Ms. Pac-Man - odd maze

[AAA177]

Was playing Ms. Pac-Man last night at a local arcade. Hadn't played that in a long, long time. But it seemed off. First, the Pac-Man character itself was lightning-fast...never remembered that. Then, I had to contend with some maze sections that were like jagged teeth. The problem there is you had to maneuver the character left-right-left-right to get through it, almost like ascending (or descending) a set of weird stairs.

 

Just curious if anyone has ever encountered this. I just checked some videos of the game, and as far as I can tell, they showed something different from the design of what I played. Most every element was there as usual, but the speed and overall feel was odd. Perhaps there were bugs? Or was this a different mode of the game?

[carlsson]

Was it by any chance Ms. Pac-Man Plus?

https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8783

[AAA177]

Thanks for the reply. That is indeed what I played. Never knew there was such a variation. I'll have to go back and see if the cabinet actually said Plus or not.

 

The fast speed was fun, but I hated the jagged sections where I got stuck. They were like speed bumps, and it lessened the quality of the game play for me.

Edited May 31, 2019 by AAA177

[Turbo-Torch]

Thanks for the reply. That is indeed what I played. Never knew there was such a variation. I'll have to go back and see if the cabinet actually said Plus or not.

 

The fast speed was fun, but I hated the jagged sections where I got stuck. They were like speed bumps, and it lessened the quality of the game play for me.

 

Unless the cabinet was customized by someone, it'll be a normal Ms. Pac cabinet. What you played was nothing more than a ROM hack and there are easily dozens of different hacks out there. I've yet to play one that makes the game more fun. Although, Ms. Pac-Mortem is really cool if you're having a Halloween party, and it plays the same as the original.

[carlsson]

Wikipedia states it is not certain who made this ROM, if it was a 3rd party hack or actually a Midway release. However the maze rarely or never has been replicated in home versions, even hacks, which probably says something about how playable it (not) is.

[NE146]

It's hard to find a Ms. Pac cab these days that at least doesn't have the speed hack on it.

 

Personally I do prefer playing it that way anyway (sped up). It has it's own set of challenges and anyone who says it makes the game easy hasn't tried to score 400k on one.

[Cynicaster]

It's hard to find a Ms. Pac cab these days that at least doesn't have the speed hack on it.

 

Personally I do prefer playing it that way anyway (sped up). It has it's own set of challenges and anyone who says it makes the game easy hasn't tried to score 400k on one.

 

Yeah, "easy" is not the word I'd use.

 

I'm pretty decent at picking up on most arcade games if I put a little effort into it, but for some reason, I am just monumentally hopeless at the Pac-Man games. It usually takes me multiple tries to clear the first screen without dying, and it's just discouraging. The speed-up versions help negate the discouragement a little bit. The games still aren't very long, but it feels more approachable on a casual basis.

[Eltigro]

It's hard to find a Ms. Pac cab these days that at least doesn't have the speed hack on it.

 

 

 

I love the speed hack. I didn't even know it was a thing until I played it somewhere and thought, "Man, this is a lot faster than I remembered it..." lol

 

But now, I prefer it. =)

[negative1]

Here are some of the variations out there:

 

ms pac-man versions:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

there are many ms pac-man variations out there.

just like pac-man (a few of which will be noted here).

 

originally, ms pac-man was a hack, called crazy otto,

and then namco/bally bought it to make it official.

 

it was based on pac-man, which is why the ghost behaviour

is inherited from it, along with several of the basic

ROMS, and game driver for MAME.

 

there also many bootlegs out there, some which have

altered gameplay, and graphics hacks.

 

so basically, you have:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) bootlegs, and clones, which are basically the identical

in gameplay, with minor differences (mostly graphical)

 

some of these are hardware hacks which run on different

hardware.

 

2) graphic hacks - these are basically the same game,

with graphic replacements, either the maze or the sprites,

or both

 

3) gameplay hacks - these are modified from the original,

with new mazes, new gameplay or both

 

 

  [Select]
official versions:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ms pac-man - bally/midway and namco

20th anniversary - with galaga (pac-man hidden)
                 - revs 1.01, 1.02,1.03,1.04,1.08

25th anniversary - with galaga and pac-man
                 - rev 2.0 - works fine
                 - rev 3.0 - does not work properly, cannot see ghosts
                             or player

30th anniversary - pac man party

galaxy games starpak 2 - along with pac-man,
                         not an emulation, but port

                         does not have same ghost AI,
                         different timing for ghosts, blue time
                         and only 4 color palettes, not 6.
                         does not have pink chase or brown junior boards colors.
                           
                         probably the hardest version out there, with the ghosts
                         speeding up to fastest speeds by board 21.


unofficial versions:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
turbo version - 2x without button - only ms pac-man is faster
turbo version - 2,4,8x with button - all objects are faster



bootlegs and clones - gameplay is identical
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ms pac-man (bootleg)

ms pac-man (bootleg, encrypted) - turbo version

ms pac-man (made in Greece) - slight color palette change

ms pac-man (crush roller hardware)

ms pac-man II (orca bootleg 1)

ms pac-man II (orca bootleg 2)

pac-gal - different color palettes

crazy otto - new sprites for player and enemies

ms pac-man heart burn - maze replaced with new sprites, and colors
                        main character is a flame
                        enemies are firemen that turn into cigarettes
                        intermissions have new graphics



hardware hacks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ms pac-attack - 4 new mazes (set 1)
              - also in turbo

ms pacman champion edition - super zola - 2 new versions,
                             with hearts instead of dots.

                             also 30 second timer per board

ms pac-man plus - 4 new mazes (set 2)
                 - also in turbo

super ABC (pac-man multigame) - includes
                              1  pacman (slow, fast)
                               new ghost behaviour in mazes,
                               don't slow down in tunnels, and
                               go up through areas above ghost pen

                              2 ms pacman (slow, fast)
                          
                              3 ms pac attack (slow, fast)
                 
                              4 pac attack (slow, fast)

                              5 pacman plus (slow, fast)

                              6 ms pacman after dark (slow, fast)

                              - mazes have new graphics, neon outline
                                colors for player, ghosts, fruits

                              - all internal segments are invisible

                              7 ultra pacman (slow , fast)
                               4 new mazes

                              8 piranha (slow, fast)

                             
                              - 2 revisions with different dates

===============================================================

 

i recommend trying out ultra pac-man on normal speed,

and also ms pacman after dark for an extra challenge.

 

both are very well done, along with ms pac attack, and

ms pac man plus.

 

 

 

later

-1