For Pac-Man fans: What disappointed you guys in his presence in Smash4?

[Crawful]

Considering the video quality, they obviously had it set up for being streamed. No one can say for sure why they decided against it. Hell, in my opinion, they should've had Pac-Man's trailer at the end of e3, Palutena's at the beginning, and the Mii Fighter one behind closed doors, since they're the ones who would have the most negative reception.
But, all in all, I'm completely satisfied with the Pac-Bro, and he'll be one of my top mains this time around. Plus, he has a Ghostly Adventures alt that looks decent, that keeps his Pac-Man World face but gives him the Ghostly Adventures Gloves and Boots. Best case scenario. Happy I don't have to see those ugly eyes and teeth when playing online.

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Plus, he has a Ghostly Adventures alt that looks decent, that keeps his Pac-Man World face but gives him the Ghostly Adventures Gloves and Boots. Best case scenario. Happy I don't have to see those ugly eyes and teeth when playing online.

I think those are his Pac-Man 2 gloves and shoes, so a Ghostly Adventures costume is still in the realm of possibility.

 

[Crawful]

I think those are his Pac-Man 2 gloves and shoes, so a Ghostly Adventures costume is still in the realm of possibility.

Really? It looked almost identical to the GA one IIRC.
I wouldn't be too upset, but imo it looks pretty ugly, and I'd be a bit turned off by it. The only reason I don't think we'll see a completely changed up Pac-Man to rep Ghostly Adventures is because Sakurai knows about the extremely poor reception the games and the show got. And he knows adding in the outfit would cause a lot of people to groan, since a lot of people, including myself, find that design unappealing to the eyes.

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Really? It looked almost identical to the GA one IIRC.
I wouldn't be too upset, but imo it looks pretty ugly, and I'd be a bit turned off by it. The only reason I don't think we'll see a completely changed up Pac-Man to rep Ghostly Adventures is because Sakurai knows about the extremely poor reception the games and the show got. And he knows adding in the outfit would cause a lot of people to groan, since a lot of people, including myself, find that design unappealing to the eyes.

Ghostly Adventures Pac's shoes look more like sneakers, the one that was shown has a white ring around the ankle, like Pac-Man 2. I don't mind the GA Pac-Man's design, but the original design is a lot better. I'm glad Sakuari went with that, it's a design that makes everyone happy.

 

[Dynamite]

I'm kinda disappointed that Pac-Maze isn't on the Wii U version, but other than that I'm content with everything else about Pacman's presence.

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

I don't like how Pac-Man turns into his pie-shape when using his Up Special. Seems really pointless. It just looks weird.

 

[Ragna22]

This is a very minor thing and I'll definitely still use Pac-Man a lot but I was slightly bothered that a lot of his normals look like alternate variations of Mario's normals, like his standard combo is punch, punch, flip kick, his up air is an upwards flip kick, his sneutral air is a stationary upwards kick, his down air is a multi-hit kick of some kind, now I get that say Fox also has a stationary air kick and that Yoshi has a multi-hit down air kick but having all these things in one move set kinda makes Pac-Man's normals look similar to Mario's in my opinion.

Now I wouldn't say this makes Pac-Man a Mario clone, just that his normals look very similar to Mario's based on what we've seen, I mean we've seen his dash attack, that's definitely different from Mario's and I don't think we've seen his forward or back air, if we have then I obviously forgot. but yeah, that's really it for me, again I plan on using Pac-Man a bunch so I consider this a nitpick from myself, in fact I can actually see myself getting used to Pac-Man real quick because of this because Mario has been one of my mains in Project M for a while now.

 

[MFZ95]

My biggest gripe has to be that he wasn't revealed at the Nintendo Digital Direct,
and his down-A with the ghosts seems very iffy to me.
I actually like how his move set is(other than the down-A)
I, for one, cannot simply wait to play as him!
I wanted Pac-Man in Smash for a long time, and finally, it has happened.

 

[LIQUID12A]

No Toc-Man alt


Well, really, my only complaint is the severe lack of Pac-Man World references. No butt bounce ;(

 

[Skyfox2000]

No Toc-Man alt


Well, really, my only complaint is the severe lack of Pac-Man World references. No butt bounce ;(

What's Toc-Man?

 

[LIQUID12A]

What's Toc-Man?

Pac-Man's doppelganger from Pac Man World.

 

[infomon]

Nothing. Absolutely nothing disappointed me. He looks perfect.

 

[LIQUID12A]

Nothing. Absolutely nothing disappointed me. He looks perfect.

BUT THERES NO BUTT BOUNCE

 

[Tino]

Well, nothing really. He's already an impressive sight to see and his movesets are pretty unique as well...and hilarious if you ask me.

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

I don't like how Pac-Man turns into his pie-shape when using his Up Special. Seems really pointless. It just looks weird.

In reference to this previous complaint I've had, I now think that the shape-shift used in this move may actually be a reference to Pac'N Jump. Thus, I am completely okay with this now.

 

[mario123007]

That G&W wasn't confirmed like Captain Falcon.

 

[StarLight42]

Im not really a pac man fan, but it is a bit asinine that they didnt have any moves referencing Pac Man World 2

 

[Pacack]

Im not really a pac man fan, but it is a bit asinine that they didnt have any moves referencing Pac Man World 2

Up air is his flip kick. (The third hit of his AAA debatably is as well.) But that's it.

 

[Sahfarry]

All three third party characters were oddly given trampolines for their recovery.

Not the worst thing in the world, but I distinctly remember Pac-Man with a hang-glider before.

Thats something that I noticed as well. I thought it was pretty funny, and not anything that I'd get mad at. At least they're not terrible recoveries. Since Beat is an alt recovery for Megaman, I have hope for more cool options tho.

I will never, ever, ever understand why they revealed him at the closed-door roundtable and not at the end of the invitational. Never. Stupidest decision ever.

They kept playing Metroid music during the invitational and I thought that there'd be some surprise Ridley reveal during the whole thing. Obviously I was wrong, and I'm glad; I wanted Pacman in way more than I want Ridley.

 

[toadster101]

No Rev Roll or Butt Bounce from Pac-Man World 2. I wonder if Sakurai will even acknowledge the existence of that game at all, because four games later and Wario Land is still nowhere to be seen.

 

[LIQUID12A]

No Rev Roll or Butt Bounce from Pac-Man World 2. I wonder if Sakurai will even acknowledge the existence of that game at all.

He acknowledged MGS in Snake himself and his trophies.

I'm pretty sure he'll acknowledge PMW, if not in moveset.

 

[ptrk83]

No Rev Roll or Butt Bounce from Pac-Man World 2. I wonder if Sakurai will even acknowledge the existence of that game at all, because four games later and Wario Land is still nowhere to be seen.

I think we have enough characters in the game with a "but bounce" (Yoshi, Bowser and any other character that has a fast drop down b with a hitbox...) and Sonic has a rev roll... lol I like the unique moveset to be honest... Not a fan of the mappy trampoline though... wish they used the glider from Pac-Man World 2.... but vhat can you do?

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

I think we have enough characters in the game with a "but bounce" (Yoshi, Bowser and any other character that has a fast drop down b with a hitbox...) and Sonic has a rev roll... lol I like the unique moveset to be honest... Not a fan of the mappy trampoline though... wish they used the glider from Pac-Man World 2.... but vhat can you do?

That could always be part of his customizable movesets

 

[YoshiandToad]

As others have mentioned the only thing I was mildly disappointed in was the choice for his Wii U stage. Pac-Land looks...just ugly. Definitely not the best option available to everyone's favourite yellow sphere.

Other than that there's very little I'm disappointed in. Maybe that the up special's the trampoline rather than the Pac-Dot eat, but since it's in his moveset anyway it seems like a silly thing to moan about.

 

[Knight Dude]

I guess he could be given a little bit more attention, in terms of advertisement. Other than that, I'm alright with what they did with his moveset.

The only other thing that comes to mind is the Final Smash. In and of it's self, it's great. But why use a 2-D model when they already made the OG Pac-Man in 3-D? You'd think resizing it would be fine.

 

[Jae]

His choice of stage for Wii U isn't very pretty, I would have preferred another Pac-Maze, like how MM and Shulk's stages are the same throughout both versions.

Other than that, I'm fine with how he is!

 

[mrrwalden]

Hmm...honestly the only thing I'm a little bummed about regarding Pac-Man (not even directly related to Pac-Man himself!) is how the ghosts are implemented. The way that the ghosts are seen in-game is making me think that their trophies aren't going to be renders based off of this awesome artwork:

or their similar (but slightly less charming, IMO) Pac-Man World appearances - it'll just be their 2D forms, it looks like. (Again, talking specifically about the ghosts here)

I know, it's a really minor nitpick and I was kinda hoping for it, but I wasn't really expecting it, if that makes any sense (?). Besides, I guess if they were 3D, they would look pretty odd compared to the rest of Pac's moveset and the "Namco Roulette" Taunt, haha.

I'll also echo that I'm a little surprised there wasn't a Ms. Pac or Pac-Land-based alternate (with the hat) for Pac-Man.

But blah, this is all really minor cosmetic stuff and nothing I'll lose sleep over. Can't wait to try him out!

 

[vgspud]

Only problem(s) I really have are his alts. Pretty meh recolors and no Ms. Pac-Man. I understand why it probably didn't happen, but would've been nice.

 

[S3R4PH]

All three third party characters were oddly given trampolines for their recovery.

Not the worst thing in the world, but I distinctly remember Pac-Man with a hang-glider before.

Pac-Man 2 for the Sega genesis. That game was freaking awesome. The inclusion of that move would make him complete.

 

[JipC]

Being one of the biggest Pac-Man fans here, I do have some criticisms.

- Pac-Man should've stayed in his 3D form for all attacks.
I know that Pac-Man is retro. I get that. But there was no need to make him turn into the pie for so many of his attacks. The only one that feels justifiable to me is the dash attack. And even then, it should've been this:

Instead of what they went with.

- Pac-Land over Pac-Man World?
This makes no sense to me. Pac-Land was terrible. Don't get me wrong, it was the first of its kind, but why focus on that instead of the World games? Why give him a Fire Hydrant?? Why make his Wii U stage the game that is renowned for looking like it was made in MS Paint?!?!

- No Butt Bounce...
It's minor, but the butt bounce is one of his signature moves...it should've been his dair instead of the stomping thing that has no origin (that I know of) in any Pac-Man games.

- The Trailer
The trailer was okay, but it wasn't as good as some others. It definitely could've been made a lot better.


That said, I'm happy that Pac-Man's in. I just think he could've been handled better.

SUPER DUPER LATE REPLY
But this is how a LOT of Sonic fans feel about Sonic in Smash. He has so many abilities he could've used, so many unique skills from all the different games he's been in, so many memorable locations but all they gave him in Brawl was GHZ and in Smash 4 it's Windy Hill Zone which is basically GHZ 2.0 (and it looks really convoluted and trashy)
And his moveset is 90% "turn into ball and make hitbox wow"

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

SUPER DUPER LATE REPLY
But this is how a LOT of Sonic fans feel about Sonic in Smash. He has so many abilities he could've used, so many unique skills from all the different games he's been in, so many memorable locations but all they gave him in Brawl was GHZ and in Smash 4 it's Windy Hill Zone which is basically GHZ 2.0 (and it looks really convoluted and trashy)
And his moveset is 90% "turn into ball and make hitbox wow"

I'll be the odd one out and say that I was happy with Sonic's moveset. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of killing power (which is not a problem anymore). On the topic of Pac-Man, thinking about it, it's actually pretty impressive that Sakuari made an entire moveset with no reference to World. I mean, who could of thought the fire hydrant would be a move? It's such an obscure thing to reference that you can't help but love it.

 

[JipC]

I'll be the odd one out and say that I was happy with Sonic's moveset. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of killing power (which is not a problem anymore). On the topic of Pac-Man, thinking about it, it's actually pretty impressive that Sakuari made an entire moveset with no reference to World. I mean, who could of thought the fire hydrant would be a move? It's such an obscure thing to reference that you can't help but love it.

I like how he plays in Smash 4 at least, didn't like him in Brawl, but there's still not much in his moveset thats actually from the games which sucks.

 

[mrrwalden]

...there's still not much in his moveset thats actually from the games which sucks.

I see posts like this, & I used to agree with them being a big Sonic fan & all, but in retrospect, what else could they have really added that wouldn't have just been even more variations of the Spin Attack? Heck, in his own games up until Unleashed, that was more or less all he did.
I will say that the fact that his Side B & Down B are variations of the exact same move is kinda ridiculous, though.

Anyway, Pac-Man. I'm actually pretty happy with his moveset b/c it seems to make him a pretty unique fighter, not just in terms of his gimmicks, but his fighting style altogether. Though it is kinda odd that he doesn't have any Kirby/Wario/etc. type "swallow" moves, now that I think about it.

(Though thinking about that, his Smash moveset makes it really apparent to me that Pac-Man didn't even have any eating "looking" moves in the Pac-Man World series did he? (well he can eat ghosts, but that's it, no?) That's REALLY odd. But I digress!)

 

[evoxpisces]

Down+Special should've been the Butt Bounce from Pac-Man World games but otherwise I'm very happy with him in Sm4sh!

 

[JipC]

I see posts like this, & I used to agree with them being a big Sonic fan & all, but in retrospect, what else could they have really added that wouldn't have just been even more variations of the Spin Attack

There's a LOT of source material you could use in Sonic Battle and the Adventure games alone.

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

There was that interview recently where Sakurai claims to have come up with Pac-Man's moveset mostly on his own, as Namco was struggling to engender something functional. Perhaps if Namco had more influence on the final result, we would've seen some World references, possibly at the cost of the well-constructed moveset and playstyle we ended up getting. There probably would have been drawbacks in any theoretical scenario.

On that note, I think that Sakurai's influence (yes, his "bias", if you will) is what restricted Pac-Man's and Sonic's movesets to their more fundamental compositions. When Sonic was revealed for Brawl, Sakurai specifically mentioned his affinity for the classic Genesis games, and praised their simple control schemes. This preference of his for the classic games is probably why we see no influence from the 3D era of Sonic in his moveset, aside from the obligatory homing attack. In the older games, aside from his shield power-ups, all Sonic could really do was spin around, jump off of springs, and turn into Super Sonic, so that's what we got for his moveset. Likewise, when discussing Pac-Man recently, Sakurai claims to have mostly looked at the arcade games for moveset ideas. Considering he apparently thought of Pac-Man as only a pizza shape until recently, it's very possible he wasn't even aware that games like Pac-Man World exist. I think Sakurai's influence has left a bad taste in the mouths of some fans of the more modern outings of those characters. Coincidentally, it had the opposite effect with Mega Man. Sakurai is obviously a huge fan of the classic titles, which sat fine with almost everyone, since the NES Mega Man games are so beloved, and provide plenty of moveset potential on their own.

tldr; Sakurai doesn't care or know much about the modern versions of the third-party series.

 

[infomon]

It's not just a third-party thing. Sakurai just loooves retro gaming. You can tell, it's all throughout smash.

Mr. G&W. Duck Hunt. ROB. Ice Climbers. heck, rebooting Kid Icarus. And the stages, like Mushroomy Kingdom. Balloon Fight.

This game has massive amounts of retro rep. And I happen to love it It's a celebration of the history of video gaming, the new All Star mode kinda proves that.

 

[EchoesOfRain]

His alts are kinda bad. Would have been nice if his body actually changed color as well

Wii U stage looks God-awful. It just doesn't seem to fit into smash AT ALL

Moveset-wise, his smashes feel way too slow for me, as the rest of him feels quick and bouncy. it feels like they belong on a heavy-weight, not someone like pacman

 

[Bauske]

You know, before I played Smash 4, I would have said Pac-Man should have had more World references possibly, but after seeing his playstyle in the game, no. I am compltely and 100% happy with how he has been imagined. He is fun, full of variety, and embodies classic Namco gaming. I love him so much.

 

[Lilfut]

Would have liked his Ghostly Adventures design as an alternate costume, but otherwise I'm happy with him.