![]() ![]() Pac-Man, in itself, started life as an unauthorized hack of Pac-Man. Little is known about the game itself otherwise. While demonstrating "Cute-See" during the trial, the defendants suspiciously disconnected the 5E/5F chips from the circuit board, thus not displaying the Pac-Man graphics. Cute-See - Known to have been the subject of a lawsuit by Midway.Titan - A space-themed, Piranha-based hack by "NSM".Abscam - A "G L" hack similar to Piranha, bizarrely themed around the "ABSCAM" FBI sting operation of the late 1970s.Caterpillar - Uses Hangly-Man maze, new graphics and scoring system.Joyman - Features a somewhat poorly modified maze layout, and unique graphics the music's notes are switched to play in reverse.Popeye-Man - Replaces Pac-Man with Popeye's head generally features either Hangly-Man or New Puck-X's maze layout.Some variants are known as Ghostmuncher, and reuse the music from Streaking. Due to the conversion process, these versions generally feature strange colors and sound. "Galaxian hardware" conversions - Bootleg ports of Pac-Man designed to run on technically-inferior Galaxian hardware (or similar hardware derivatives).It was originally produced on the bootleg market, but was later sold/used officially by both Midway and Namco. " Speed-up chip" kits - Likely the most common hack a kit that greatly increases Pac-Man's speed in-game.As mentioned above, a few elements of the bootleg hacks are replicated in Pac-Man Plus. Developed by Namco of Japan, it was designed to combat the unlicensed conversion kits, in order to create a less shady, "official" alternative. Pac-Man Plus is an officially-produced Pac-Man hack, released in North America in early 1982. Streaking was featured in a scene in the 1983 film "Joysticks" the movie was (loosely) licensed by Bally Midway, and showcased various actual Pac-Man games as well. Despite its somewhat-dirty nature, the game is not known to have caused any controversy upon its release. A "fatigue" meter is added (expiring if not enough dots are eaten), and the Power Pellets warp the player across the screen. The game, as the title suggests, has the player control a streaker starting completely naked, she picks up clothes (replacing Pac-Man's fruits) while avoiding police officers. The game appears to be a very advanced hack of Pac-Man, as evident by various aspects of its code. The game would later be released (by two different publishers) in the United States under altered names. Streaking (ストリーキング Sutorīkingu) was released in late 1981 by Shoei. Some later revisions feature entirely redrawn sprites (likely to further hide resemblance to Pac-Man) and less glitchy music. Piranha is rather heavily modified from the original Pac-Man featuring an open, less linear playfield, and modified graphics based on marine life. Namco reportedly threatened legal action against the game. ![]() Billiards (oddly, as a dedicated arcade cabinet). Piranha (ピラニア Pirania) was released in 1981 by "G L" in North America, the game was published by U.S. Newpuc2 also slightly alters Pac-Man's speed - the same speed setting was later used in Pac-Man Plus. "Newpuc2" adds a new gameplay mechanic the cutscenes feature Fruits at the bottom, which (when combined with the arcade machine's instruction card) acts as a "fortune teller". It features an identical maze to New Puck-X, though replaces the Pac-Dots with hearts, and the Vulnerable Ghost graphics with the "naked" ghost seen in the third cutscene. ![]() "Newpuc1" is more commonly known as "Pac-Man (Hearts)", and is often translated into French. Namco reportedly threatened legal action against the game(s). Both versions were released by "Kamiya" (カミヤ) in 1981. Scandalman (スキャンダルマン Sukyandaruman) exists in two versions, dubbed "Newpuc1" and "Newpuc2" on the title screens. While referred to as "Hangly" in-game, the Japanese title is actually meant to be read as Hungry Man, with "Hangly" presumably being a mistranslation. Namco took legal action against both parties, with an unknown settlement being reached in August 1981. Hangly-Man was manufactured by "Igurekku" (イグレック), and was published by "Kawakusu" (カワクス). In some levels, eating a Power Pellet will turn the maze walls invisible - a feature later used in Pac-Man Plus. Hangly-Man (ハングリーマン Hangurīman) is a Pac-Man hack released in 1981, featuring two altered maze layouts. Additionally, several pieces of licensed Pac-Man merchandise (mostly from the mid-2000s) used New Puck-X screenshots for their design, possibly by accident. Oddly, the second level of Pac-Man: Adventures in Time (Prehistoric Peril) uses a maze layout based on New Puck-X. The hack's name is a play on New Rally-X, another game produced by Namco. New Puck-X is one of the earliest bootleg Pac-Man hacks it changes the maze layout to a new pattern, and slightly alters the scoring system. ![]()
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