When the original Super Smash Bros. released, it was a fighting game for Nintendo’s various mascot characters. As the series evolved, it expanded to include more than just Nintendo heroes and villains. With Brawl, we saw both Sonic and Snake (Metal Gear) make appearances. Now, Sonic and Mega Man are confirmed and they’re joined by Namco’s own iconic mascot, Pac-Man. That means Smash Wii U is the only game in memory to feature Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Sonic, Mega Man and Pac-Man. Almost every iconic gaming franchise is represented, which is something to be proud of.
That said, let’s take a look at what Pac-Man has to offer based on the media currently available for the character. He has a standard jab combo, and his forward air seems to execute quickly with minimal recovery upon landing, which will likely make it useful in competitive play. Meanwhile, his down air appears to be a series of kicks that takes a moment to execute. The slow speed of his down air could make it less useful, but it seems as though his forward air will more than make up for that.
He slides as a forward tilt attack, and Pac-Man’s dash attack features him turning into his classic form as if trying to gobble up his competitors. He can also summon a short path of Power Pellets and follow them in classic form. Players are able to angle the path of the pellets, even moving them behind Pac-Man, but you don’t have much time to do this, and the path is limited in range. However, given the fact that it can be aimed in any direction, it makes this a very versatile attack when set up properly. The somewhat lengthy startup time may limit its uses a bit, but we’ll have to wait for more information on the attack before we can say for certain.
Namco’s mascot character can summon fruit as his standard special move. The fruit can protect Pac-Man or be used as a projectile attack. It’s unclear exactly how these attacks work, but they appear in order based on the name of the item. Pac-Man can also use the ship from Galaga as a throw animation. When this is used, the ship places its target in a temporary state of vulnerability. This may be something that Pac-Man can combo after, but at the moment, it seems to be a fair normal grab with a nice animation.
Pac-Man’s down Smash places one ghost on either side of him, while his forward and up Smash uses a single ghost in front of him. This indicates that his down Smash hits on both sides, which makes it similar to Mega Man’s down Smash, which was very useful at the E3 2014 Smash Invitation.
His recovery move is the trampoline from Mappy Land. Pac-Man jumps off the trampoline and high into the air, but the trampoline doesn’t disappear. It turns yellow after the first use, at which point anyone else can use the trampoline two more times. At this point it turns red, meaning anyone who jumps on it will go right through the trampoline and possibly plunge to their doom.
Pac-Man can also summon a fire hydrant that can shoot water at his opponents, which can then be used as a projectile attack. However, it may be his Final Smash that has casual players most excited. Pac-Man transforms into a giant version of his classic arcade look and moves back and forth across the screen in an attempt to eat the other characters.
Look for Pac-Man tips when Super Smash Bros. releases later this year.
