Pac-Man Championship Edition

Pac-Man Championship Edition
Xbox 360 digital cover artwork.
Developer	Namco Bandai Games
Publisher	Namco Bandai Games Microsoft (Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc)
Series	Pac-Man Championship Edition series
Game system(s)	Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade)
Genres	Maze
Release date(s)	WW: June 6, 2007
Number of players	1 player

Pac-Man Championship Edition (パックマン チャンピオンシップエディション Pakkuman Chanpionshippu Edishon, also abbreviated as Pac-Man C.E. via several storefronts) is a maze game in the Pac-Man series developed and published by Namco Bandai Games. It is the first entry in the Pac-Man Championship Edition series.

The game was announced during the Pac-Man World Championships event in New York City on June 5, 2007, and was released digitally the following day on Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Arcade service.

Gameplay

Gameplay of the Championship Mode

Pac-Man Championship Edition takes many features and elements from the original Pac-Man. The player controls Pac-Man, navigating him through a maze filled with Pac-Dots to score as many points as possible before time runs out; also avoiding Ghosts Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde during the game. Eating a Power Pellet will make the ghosts scared, allowing Pac-Man to eat the ghosts and get large amounts of bonus points. Eating another Power Pellet while Power Pellet effects are still active renews the effect's time, allowing Pac-Man to continue eating ghosts in succession for larger amounts of bonus points.

Each map is divided into two halves. Eating all the dots from one half spawns a Bonus Item on the other side; eating it will replace the cleared half with a new maze layout, with another set of dots for Pac-Man to eat. This process continues until the end of the game.

In comparison to the original arcade game, the characters (now having gradient shading on top of the original designs) illuminate the maze in their respective colors. Each of the ghosts retain their chasing methods from the original game, though they no longer make 180 degree turns when switching between scattering and chasing modes. Pac-Man making sharp turns are now indicated by sparks that appear on the side of the wall when a direction is being held. The game's speed increases as the player scores points; losing a life will reduce the speed. An extra life is awarded after every 20,000 points.

The player has 5 minutes to score as many points as possible (10 minutes in some other game modes). The game ends either if the player loses all of their lives or after the timer expires. Upon finishing a game, the player is presented with statistics detailing their performance in the form of graphs: bars for points earned by Pac-Dots, Fruits, and Scared Ghosts.

Game Modes

• Championship Mode - The standard gameplay maze layout, and the only one to feature Power Pellets on both halves of every maze. The time limit is 5 minutes.
• Challenge Mode 1 - Maze halves in this game mode alternate from having multiple Power Pellets to no Power Pellets at all. The starting game speed is slightly faster, and the time limit is 10 minutes.
• Challenge Mode 2 - The maze is covered in darkness, though Pac-Man, the Ghosts and Power Pellets illuminate the maze. The maze layouts consist of large quantities of Pac-Dots spread around, and the starting game speed is very slow. The time limit is 10 minutes.
• Extra Mode 1 - The maze layouts consist of large hallways, with almost no vertical walls, in addition to the starting game speed being much higher than normal. The time limit is 5 minutes.
• Extra Mode 2 - The maze layouts emphasize large and small square walls. The time limit is 10 minutes.
• Extra Mode 3 - The maze layouts consist of a variety of different layouts, mostly composed of layouts featured in all the other game modes. The starting game speed is slightly faster. The time limit is 10 minutes.

Scoring System

• Pac-Dot and Power Pellet:
  • 10 points.
  • Increases to 20, 30, 40 and 50 points after every 60 Pac-Dots eaten.
  • Resets back to 10 points if Pac-Man loses a life.
• Vulnerable Ghosts:
  • #1 in succession - 400 points.
  • #2 in succession - 800 points.
  • #3 in succession - 1200 points.
  • #4 in succession - 1600 points.
  • #5 in succession - 2000 points.
  • #6 in succession - 2400 points.
  • #7 in succession - 2800 points.
  • #8+ in succession - 3200 points.
• Bonus Items:
  • 🍒 Cherry: 1000 points
  • 🍓 Strawberry: 1200 points
  • 🍊 Orange: 1400 points
  • 🍎 Apple: 1600 points
  • 🍈 Melon: 1800 points
  • 🍌 Banana: 2000 points
  • 🍑 Peach: 2200 points
  • Galaxian Boss: 2400 points
  • 🔔 Bell: 2600 points
  • 🔑 Key: 4000 points
  • ☕ Coffee: 4200 points
  • 🍰 Cake: 4400 points
  • Boss Galaga: 4600 points
  • Gaplus Drone: 4800 points
  • 🍔 Hamburger: 5000 points
  • 🍳 Fried Egg: 5200 points
  • 🍬 Candy: 5400 points
  • 🍀 Four-Leaf Clover: 5600 points
  • 💎 Diamond: 5800 points
  • ❤️ Heart: 6000 points
  • Samurai Helmet: 6200 points
  • 👑 Crown: 7650 points

Achievements

Pac-Man Championship Edition features 12 achievements, each unlocked by fulfilling their respective requirements.

Icon	Name	Description
	200,000 Points	Score 200,000 points!
	400,000 Points	Score 400,000 points!
	Sparkster	Emit sparks for 1 second!
	8 Ghosts	Eat 8 ghosts in succession!
	Championship Mode	Complete Championship Mode!
	Challenge Mode 1	Complete Challenge Mode 1!
	Challenge Mode 2	Complete Challenge Mode 2!
	Extra Mode 1	Complete Extra Mode 1!
	Extra Mode 2	Complete Extra Mode 2!
	Extra Mode 3	Complete Extra Mode 3!
	Key	Eat the Key!
	Crown	Eat the Crown!

Xbox 360 Extras

The original Xbox 360 release of Pac-Man Championship Edition also included several extras via the Xbox 360 store, used for customizing the user's Xbox Live profile.

The "Gamer Pictures" included with the Pac-Man C.E. Picture Pack.

• PAC-MAN C.E. Theme 01 — A Xbox 360 home & library menu theme of the maze from this game along with items.
• PAC-MAN C.E. Picture Pack — Contains 12 "Gamer Pictures" (acting as profile pictures for Xbox Live) of characters and items from Pac-Man C.E., including Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde, Scared Ghost, Boss Galaga, Gaplus Bee, Galaxian Flagship, Clover, Crown and Samurai Helmet.

Home Ports

• AirConsole (Volkswagen)
  • Accessible on select Volkswagen vehicles through the AirConsole app. Played on a monitor below the front window; smartphones are used as controllers. Requires multiple subscriptions and internet connections to function.
  • Some visual mofifs are replaced with Volkswagen branding.
  • Only playable when the car is parked.
• Android
  • This port was developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment Romania.
  • The general gameplay speed is slower in comparison to the console versions.
  • For unknown reasons, this version does not have replay reels unlike the other ports.
  • Early versions of the game (around version 1.0.3 to 1.0.9) had settings allowing players to change their screen orientation between portrait and landscape mode. Starting from version 1.1.0, the game was locked at landscape, with no option to change to portrait.
  • From 1.1.0 onward, Power Pellet effects did not indicate when they would end, instead just quickly reverting to normal.
  • From 1.2.0 onward, the time limit was reduced from 5 and 10 minutes to 3 and 5 minutes respectively. Because of this, the achievements were also changed from players having to score 200,000 and 400,000 points and eating the Crown item to scoring 75,000 and 150,000 points as well as eating the Fried Egg item respectively.
  • The app is currently delisted.

• Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Included in the 2020 compilations Namcot Collection (in Japan, unlocked by purchasing 10 games) and Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1. (internationally).
  • The release was originally a homebrew port created in 2008 by coke774. The ROM was never made available to the public, though a video of gameplay was released. When the port was officially licensed by Bandai Namco in Namcot Collection/Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1, the game received several modifications from developer M2, such as the games graphics being greatly improved, the soundtrack being recomposed (taking advantage of the Namco N163 sound channels), and extra features also being added.
  • The port contains the Championship Mode and Extra Mode 3 game modes, labelled Normal and Extra in-game respectively. General gameplay tweaks from the original include the camera scrolling horizontally, Pac-Man's control being improved, Pac-Man's starting speed being increased, Pac-Man slowing down while moving through a path of Pac-Dots (a mechanic from the original Pac-Man) and music syncing with the visuals. Additional features include the ability to select between four different visuals (with one based on Pac-Mania being unlocked after unlocking all achievements) and a sound test feature.
  • The original homebrew version's soundtrack is taken from the Tengen NES version of Pac-Mania. The title screen, statistics, and high score table use music from the Famicom Disk System, Famicom Disk Writer (slightly remixed), and Hopping Mappy, respectively. The final official release uses original music using the additional Namco N163 sound channels, with the statistics being a remix of Pac & Pal's main theme.
• HTML5
  • Released on GamePix.com in 2017; it was confusingly listed as just "Pacman". It likely originated from another source, but it is unknown where. It was removed from the website sometime in June 2020 and replaced with the game Tentrix, though embed versions of the game continued to function for some time thereafter.
  • This port is roughly the same as the Android port; it was developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment Romania, has shorter time limits (3 and 5 minute modes), and the game speed is slower than the console versions. In addition, the music is also slightly compressed, making it sound muffled.
  • Unlike the Android version, which changed three of the achievements to make them easier to obtain, this version did not do so. As a result, it is impossible to earn the "Score 400,000 points" and "Eat the Crown item" achievements due to the shorter time limit.
• iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.)
  • The port features 5 maze modes returning from the original game. In addition to the regular mode (Championship), there are two additional modes known as Challenge and Mission. Though the game featured 120 individual challenges and 30 courses, an amount of them were part of an in-app purchase/DLC pack known as the Expansion Pack, sold at $3.99 USD. An update released a year later in 2010 made all the content from the Expansion Pack unlocked by default.
  • The app is currently delisted.
• Nintendo 3DS
  • Included in Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions.
  • Features stereostoropic 3D support
  • This port also includes 4 exclusive achievements:
    • Survivor: Survive for 4 minutes without losing a life!
    • Escape Artist: Obtain 100,000 points without eating any ghosts!
    • Anti-Warp: Obtain 60,000 points without using the warp pipe!
    • Apple Eater: Eat an apple within 1 minute.
  • The mazes notably have names in this version, with titles carried over from Pac-Man Championship Edition DX. Championship Mode is also known as Ranked Mode, Challenge Mode 1 is known as Heaven or Hell (due to the variance of Power Pellets), Challenge Mode 2 is known as Darkness, Extra Mode 1 is known as Highway, Extra Mode 2 is known as Manhattan, and Extra Mode 3 is known as Fusion (due to the layouts being derived from the other modes).
• Nintendo Switch
  • The original version is included in Pac-Man Museum +, with its Famicom/NES remake being featured in Namcot Collection (Japan) and Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 (international).
• PlayStation 3
  • Included in Pac-Man Museum.
    • A free trial version was available via the trial version of Pac-Man Museum. The trial version allowed the player to play up to 3 minutes and 30 seconds of Championship Mode.
• PlayStation 4
  • The original version is included in Pac-Man Museum +, with its Famicom/NES remake being featured in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1.
• PlayStation Portable
  • Released as a PS mini. Delisted in 2021 following the closure of the PlayStation Store for PlayStation Portable.
• Roku TV
• Windows Phone
• PC
  • The original version is included in Pac-Man Museum and Pac-Man Museum +, with its Famicom/NES remake being featured in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1.
• Xbox 360
  • The original release of the game, published through the Xbox Live Arcade service. Also released physically via the Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc and Namco Museum Virtual Arcade. An additional later port of the game would be included in Pac-Man Museum.
    • A free trial version is available for download on the Xbox 360 Store, and was also available via the trial version of Pac-Man Museum. The trial version allows the player to play up to 3 minutes of Championship Mode.
• Xbox One/Xbox Series
  • The original version is included in Pac-Man Museum and Pac-Man Museum +, with its Famicom/NES remake being featured in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1. Additionally, the standalone Xbox 360 version is backwards-compatible with the Xbox One and "Xbox Series" platforms.

Trivia

• Pac-Man Championship Edition is the final game to be designed by original Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani before his retirement.
• Pac-Man Championship Edition boosted Xbox 360 hardware sales in Japan (the 360 was a very unsuccessful console in the region).
• The director of the Championship Edition series, Tadashi Iguchi, claims that Pac-Man C.E. was intended to release for Pac-Man's 25th anniversary. It was likely pushed to 2007 due to a large number of other Pac-Man titles released during his 25th.
• The Pac-Man Museum port of Pac-Man Championship Edition featured the Clyde and Blinky error, which was not present in the original release.
  • This could possibly mean that the version ported was an earlier build. This was fixed in Pac-Man Museum+.
• In the Famicom/NES demake of Pac-Man Championship Edition, the default high score list's initials reference different Pac-Man and Namco characters:
  • On the Normal high score list, these include PAC (Pac-Man), AKA (Blinky's Japanese name, Akabei), PIN (Pinky), AOS (Inky's Japanese name, Aouske), GUZ (Clyde's Japanese name, Guzuta), SUE (Sue), VAL (Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Densetsu), ALB (Albatross from Rolling Thunder), NAM (the first half of Namco's publishing label Namcot), and C.E (the abbreviated initials of Championship Edition).
  • On the Extra high score list, the Pac-Man names remain the same (except the ghosts use their English initials instead; including BLI, PIN, INK, CLY, SUE), though they are also accompanied by different initials including KI. (Ki from The Tower of Druaga), TAR (Tarosuke from Yokai Dochuki), COT (the second half of Namco's publishing label Namcot) and GAP (Gaplus).

Gallery

Artwork

Logo

Alternate logo used for re-releases

Earlier version of the Xbox 360 artwork (featuring "Arcade" header).

Namcot Collection artwork, designed to resemble Famicom box art.

Pac-Man

Promotional wallpaper

Xbox 360 Home Theme

Xbox 360 Library Theme

Main background art

Screenshots

References

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