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Pac-Man Connect & Play

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Pac-Man Connect & Play refers to a "plug & play" game compilation featuring Namco arcade titles. It was originally released in 2012 by Bandai America (with some later variants released under the Bandai Namco name), and is the unofficial successor to Jakks Pacific's Pac-Man plug & play series.

Overview[]

The original release of the Pac-Man Connect & Play console is designed to resemble a large, pixelated Pac-Man, with square edges and a carved-out mouth on the righthand side. It features an orange joystick and two white buttons, labeled "A" and "B" in pixel lettering.

There is a blank plastic plate on the back side of the console, housing the battery compartment and a small storage area. The AV cables can be stored inside this compartment when the console is not in use. The console is often advertised as being "displayable" by having the joystick end facing the back; making the blank side act as a decorative Pac-Man figure.

Several different models of the Pac-Man Connect & Play have been released, all of which are largely identical in software and ergonomics. A PAL-based version of the console was released in 2015, which is shaped as a decorative Blinky sprite instead of Pac-Man. A limited-edition variant, "Pac-Man Connect & Play: Gold Edition", was released in 2021 through Premium Bandai (with a reissue in 2022); this version is painted metallic gold, and comes with a print of a design document from the original Pac-Man arcade game.[1] Additonally, a packaging variant in commemoration of Pac-Man's 35th anniversary was released in 2015.

Upon its release, the Connect & Play was criticized for featuring a poor joystick and its impractical base design, particularly in comparison to the Jakks Pacific consoles. Later revisions, such as the "35th Anniversary"-branded SKU, reportedly feature improved joysticks with microswitches. Some variants appear to feature 4-way joystick gates, while others are 8-way.

This console is based on the Generalplus GPL16250 system-on-a-chip; a more advanced architecture than the Sunplus hardware used in prior Pac-Man plug & plays.[2] The player's high scores are saved into memory, and can be erased from the game selection menu.

Games[]

The Pac-Man Connect & Play's game list is very similar to Retro Arcade featuring Pac-Man, though Pole Position is replaced with the newly-created Pac-Man 256. As such, it includes the following twelve games:

All of the included games are emulated ports of the original arcade versions; whereas prior plug & plays used custom recreations of the games. The majority of in-game patterns and glitches from the arcade versions can be replicated, including the Map 256 Glitch in Pac-Man. Each game retains its two-player mode, which were not present on earlier plug & plays. The copyright notices are removed from each game, though Namco logos are kept.

There are several anomalies regarding emulation on the console, particularly surrounding graphics:

  • As in prior plug & plays, vertical-resolution games have various display alterations; including moving the games' life indicators and scoring information to the righthand side of the screen. Due to using proper emulation, however, several odd strategies were used to achieve this: such as squashing or cropping the screen display, or having the playfields scroll vertically.[2]
    • The Pac-Man games have their playfields physically squashed to fit on the screen; resulting in uneven graphic scaling. The overlaid player/enemy sprites do not appear squished; instead having their positions altered to better fit the altered maze display.[2]
  • Every game has its sound pitched an octave lower. Galaxian seems to have inaccurate sound emulation that resembles the bootleg iCade 60-in-1 in performance.

Pac-Man 256[]

Pac-Man 256, also referred to as Pac-Level 256 on later models, is a simple hack of Pac-Man that appears exclusively on the Pac-Man Connect & Play. The game is modified to automatically start on level 255, leading to the infamous level 256 glitch on the next round. Additionally, the player is given five lives instead of three.

A single arcade machine containing the Connect & Play's Pac-Man 256 game was produced for the now-defunct Level 257 arcade in Schaumburg, IL (later known as Pac-Man Entertainment). It was labeled as Level 255 on its marquee, and Pac-Man: Level 255 on the sides of the cabinet.

It is not to be confused with the 2015 mobile game of the same name, which would later be ported to numerous other platforms.

Trivia[]

  • The reset glitch in Galaga still exists. Since the Boss Galaga is damaged, the demo player shoots the boss. You then have full control of the fighter until the game stops & gives you a different self-test screen.
  • The Connect & Play features coding inputs for four buttons, despite the console itself only having two buttons. The third input allows the player to skip levels in each game (save for Xevious). The fourth input instantly opens the prompt to exit to the main menu; which, on the final console, is accessed by holding down the A and B buttons for a few seconds.[2]
  • Coding remnants of Ms. Pac-Man are visible in the Connect & Play's data, suggesting that the game was intended to be included on the system.[3] The game was presumably removed due to the legal issues surrounding the Ms. Pac-Man IP.
  • The console's naming of "Connect & Play" was presumably done to avoid direct association with Jakks Pacific's plug & play line (for legal reasons or otherwise). However, "plug & play" is largely associated as a generic term, making the exact reason behind the name change unclear.
    • Prior to its release, the console was branded as "Plug & Play" (as well as "8-Bit Club") on its box when shown at Toy Fair 2012.[4]
  • The company Touch Game Player - an entity mostly involved with bootleg plug & play releases - claimed that they were the manufacturers of the Pac-Man Connect & Play on their now-defunct website.[5] The veracity of this claim is unknown.
  • The original model's packaging is designed to resemble the original Bally Midway Pac-Man arcade machine, including its marquee and side art. Presumably due to Bandai Namco not widely licensing these art assets at the time, the artwork is based on the fan-made "PACANAC" vectors from the early 2000s.
  • The official website is erroneously headered as "Pac-Mac Connect & Play" instead of Pac-Man.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ↑ https://p-bandai.com/us/item/N2566784001001
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Emulating the Emulators" (David Haywood's Homepage)
  3. ↑ https://tcrf.net/Pac-Man_Connect_%26_Play
  4. ↑ http://www.16bit.com/toyfair2012/toyfair2012-ban-pac-man/toyfair2012-ban-pac-man4.jpg
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171011062323/http://www.touchgameplayer.com/rocker-arm-series-01/

External links[]

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