Genre Arcade Platform
Developer / Publisher Tengen / Namco
Pac-Mania is a "hit" from the coin-ops, converted to almost all 8bit and 16bit computers and consoles. It is one of the best Pac Man games ever created. The Mastersystem conversion was developed in 1991, a year later after its main antagonist's version (the Nintendo NES).
Pac Mania brings a different style in Pac Man gaming. The levels and characters are presented in 3D and this time Pac Man can also jump. And believe me this jump can save you from hard situations. But Pac Man must watch out for ghosts that also have jumping abilities. The main goal of the game is to swallow all the dots and complete the level. The funny ghosts now hover in the air instead of...walking. Dots and energy pellets hang in midair. In addition, Pac-Man is granted with a new power: He can jump up and over ghosts! There's also a use a Pac Booster that lets him move at super-speeds. You'll love the new challenging levels - they are available in so many mind-boggling shapes and they'll surely turn you into a certified Pac-Maniac! What a simple, addictive and excellent game to play indeed!
The Master System conversion is good featuring nice graphics, fantastic sound FX and music plus quite smooth sprite animation. All stages are colorful and the developers have used most of the original graphics found on the original (arcade) and the 16bit home computers and consoles. The sprites move smoothly while the screen scrolling is not particularly fluid. Note that the Master System version offers better quality in graphics, as it uses more accurate to the original colors. At the same time, the overall action is a bit slower compared to the NES. The sound is great too, offering plenty of the original tunes along with several Pacman-style SFX!
Comparable platforms
Arcades (original version)