Ms. Pac-Man
In 1982, a sequel to the incredibly popular Pac-Man was introduced in the form of his girlfriend, Ms. Pac-Man. This sequel continued on the "eat the dots/avoid the ghosts" gameplay of the original game, but added new features to keep the title fresh. Like her boyfriend, Ms. Pac-Man attempts to clear four various and challenging mazes filled with dots and ever-moving bouncing fruit while avoiding Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Sue, each with their own personalities and tactics. One touch from any of these ghosts means…
The rare sequel that improves on a perfect original.Kit · Sadkitty Games
Loved
- Four mazes keep things fresh
- Less predictable ghosts reward real skill
- Moving fruit adds risk and reward
Not so much
- Rote patterns don't work, which frustrates Pac-Man veterans
- Later mazes get very fast
Play it if anyone who loved Pac-Man and wants more variety and challenge.
Skip it if pattern players who want to memorize a perfect route.
No cheat codes
Ms. Pac-Man doesn't have cheat codes. The tips and secrets below are the next best thing.
Play it better
- The ghosts have random elements in their movement, so react to what you see instead of memorizing routes.
- Use both warp tunnels on mazes that have two pairs, because ghosts still slow down inside them.
- Fruit bounces through the maze and leaves after a while, so cut it off rather than chasing it.
- Clear the dots near the edges first, since the stragglers in the corners are the hardest to reach later.
- Save power pellets until the ghosts close in, and chain all four for 3,000 points.
Hidden in plain sight
Tap a secret to reveal it.
Trivia
- It began as Crazy Otto, an unofficial enhancement kit for Pac-Man made by General Computer Corporation, a group of MIT dropouts.
- Midway bought the kit and released it without Namco designing it.
- General Computer Corporation went on to make games for Atari, including the 7800 version.
- It became the most successful American arcade game of all time, selling over 100,000 cabinets.
