I don't think you need me to tell you why the newly-released "Secret Level" series is the most illogical, incomprehensible piece of Pac-Man media ever conceived. I mean, just look at it. It both speaks for itself and leaves you at a loss for words. Regardless of how you view it, you'll probably conclude that it has virtually nothing to do with Pac-Man; outside of featuring a microscopic yellow sphere, and having a plot that very vaguely resembles the original arcade game.
Unsurprisingly, the general public's reception to Secret Level (at least for the Pac-Man episode) is largely negative. Who would've thought that going on record to say you wanted to "disembowel people's childhoods" with your officially-licensed gorefest would lead to backlash? Something that took me by surprise, however, is that there's basically no one who claimed to like Secret Level. Rather, there seems to be an opinionated split between "this is horrendous" and "I can somewhat respect this as a unique adaptation". However, the latter opinion just makes me question it all further; what is even being "adapted" if you throw every single concept of Pac-Man out the window anyway?
Really, it all seems to tie in to the continuous, critical notion that will not disappear: that Pac-Man's entire existence past 1980 flat is wholly irrelevant. Some articles have gone so far as to claim that Pac-Man holds no "storytelling value", and that it's "common knowledge" to understand this. This is the viewpoint I cannot stand with modern Pac-Man interpretations. Pac-Man is a character, has multiple personality traits, and retained similar characteristics even throughout earlier missteps (i.e. Ghostly Adventures). But upon a sharp turning point in the 2010s, Pac-Man's character was reduced to nothing; with future adaptions (from video games, film, or otherwise) turning a blind eye to everything past the arcade original.
To set the record straight, let's break it all down; 8-bit by 8-bit. What is Pac-Man's inner character? You could argue that, on a surface level, he just eats things (and I'm not even sure if Secret Level shows that much properly). But I would view his greater characteristics as being a father who is joyous and easygoing; who can also be a bit snarky or just an idiot depending on the adaption. This was a consistent personality from effectively 1982 to 2006; with the fatherly aspect stripped away by 2007, and his remaining character slowly fading from there. I do feel that these are integral details to Pac-Man, and the increasing dismissal of them is only worsening the franchise.
With all that being said - ironically - I don't actually hold that strong of an opinion on Secret Level. For what it's worth, it's somehow so abysmal that it gets under my skin less than a lot of other recent Pac-Man media; and it's less annoying to me than something like the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie. It's an example that highlights the problem with Pac-Man, but it's far from the cause. For a one-time thing (if it remains as such), I can accept it for what it is, even if it's a surface-level metaphorical view.
I think a good comparison to Secret Level is another animated short film; which I guarantee almost no one has ever heard of. "Lifetime: A Pac-Man Story" was a weird little college project which Bandai assisted in producing. It is, quite literally, the polar opposite of Secret Level in conception; being a love story rather than a gory mess. However, both films use Pac-Man as a mere concept rather than as a character; just in radically different ways. They both come off as dull and uninspired; as if they believed shoving Pac-Man's name into any tangentially-related script would instantly make them stand out. To me, it just makes me question why they even bothered.
In my eyes, any mischaracterization of Pac-Man is largely Namco's own fault; both via giving out the Pac-Man license like candy (to virtually any multi-million dollar entity), and not making better Pac-Man interpretations themselves. I don't care that half of Pac-Man's characteristics are in legal jeopardy via Ms. Pac-Man; they can get the rights sorted out and move on. It's absurd that the most character-accurate Pac-Man release within nearly 20 years is the one with Pac-Mom in it, but here we are...
The Obligatory Shadow Labyrinth Addendum[]
Yes, they made a game based on the Secret Level episode. Or rather, it's the complete other way around, and Secret Level was effectively a marketing stunt for an equally abhorrent game concept.
The Shadow Labyrinth game's reveal changes my sentiment on Secret Level considerably; in that I no longer accept it for being a one-time thing, and now see it as a considerably greater issue for the Pac-Man brand as a whole. Other than that, I stand by my words even stronger; especially given it genuinely is Namco's fault to every degree. Ireallydontcare123456789 (talk) 18:36, 10 December 2024 (UTC)Ireallydontcare123456789