade games. The graphics and sound are a bit different and Pac-Man and the ghosts seem a little too fat to fit in their reduced resolution NES maze, but the layout is faithfully reproduced and the ghosts generally follow the same behavior patterns as in they did in the original. Many of the strategies and ideal routes through the maze still work here.
One interesting thing to note about Pac-Man on the NES is that this port was made by Namco themselves for the Famicom in 1984. A few years later, Tengen released the same cart in the US in both licensed and unlicensed forms, and once Tengen had thoroughly pissed off Nintendo, Namco took back the reins and officially rereleased the game under their own name in 1993. All of them are pretty much identical save for the copyright info on the title screen.
It's super old and I far prefer some of its sequels, but Pac-Man for the NES does a nice job of bringing home the arcade experience. I still find it funny to compare it to the Atari 2600 version, which was the one I grew up playing.
(Does anyone else get a big kick out of the ghost's leg when he gets himself caught on the nail?)
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (www.nintendocom...) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!

[@NintendoComplete]

It's not arcade-perfect, sure, but for an arcade conversion produced in 1984, it's hard to find any major fault with Pac-Man on the NES.

[@_Majoras]

the award for best video game character of all time: pac-man!

[@vgaoct91]

Nice!! I got to play this on the Namco Museum Archives on my PC recently. It’s quite outrageous! But the best part about the Museum Archives is that it lets you play the Famicom Namco games... Except Megami Tensei I & II. (at least we got the fan translation on Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei to cover that)

[@Server_Error_404]

yes true 👍

[@Dorian_Scott]

Pac-Man: Devouring ghosts for almost 40 years.

[@ElephantMariotheRHDNhater3293]

I have to agree with you there

[@beaniegee5129]

Also love that this game is also on the NES Classic Edition too!!

[@waggsmith5889]

Honestly apart from a few odd colour choices, I’d say it’s one of the best 8bit arcade ports of Pac Man

[@Akira625]

The NES has a very strange color palette. It lacks a true yellow among other things.

[@rickmartinez3268]

Happy freaking holidays everyone

[@nidoqueenadvance6798]

This is a very good port of this game. In fact this was probably the definitive home version of the game until Namco Museum Volume 1 came out on the ps1. Also for those that want to play this version, it's on Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 for pc, xbox one, ps4, and switch.

[@Bloodreign1]

The Namco Museum 1 version still was a bit wrong, wasn't until the next generation, the PS2 Namco Museums (both of them) basically had emulated arcade versions on the disc, unlike the PS1 Namco Museum 1 version, which was a port.

[@shimo_retro_gameplays6288]

Great game!! I played a lot this game when I was a kid!

[@wariomultiretrogaming628]

I love this game

[@Bloodreign1]

Considering I had the Atari 2600 port growing up, and had a cup from the old 7-11 stores that had a picture of the arcade game on it, finally seeing this version in motion was like a work of art. No, it isn't perfect, but for it's time, it was the best we had, even if it's basically identical to the MSX game (which we didn't see in the US, nor did we see the MSX for that matter). That cup is long gone, but this NES version, and the arcade versions on the PS2 Namco Anthology packs, and Namco Museum Mega Mix being arcade emulation, so perfect, really are nice to have. Hell even the Game Boy, and Game Boy Color versions are nice to have.

[@MediaRavenEditor2024]

I played that on the NES Classic Edition.

[@MediaRavenEditor2024]

@@anon4606 what?

[@MediaRavenEditor2024]

@@anon4606 i don’t know how to change it.

[@Dorian_Scott]

Same. I never owned the NES version as a kid.

[@MarcBarkyMarta]

This is why I come to NintendoComplete. They always find the stuff that no one else knows about. Do you think this “Pac-Man” and “NES” will catch on?

[@caynox_yt-r4z]

0:32

[@LPetal86]

The beginning. I spent HOURS playing Tengen's _Ms. Pac-Man_ on the Genesis with my brother as a girl.

[@jakebello7988]

The first version of the game I ever played... Had it on the Wii Virtual Console.

[@justinm1882]

great vid your a legit legend thank you..

[@BenJabituya]

Pac-Man was the first video game I EVER PLAYED! I played it on the sub-par Atari 2600. But I enjoyed the Nintendo versions. That dot muncher has been around for over 4 decades, now. This game should be perfect for beginners learning to play video games.

[@maniechung2591]

Hey! I played Pac Man on NES before

[@MRFIXITZ]

Love me some Classic Pac-Man🕹️

[@beaniegee5129]

Love that game!!

[@SoulStreak64]

Good ol Pac Man. Still a fun and addictive game even to this day. Although I find it strange that this version was released in 1993. Nearly 10 years late, Namco.

[@NintendoComplete]

It's amazing that the NES lasted long enough that such a gap could exist.

[@Bloodreign1]

There are two versions of it on the NES, I believe the Tengen version released earlier in the US, but this Namco version took 9 years to reach US shores. Ms. Pac-Man saw the same fate, except the Tengen and Namco variants behave very differently from one another, the Tengen version having the speed hack, and the strange mazes, the SNES and Genesis would see ports of it later on with the exact same options. The two Pac-Man variants on the other hand, identical, except the Namco variant sells for a much higher price.

[@itsjustbob7649]

"There's was only one way to play NES Pac-Man, not." -Scott the Woz

[@beaniegee5129]

That game was and still is awesome

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

Does the NES version of Pac-Man save your high scores or does it reset your scores back to zero?

[@NintendoComplete]

The game doesn't have a battery-backed save, so whenever you turn off the NES the scores are cleared.

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

@@NintendoComplete Thanks for the heads-up. I'm sticking with the GBA version of NES Pac-Man.

[@patriciahyungjungkook952]

Beautiful game of pacman in my childhood i playing all time this game is not very easy but it works

[@OrobaSpyro]

Huh, I didn't know this version was released in 1993 for the reason expressed in the description. Very late in, I guess the rerelease had to be there or never...

[@Turbulation1]

I think a Tengen version released earlier.

[@RC-dj8rp]

What maze patterns are recommended for NES version?

[@1300l]

Such a lovely game

[@susanfit47]

Nintendo Power reviewed this 1993 release of Pac-Man late in the Nintendo NES' lifespan, they called it the "first official version on the NES".

[@susanfit47]

I don't have the Namco Hometek version of this game for my NES yet. But I would say it's one the best 8-ibt arcade ports of Pac-Man. This port was made Namco themselves for the Famicom in Japan in 1984. 4 years later in 1988, Tengen, a subsidiary of Atari Games, released the same cart in the U.S. in both licensed and unlicensed forms, released during a time where Tengen and Nintendo were in bitter disagreements over the latter's stance on quality control for their consoles; and once Tengen had throughtly pissed off Nintendo, Namco took back the reins and officially rereleased the game under the Namco Hometek name as an official title in 1993, featuring a new cartridge label and box. All of them are pretty much identical save the copyright info on the title screen. This release occurred during this era, 1992-1994, of the NES’ lifespan when the Super NES was released.

[@mattsneed4569]

Good playing of the game Alex. Don't worry about the trolling someone gave you.

[@angelriverasantana7755]

I kinda wanna see you try out that homebrew turned official NES version of Pac-Man CE from last year after seeing ya Pac it up in this. God bless M2

[@PrekiFromPoland]

16:06 *OOOHHHH SHIIIIITTTT!!* [dies] Ah, wrong game ;)

[@LITTLE1994]

The NES version of Pac-Man is a pretty good port, though this came very late for the console, as by '93, SNES and Genesis were already active. Too bad you can't change how many lives you can start with, so like Galaga, this can be over very quickly if you're not careful, so very impressive run. But hey, it's WAY better than the Atari 2600 version!

[@Bloodreign1]

This was the second version of Pac-Man released for the NES, the first was years earlier, by Tengen. The Namco version was produced first, but released in the US way later than the Tengen version.

[@justinlaboy6837]

nice run

[@NintendoComplete]

Thanks :)

[@travismcdowell8352]

Hey nintendo complete is there any difference between pac man for Tengan and namco on the nes? Just asking cause of ms. Pac man

[@NintendoComplete]

Afaik the only difference is the copyright text on the title screen.

[@Dorian_Scott]

The NES port of the Arcade classic, *_"Pac-Man"_* . This game is one that I didn't own myself growing up. I've only played it on the *_"NES Classic"_* . It is not a *perfect* port, but I really enjoyed it. It's hard to believe that this iconic character has been around for almost 40 years.

[@LITTLE1994]

He's out for 41 years. He debuted in 1980.

[@Dorian_Scott]

@@LITTLE1994 Really? I always thought it was 1982

[@Server_Error_404]

love arcade game pac-man 😘😍😍😍😍

[@thefifthdoctor6780]

Got it

[@EclipseX46]

I went on my switch and played the Nintendo Entertainment System console and guess what no Pac-Man

[@Nevidimka0]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@zackantley5762]

Lovely nes games

[@Cohenfx9000]

NES Pac-Man I Like It

[@denzelgeorge4339]

I like it ❤🙂

[@beaniegee5129]

Classic!!

[@Dorian_Scott]

*_"Don't you think 'Pac-Man' gets tired of eating all those dots?"_*

[@NintendoComplete]

I'd think he'd be uncomfortably full. He eats a whole lot of them and never seems to poo.

[@Dorian_Scott]

@@NintendoComplete You could say the exact same thing about *_"Kirby"_* just obliterating every *_"Waddle Dee"_* and such in his path. I guess there was an popular era where companies had to create characters that were harbingers of destruction like *_"Pac-Man"_* & *_"Kirby"_* .

[@LITTLE1994]

@@Dorian_Scott I thought the same thing, too. Him and Kirby are so alike.

[@Dorian_Scott]

@@LITTLE1994 Indeed. It's surprising that the two haven't collaborated in one of their games (... Not counting *_"Smash Bros"_* ).

[@mimi-mk9eu]

When you have nothing else to play

[@JRBowling1997]

A much better port then stupid atari 2600

[@franciscobatalla7876]

Yo pensé era juego de Pacman para nes era muy difícil cuando yo jugué era complicado bueno un gran juego no crees?

[@fastandfurioustubehd2011]

Vanellope was in this game

[@adamking6645]

The licensed Tengen cart was actually covered in Nintendo Power #2. Then all mention of Tengen vanished from the pages of NP, never to he heard from for nearly six years. When the Namco cart was covered in NP #55 (Dec 1993), Nintendo acted like it was the "first official port" on the NES, pretending the Tengen release never existed. Revisionist history at its finest.

[@JSC178]

Very interesting.

[@fernandomunoz6522]

Buena jugada

[@estellarileys1653]

Endless