Welcome to the Maze! A Beginners Pac-Man Guide - (In-depth Apple + Melon Guide Added)

[ptrk83]

He definitely got shafted... he probably would have looked silly in most of the costumes... Still though.. what did they spend... like ten minutes?

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

I like how we're so starved of info on how Pac-Man actually plays that half of this thread is just alt color discussion. I'm fine with that, though, actually. We'll be seeing how he plays soon enough.

Seriously though, why couldn't they have just changed the color of his shoes and gloves? There's not even a green alt.

 

[ptrk83]

I have a tournament Sunday and a tournament next Saturday that will be live streamed. Chibo is streaming one I think and Doom the other. Lots of character practice to be had.

 

[Bauske]

I like how we're so starved of info on how Pac-Man actually plays that half of this thread is just alt color discussion. I'm fine with that, though, actually. We'll be seeing how he plays soon enough.

Seriously though, why couldn't they have just changed the color of his shoes and gloves? There's not even a green alt.

My thoughts exactly. I would have liked to have a Professor Pac-Man hat and a Pac-Land hat and a Jr. Pac-Man hat, but even if I didn't get that, just changing the gloves and boots to be different colors would have been just fine. But arm socks? WHEN HAS PAC-MAN EVER WORN ARM SOCKS?

 

[Camalange]

I honestly wasn't hoping for too much... Ms. Pac-Man was the dream but I would've been okay with just fun palette swaps.

The arm bands are awkward... They're not so bad for some of the colors but damn, honestly what were they thinking? And the last two? What?

Huh?

 

[meleebrawler]

Meleebrawler... Wow.. duh ...very good eye!! I didn't even think to think that was his throw!! I thought it was just an item lolol. Well can't tell which throw it is yet but that most definitely is his throw.


Also.. Guys.. You can just call me Pride from now on... which is the tag I will be using from now on. Tried changing it this time around and apparently the NJ scene wont let me.

Also, bouncing on Pac's trampoline when it's red seems to immediately leave a character helpless,
which can be pretty nasty.

 

[Nu~]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PLEK2OsudXQ
We get some sheer pacman gameplay from this vid. According to ths, his up tilt is a headbutt. His smash attacks have lasting knockback though, like g&w forward smash

 

[ptrk83]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PLEK2OsudXQ
We get some sheer pacman gameplay from this vid. According to ths, his up tilt is a headbutt. His smash attacks have lasting knockback though, like g&w forward smash

Was legit just about to post this!

Updated page with Pac-Man's stage music.


TOMORROW GUYS!!!!!! waka waka

 

[Nu~]

Was legit just about to post this!

LOL XD well it's good that someone' s looking
So far, pacman's looking mighty smooth and pretty quick. Hopefully they do a segment on Pacman tommorow.... speaking of which...

Its coming...brace yourselves

 

[ptrk83]

Bell is confirmed.

 

[Nu~]

Bell is confirmed.

Where???!!! What does it do??!!

 

[Bauske]

I noticed the cherry was a standard projectile, the strawberry I haven't seen yet, the orange flew in a straight line outward, the apple bounced after hitting the ground and kept going, bouncing along its way, and I haven't seen the rest of them used. I've seen them selected, but not used. Well, aside from the galaxian. We all know what it does.

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

Don't know if this has been brought up, but at 2:47 in this video, you can see Pac-Man be propelled quite a distance upward by a water spout emerging from the fire hydrant he's standing on. It doesn't put him into special fall, and he's free to act after it. If the hydrant's spouts aren't random, and fire in a set order, then maybe we can use it as a recovery option. I know that if Pac-Man uses the hydrant in the air, then he throws it below him, but if the water spout is tall enough, or if he falls fast enough, he may be able to make use of it. If he's deep off-stage, he could hypothetically attempt to use the hydrant to give himself significant vertical height, and then use Side and/or Up Special to finish the job, if need be. The only ways in which I could see this not working are if the hydrant falls too quickly (or Pac-Man falls too slowly), or if the hydrant doesn't spew water until it's on the ground. I'm not attuned to all of the intricacies of Pac-Man's moveset at the moment, so I can't confirm whether or not this would work.

 

[Bauske]

Don't know if this has been brought up, but at 2:47 in this video, you can see Pac-Man be propelled quite a distance upward by a water spout emerging from the fire hydrant he's standing on. It doesn't put him into special fall, and he's free to act after it. If the hydrant's spouts aren't random, and fire in a set order, then maybe we can use it as a recovery option. I know that if Pac-Man uses the hydrant in the air, then he throws it below him, but if the water spout is tall enough, or if he falls fast enough, he may be able to make use of it. If he's deep off-stage, he could hypothetically attempt to use the hydrant to give himself significant vertical height, and then use Side and/or Up Special to finish the job, if need be. The only ways in which I could see this not working are if the hydrant falls too quickly (or Pac-Man falls too slowly), or if the hydrant doesn't spew water until it's on the ground. I'm not attuned to all of the intricacies of Pac-Man's moveset at the moment, so I can't confirm whether or not this would work.

Maybe, but I highly doubt it. That fire hydrant takes forever to shoot off the first blast of water.

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

Maybe, but I highly doubt it. That fire hydrant takes forever to shoot off the first blast of water.

It only took about a second from initial spawn to first water stream in that video, so I'm not sure what you mean by "forever". Granted, a second is a large amount of time in a fast-paced game like Smash Bros, but considering how floaty Pac-Man is, I don't think that's too slow for him and his fall speed. The fire hydrant's fall speed is probably too great though. I still think this should be tested. If what I proposed is possible, it opens up a whole new recovery option for a character that has a bit of a predictable recovery otherwise.

 

[ptrk83]

PAC-MAN IS AWESOME!!!!! Bell STUNS! His side B and forward air are amazing!!! No lag on fair and you can spam the heck out of it!!!

 

[Nu~]

PAC-MAN IS AWESOME!!!!! Bell STUNS! His side B and forward air are amazing!!! No lag on fair and you can spam the heck out of it!!!

What does the key do?!!!

 

[ptrk83]

The key does 15 percent and has good knock back. It is also super fast. The fastest of all fruits. I will try to update the guide tonight or tomorrow morning. I'll be using Pac only tonight on my friends stream if u wanna see!

 

[Nu~]

The key does 15 percent and has good knock back. It is also super fast. The fastest of all fruits. I will try to update the guide tonight or tomorrow morning. I'll be using Pac only tonight on my friends stream if u wanna see!

Yesss! I'll be there. My name is 9Pharaoh9 on twitch, I'll probably make some requests on the chat if u don't mind

 

[ptrk83]

Ok got it..

I will be ptrk83 in the chat.

Just a note.. Nakat has been a top ranking player in NJ for the last few years.. I have been retired for the last few years... lmfao.. so come watch me get my ass wooped..

Also.. PLEASE take notes and start formulating ideas and strategies that we can use.

his twitch is NAKAT973

I will be on in 20 mins and my tag name will be PRiDE

*waiting for a bit will let u know when ready.

 

[Nu~]

Ok got it..

I will be ptrk83 in the chat.

Just a note.. Nakat has been a top ranking player in NJ for the last few years.. I have been retired for the last few years... lmfao.. so come watch me get my *** wooped..

Also.. PLEASE take notes and start formulating ideas and strategies that we can use.

his twitch is NAKAT973

I will be on in 20 mins and my tag name will be PRiDE

*waiting for a bit will let u know when ready.

Will it be on your or his stream

 

[ptrk83]

His.. and I am just waiting for him to check his phone.. >_>

 

[Nu~]

His.. and I am just waiting for him to check his phone.. >_>

Ah, cuz all i see right now is little mac footage

 

[ptrk83]

This is my first time playing a human.. Rough stuff.. But gonna be fun learning...

 

[Player-3]

Been playing pacman all day played vs zero almost beat bowser

Solid character very fun not being able to cacel neutral b midair without airdodging or throwing it sucks ;(

 

[Player-3]

Hydrant is god tier

Footstool > hydrant offstage can gimp weak up b distances

 

[ptrk83]

^ Will try it. How are u finding the trampoline? If I am too low I can get gimped pretty easily on the third bounce..

 

[Player-3]

It sucks tbh LOL

but side b angled up gives you alot of room cuz you can still jump and up b after without having to bounce

 

[shadowjosh]

Man, that Pac-Man Club Mix is good enough to put on my mp3 player. I'm really feeling it.

 

[Player-3]

YO I JUST FOUND OUT YOU CAN CATCH TGE GALAGA SHIP

Like thorw it snd dash the after the loop u can dash attack or dhort hop aerial to regrab it

 

[ptrk83]

I did it by accident before too!

 

[Player-3]

Sooo good i think it might be my favorite item now

 

[ptrk83]

Writing down percents and properties for each move now . Will post in the morning

 

[Gene]

I've been playing Pac for a few minutes yesterday and his Melon looks like it's his slowest projectile. I mean it goes really slow horizontally. I'm not sure how strong it is or the knock back but I'm gonna see what I can do with it. It's cool that you can grab the fruits.

I might be able to play again today on my friends' 3DS so I'll contribute to the thread as much as I can. Also I think you can combo his d-tilt (he goes into pac form while doing a quick lunge and bites you) into his dash attack. I was just trying random things during the last minute of playing yesterday.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Thank you for making this guide.

 

[Nu~]

We need to start researching pac's custom moves. They were showcased at the treehouse, and they are awesome

1 of the Side B customs goes twice as long with less power, and the other side B custom drags people in, but has shorter distance

 

[ptrk83]

^ Yes..that is on my to do list. I just finished updating the fruit guide as best as I can right now.. I will update individual strategies throughout the week.. Gonna do Smash percents now.

 

[Anuran]

Hey it's PRiDE here - the pink Yoshi main from NJ back in the early days of Brawl. I have been a part of the Smash competitive community since the early days of Melee and was a huge part of the early to mid Brawl scene. Pac-Man was the very first video game I played when I was 4 on the Atari! I have loved him ever since and am super excited that he is in the new Smash! Because of this I want to contribute as much as possible to the development of his meta-game by writing and keeping up with an in depth guide on our yellow legend. I will be getting the Japanese game as early as September 12th so hopefully I will have accurate statistics, percentages, combos/strategies that will updated here soon after the release.

I also hope that this will become a community project , updated frequently, by all Pac-Man mains, so that we can all work together on improving the Pacster's meta-game to its limits while achieving high placings at tournaments.

Pac-Man was announced as a playable character at E3 2014 at a round table meeting on June 10th. Fans were soon greeted with this trailer officially introducing Pac-Man as Smash 4's newest playable character.

*Updated on 9/10/14
Added alternate costumes to the Miscellaneous section.
-Added Pac-Man victory animation
*Updated on 9/7/14
-Added Pac-Man victory animation
*Updated on 9/1/14
-Added omega Pac-Maze picture.
-Changed UpSmash + Bonus fruit descriptions.
*Updated on 8/30/14
-Added CSS picture.
-Changed Final Smash description.
*Updated on 8/29/14
-Added neutral air!
-Added Kirby hat powers
-Added Ghost assist trophy
-Added the key item
-fixed forward air description to match that of the new information found on today's Nintendo Direct in Japan.
*Updated on 8/28/14
-Added small fruit images to decrease ammount of image load time.
-added down b custom special moves
-added Pac-Man's Final Smash
-added Pac-Man's victory theme
*Updated on 8/27/14
-Fixed images sizes and formatting
-added color titles
-added Pac-Man themed stages

Contents

1. Basic moves and strategies guide
2. True combos
3. Offensive play
4. Defensive play
5. Positive Match-ups
6. Bad match-ups
7. Custom moves and strategies
8. Miscellaneous (stages, final smash, kirby hat, victory theme etc)



1. Basic moves and strategies.

Standard Attacks

Neutral attack: The Pac-punch

Pac-Man quickly punches his opponent.

Neutral attack combo: Pac-one, two, three!

Pac-Man punches his opponent ones with his right arm, followed by a punch with his left arm and finishes the combo with a back flip-kick launching his opponent in the air.

Dash attack: Waka waka

Pac-Man dashes at his opponents old-school like by morphing himself into his original Pac-ball form, chomping at his opponents.

Forward tilt: Pac-kick

Pac-Man quickly kicks his big boot out in an upwards angle, straight forward and in a lower angle.

Up tilt: ???

Down tilt: ???

Throws

Aerial Attacks

Neutral Air: - Pac-Ball Bite

Pac-Man quickly spins himself into his Pac-Ball form biting opponents in his path.

Up Air: - Pac-back flip kick

Pac-Man quickly does a quick back flip kick in the air.

Down air: Pac-stomp

Pac-Man stomps on his opponents multiple times. If the move is done on a grounded opponent, the opponent will be launched into the air if the last hit of the move connects.

Forward air: Pac-air kick

Pac-Man quickly swings his big boot around in the air knocking his opponents back.

Back air: Pac-air drop kick

Pac-Man quickly kicks both his legs backwards hitting his opponents with both of his big red boots.

Smash Attacks

Side Smash: Blinky - 16-22%

Pac-Man summons Blinky in his retro form to smash his opponents forward.

Up Smash: Inky -17-23% (if all hit boxes hit)

Pac-Man summons Inky in his retro form to smash his opponents upwards. This move has been shown to have several hit boxes, that last the entirety of the animation; one on the sides of Pac-Man one during the animation of the up Smash (sour) one at the beginning when Inky is being summoned and then another while Inky is has been out. (Think Marth's up Smash having several hit boxes.)

Down Smash: Clyde and Pinky - 13-18%

Pac-Man summons Clyde and Pinky to Smash his opponents from both sides of himself.

Ledge attacks

Standard ledge attack: Pac-boot

When hanging on the ledge, Pac-Man ledge attack's his opponents by swinging and attacking with his big pac-boot.

Special Attacks

Neutral special attack: Bonus fruit

Pac-Man throws bonus fruit from his original game. Holding the attack will cycle bonus fruit/items from his original game, depending on how long the attack is held. So far only 7 items are known to exist. They are in order: Cherry Strawberry, Orange, Apple, Melon, Galaxian Boss, bell and the Key. Each bonus fruit item have different properties when thrown. The charge up period doubles once you cycle beyond the orange. If Pac-man is hit out of his charge or during the throwing animation of the move, the fruit drops to the stage and can be picked up and thrown again by both opponents. The fruit can be charged and stored by performing a block or air dodge during the cycle animation

Cherry - 4%

When thrown, the cherry bounces a short distance (reminiscent) of Ms. Pac-Man's bouncing cherry. It is the first item in the cycle and does little damage.

Strawberry - 6%

When thrown, the strawberry flies on very short a descending arch trajectory.

Orange - 8%

The orange travels on a horizontal path across most of the stage, dealing 8% damage.

Apple - 9%

Like the cherry but with further range, the apple bounces across the stage dealing 9% damage.

Melon - 12%
When the melon is thrown, it travels SLOWLY across the stage, with a slight arch, hitting the opponent for 12% damage. It has decent knockback and can be used to KO opponents at higher percents.

Galaxian Boss - 11%

When thrown, the Galaxian Boss launches forward hitting opponents in it's path. The Galaxian boss then does a small loop and continues to go forward. This loop attack can hit multiple times and be re-caight after the loop is finishing in the air. It his for 11% each hit.

Bell - 8%
When the bell is thrown on an arching path that goes up and comes down hitting and stunning the opponent. The lasting effect of the stun varies depending on what percent your opponent is. Common strategie is to stun your opponent and finish with a smash move.

Key - 15%

The key is Pac-Man's last item on the bonus fruit cycle. Once it is reached Pac-Man must throw it in order to restart the cycle. The move has huge knockback and is a kill move for Pac-Man. It travels rather quickly in a horizontal path across the stage. It is so quick that it usually catches opponents off guard.

Up special attack: Trampoline

Pac-Man summons a trampoline to bounce himself vertically into the air. Can be used as a vertical recovery to get on the stage. The trampoline can be bounced on three times, (twice if you don't include the original bounce by Pac-Man) jumping higher and higher each time the trampoline is jumped on. The trampoline left behind after the initial jump can be used by opponents as well.

Side special attack: Power Pellet
Pac-Man throws out a power pellet and a trail of dots. Pac-Man then chomps the trail of dots to the power pellet biting any opponent who gets in his way. This power pellet can be controlled, potentially changing the path of Pac-Man's chomping. This move can also help Pac-Man recover to the stage horizontally.

Down special attack: Fire Hydrant

Pac-Man summons and drops down a fire hydrant from Pac-Land. The fire hydrant then shoots out water from both sides pushing back any opponent hit by it. If the hydrant was dropped in the air, any opponent caught in the path of the fall will also be hit. The fire hydrant is also capable of spiking if hit when the opponent is off the ground.

Taunts

Up taunt: Namco Nostalgia

Pac-Man Summons random Namco characters from past games.

Down taunt: Thumbs up!

Pac-Man gives the thumbs up sign to his opponents.

Side taunt: Lazy afternoon

Pac-Man lazily lays on the ground singing while Ghost fly around his head.

​

7. Custom moves and Strategies

Custom Special Attacks

Down Custom Special 1: The Fire..Fire Hydrant

Pac-Man drops a Fire hydrant that shoots out flames in stead of water. Unlike the water Fire Hydrant instead of a knock back effect this custom move now deals damage instead.

Down Custom Special 2: The Hydrant Bomb

Pac-Man drops a fire hydrant that either explodes on impact or explodes after a certain time has passed.

​

8. Miscellaneous

Alternate Costumes

*Courtesy of the Famitsu article

Final Smash

After breaking the Smash Ball, Pac-Man glows and grows into a ginormous retro looking Pac-Man and attacks and chomps his enemies, on a vertical or horizontal path. After his enemies are chomped, they are then turned into ghost eyes and flee the stage.

Pac-Man Victory Animation

Pac-Man Stage Music

Pac-Man Kirby Hat

When Kirby wears the Pac-Man hat he takes on Pac-Man's characteristic eye brow and nose! His new b neutral special becomes bonus fruit!
Ghost Assist Trophy

Inky, Pinky, Blinky and Clyde come out of the assist trophy and appear on the screen damaging any opponents caught in their path. Their movement pattern is reminiscent of the classic game Pac-Man.

Pac-Man Stages

Pac-Land - Wii U

A side scrolling stage based on Pac-Man's game, Pac-Land.

Pac-Maze - 3DS

A maze stage based on Pac-Man's original game Pac-Man.

Omega/Final Destination Pac-Maze

Pac-Man's CSS Image

3DS

Pac-Man Victory Theme

Guide Contributors

@ ptrk83 - "PRiDE"
@ Nu~
@bekindrewind
​

well put together!

 

[shadowjosh]

Sonic's still my main, but I'm loving the way Pac-Man plays from watching videos. And I'm getting used to Mega Man in the Demo.

Man, it's all third party all the time for me.

 

[ptrk83]

OK. Adding the rest of the percents now.. Then will add what little strategy I have been able to come up with plus what people here have been able to come up with.