I was able to get this with just 20 bucks so why not
I like Pac-Man, his games are neat, and this is a nice collection. 14 games in one cartridge is a great deal even if some are better than others, and the arcade room hub is very fitting for Pac-Man and I like that they let you customize it with different wallpapers and decorations and even letting you change the floor color (wow!), though personally I wasn't too incentivized to mess with it too much IMO, I mostly came for the games. besides just playing through them, there's also little achievements you can do in them (clear 10 rounds in 1 game, earn a score of 10,000, eat X amount of Ghosts) that'll net you some in-game items for your arcade. some games have to be unlocked, though it's really easy to unlock them since the requirements are "play other Pac-Man game two times", so you're likely to get them all unlocked very quickly. now unfortunately I don't have the time to give each game (or even this game) in the collection a proper detailed review due to how little time I spent playing each one so the next section down here is more-or-less just my first impressions of each games (except for the ones I've played before) so you don't have to take them too seriously.
Pac-Man: 6/10
it's the original you have to pay your respects, of course I much prefer playing Ms. Pac-Man and even Pac-Man Plus when it comes to the original Pac format, but it's still solid even if it can get a bit repetitive over time
Super Pac-Man: 7/10
I've always overlooked this game since the arcade cabinets and plug and plays I used in the past always had Ms. Pac-Man so why would I play this when I have that? now that Ms. Pac-Man is in copyright limbo I'm forced to acknowledge this as the true Pac-Man sequel, and yeah it's actually great. the Ghosts decided to be smart and lock the food inside doors, however they aren't smart enough since they left the keys lying around in the maze for Pac to find and open them, on top of them there's Super Pellets that transforms him into Super Pac-Man and that makes him immune to Ghosts and be able to crash into the doors without a key, easily what this makes from alright to fun. oh yeah bonus stages are in the game and Pac's Super during them, cool game would recommend.
Pac & Pal: 4/10
damn what happened? Super Pac-Man was pretty cool but this just feels like an inferior version. the doors are still here but instead of the keys you have to flip over cards in the maze that open the doors but unlike the keys which open a nearby door, the cards open whatever door they want to so there's a bit of more randomness going on. instead of Super Pellets, Pac can find bonus items in some of the doors that turn him into Galaga-Man (there's no name for the power-up but they should have definitely called it that) that has him shoot beams at the Ghost to temporary stun them, not as cool or powerful as Super Pac-Man but it's still alright. there's also some random bootleg Lolo/Lala wandering around that helps retrieve items for Pac who goes by Miru or Mil, going through her is safe since she's a friendly ghost, she is the Pal. there's good ideas here but for me it just didn't click, maybe if I spent more time with it I'd like it more but I can't say I'm too interested. also there's goofy ass music playing through the entire levels.
Pac-Land: 6/10
MS Paint Pac is cool. this one is more of a side scrolling game where Pac-Man assists a lost fairy to help return her to her land, and along the way the Ghosts are there to try and mess with Pac-Man. Pac-Man doesn't care this time around he just tries to walk around them he has a job to do, though the Power Pellets finally make a return so he can eat them up again if it ever shows up. unfortunately I couldn't finish the third level since I kept messing up the jump over the lake and fell into the water every time so I didn't complete the fourth level where Pac returns back home to Not Ms. Pac-Man, sad
Pac-Mania: 6/10
damn this game looks great for 1987. it's back to the original Pac format but now the mazes are in 2.5D and Pac-Man is able to jump over the Ghosts! though I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I didn't get far in this one so I didn't get to see the other two mazes, new Ghosts, or the different colored Power Pellets. this is another case of if I played it longer I'd rate it higher, but this was a greater first impression than say, Pac & Pal, I wish the gameplay was a bit faster though.
Pac-Attack: 3/10
puzzle game competition is tough when it comes to me. if you're not Tetris, Puyo Puyo, or Dr. Mario then I don't caaare. I'll give it this I like the neat implementation of Pac eating Ghosts in a puzzle format, but I couldn't really figure out how to get into it and I don't have the interest to.
Pac-In-Time: 2/10
the best part of this game is the absurdity of the plot. Pac-Man is just enjoying the time with his family when all of a sudden his arch-nemesis, the Ghost Witch, the one who's been there since the beginning and is the one responsible for sending all those Ghosts against Pac in the mazes (source: trust me bro) decides to take things into her own hands and zaps Pac-Man to the year 1975 which also turns him into a young boy (I'm not sure how that'll benefit her but okay) so now he has to traverse through some random worlds while collecting Pellets to finish the levels and eventually face off the Ghost Witch at the end to get back home to the present. this game is off and it's not just me since not only was it not developed by Namco (only published by them) but it's also a rebranded version of Fury of the Furries so in all but branding this is not a Pac-Man game. anyway I couldn't get past the first level because I didn't have enough Pellets and couldn't figure out how to get back up, peak media
Pac-Man Arrangement (Arcade): 9/10
KINOOOOO! I used to have an old GBA cart with Pac-Man games and out of all of them this is the one that I enjoyed the most, now here I am playing the original arcade without the screen scrolling. this feels like the natural progression from Ms. Pac-Man with not only the different mazes (one of which being the original maze in appearance and layout), but there's boosters that let Pac zoom fast to stun the Ghosts, warp panels that send him to a different section of the maze, varied power-ups that give Pac a ghost clone, temporary trap the Ghosts in a urn, and even turn the Ghosts into presents (not sure what that one does but it's funny). there's also an introduction of a glasses Ghost (apparently his name is Kinky lol) where if he makes contact with another Ghost, he powers them up for the rest of the level (Blinky becomes a bull ghost that charges at Pac when he's in his sight, Pinky becomes a bunny ghost that tries to hop in Pac's direction, Inky becomes a "coooool" ghost that can create a parallel clone of himself, Clyde becomes fat and spits out extra pellets in the maze). the later levels have more Kinkies wandering about so near the end there's a possibility all of them will be powered-up and that is some fun chaos. there's also a boss fight with the Ghosts at the end so yeah there's an actual ending to this game that's cool. this is the only one I finished to the end as not only does continuing send you right back from where you are, but the game's just a bunch of fun. if you like Pac-Man but somehow never played this one, do it you are missing out.
Pac-Man Arrangement (Console): 4/10
"How dare you stand where he stood." ~ idk I think Luke Skywalker said that
how do you release a cool looking game like Pac-Mania in 1987 and then have this almost twenty years later? visually this looks like mobile slop, which is funny since there is a mobile game in this collection and it looks a lot better than this, gameplay wise it's not a good first impression. quickly skimming through the game online it seems the levels do get pretty interesting later on, but the first few levels I played were not anything special and I'm not sure if I really want to continue when I already have the superior Arrangement in the same collection. idk maybe I'm missing out but oh well.
Pac-Man Championship Edition: 8/10
Pac-Man but for a modern audience, it's very solid. more fast-paced, the mazes change layouts, there's an awesome neon look to everything, I'm sure most people on this page know what Championship Pac-Man so I won't go into any more detail. you're probably better off with DX or Championship Edition 2 since those ones improve the formula more, heck there's even a NES fan creation of this game that I'd say has even more style, but this is still really great on its own.
Pac-Motos: 5/10
I don't know what a Motos is, but I'll just say that I don't have much of an opinion on this one other than I got huge Checkerboard Chase vibes from this one. basically Pac-Man has to bump into his enemies like the Ys guy and knock them off the stage. there's some power-ups you can collect in the levels which you can save for later in a inventory of some sort and that's a neat way for Pac-Man to use his power-ups. idk what else to say, it's good I guess
Pac 'n Roll Remix: 7/10
Pac-Man forme de Marble Madness. I can see myself playing this through to the very end if I had the time to do so, it seems like a much better version of Pac-In-Time where instead of collecting Pellets through lame platforming, you collect them by rolling around in this fun little golf courses. don't have much else to say here other than....awesome.
Pac-Man Battle Royale: 3/10
what no Battle Pass? Pac-Man Battle Royale is really a game that gets all its magic from being at the arcade. in the arcade, it's at least a wonderful 7/10, but when you're just sitting there in a dark room alone battling against a Pac CPU inside a very small maze, all the magic is missing. why would I play this when every other game in this collection gives me a more unique experience? I guess if you had some friends with you in the house it'd be better but I really think the best way to play this is out in the arcade.
Pac-Man 256: 5/10
it's fine
the total of 75/140 bring the overall score to something like 5/10....I don't know that seems a bit harsh I'll bring it up to a 6/10. for the cheap piece I'd say it's well worth it, especially with the big hitters like Arrangement Arcade and Championship Edition. I feel it this collection could have been improved upon but this is a well-done effort and if you need an easy way to play a bunch of Pac-Man games, give this collection a go.
MS. PAC-MAN IS STILL IN THE CREDITS OF ARRANGEMENT CONSOLE YOU CAN'T CHANGE HISTORY FOREVER REVISIONISTS
I like Pac-Man, his games are neat, and this is a nice collection. 14 games in one cartridge is a great deal even if some are better than others, and the arcade room hub is very fitting for Pac-Man and I like that they let you customize it with different wallpapers and decorations and even letting you change the floor color (wow!), though personally I wasn't too incentivized to mess with it too much IMO, I mostly came for the games. besides just playing through them, there's also little achievements you can do in them (clear 10 rounds in 1 game, earn a score of 10,000, eat X amount of Ghosts) that'll net you some in-game items for your arcade. some games have to be unlocked, though it's really easy to unlock them since the requirements are "play other Pac-Man game two times", so you're likely to get them all unlocked very quickly. now unfortunately I don't have the time to give each game (or even this game) in the collection a proper detailed review due to how little time I spent playing each one so the next section down here is more-or-less just my first impressions of each games (except for the ones I've played before) so you don't have to take them too seriously.
Pac-Man: 6/10
it's the original you have to pay your respects, of course I much prefer playing Ms. Pac-Man and even Pac-Man Plus when it comes to the original Pac format, but it's still solid even if it can get a bit repetitive over time
Super Pac-Man: 7/10
I've always overlooked this game since the arcade cabinets and plug and plays I used in the past always had Ms. Pac-Man so why would I play this when I have that? now that Ms. Pac-Man is in copyright limbo I'm forced to acknowledge this as the true Pac-Man sequel, and yeah it's actually great. the Ghosts decided to be smart and lock the food inside doors, however they aren't smart enough since they left the keys lying around in the maze for Pac to find and open them, on top of them there's Super Pellets that transforms him into Super Pac-Man and that makes him immune to Ghosts and be able to crash into the doors without a key, easily what this makes from alright to fun. oh yeah bonus stages are in the game and Pac's Super during them, cool game would recommend.
Pac & Pal: 4/10
damn what happened? Super Pac-Man was pretty cool but this just feels like an inferior version. the doors are still here but instead of the keys you have to flip over cards in the maze that open the doors but unlike the keys which open a nearby door, the cards open whatever door they want to so there's a bit of more randomness going on. instead of Super Pellets, Pac can find bonus items in some of the doors that turn him into Galaga-Man (there's no name for the power-up but they should have definitely called it that) that has him shoot beams at the Ghost to temporary stun them, not as cool or powerful as Super Pac-Man but it's still alright. there's also some random bootleg Lolo/Lala wandering around that helps retrieve items for Pac who goes by Miru or Mil, going through her is safe since she's a friendly ghost, she is the Pal. there's good ideas here but for me it just didn't click, maybe if I spent more time with it I'd like it more but I can't say I'm too interested. also there's goofy ass music playing through the entire levels.
Pac-Land: 6/10
MS Paint Pac is cool. this one is more of a side scrolling game where Pac-Man assists a lost fairy to help return her to her land, and along the way the Ghosts are there to try and mess with Pac-Man. Pac-Man doesn't care this time around he just tries to walk around them he has a job to do, though the Power Pellets finally make a return so he can eat them up again if it ever shows up. unfortunately I couldn't finish the third level since I kept messing up the jump over the lake and fell into the water every time so I didn't complete the fourth level where Pac returns back home to Not Ms. Pac-Man, sad
Pac-Mania: 6/10
damn this game looks great for 1987. it's back to the original Pac format but now the mazes are in 2.5D and Pac-Man is able to jump over the Ghosts! though I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I didn't get far in this one so I didn't get to see the other two mazes, new Ghosts, or the different colored Power Pellets. this is another case of if I played it longer I'd rate it higher, but this was a greater first impression than say, Pac & Pal, I wish the gameplay was a bit faster though.
Pac-Attack: 3/10
puzzle game competition is tough when it comes to me. if you're not Tetris, Puyo Puyo, or Dr. Mario then I don't caaare. I'll give it this I like the neat implementation of Pac eating Ghosts in a puzzle format, but I couldn't really figure out how to get into it and I don't have the interest to.
Pac-In-Time: 2/10
the best part of this game is the absurdity of the plot. Pac-Man is just enjoying the time with his family when all of a sudden his arch-nemesis, the Ghost Witch, the one who's been there since the beginning and is the one responsible for sending all those Ghosts against Pac in the mazes (source: trust me bro) decides to take things into her own hands and zaps Pac-Man to the year 1975 which also turns him into a young boy (I'm not sure how that'll benefit her but okay) so now he has to traverse through some random worlds while collecting Pellets to finish the levels and eventually face off the Ghost Witch at the end to get back home to the present. this game is off and it's not just me since not only was it not developed by Namco (only published by them) but it's also a rebranded version of Fury of the Furries so in all but branding this is not a Pac-Man game. anyway I couldn't get past the first level because I didn't have enough Pellets and couldn't figure out how to get back up, peak media
Pac-Man Arrangement (Arcade): 9/10
KINOOOOO! I used to have an old GBA cart with Pac-Man games and out of all of them this is the one that I enjoyed the most, now here I am playing the original arcade without the screen scrolling. this feels like the natural progression from Ms. Pac-Man with not only the different mazes (one of which being the original maze in appearance and layout), but there's boosters that let Pac zoom fast to stun the Ghosts, warp panels that send him to a different section of the maze, varied power-ups that give Pac a ghost clone, temporary trap the Ghosts in a urn, and even turn the Ghosts into presents (not sure what that one does but it's funny). there's also an introduction of a glasses Ghost (apparently his name is Kinky lol) where if he makes contact with another Ghost, he powers them up for the rest of the level (Blinky becomes a bull ghost that charges at Pac when he's in his sight, Pinky becomes a bunny ghost that tries to hop in Pac's direction, Inky becomes a "coooool" ghost that can create a parallel clone of himself, Clyde becomes fat and spits out extra pellets in the maze). the later levels have more Kinkies wandering about so near the end there's a possibility all of them will be powered-up and that is some fun chaos. there's also a boss fight with the Ghosts at the end so yeah there's an actual ending to this game that's cool. this is the only one I finished to the end as not only does continuing send you right back from where you are, but the game's just a bunch of fun. if you like Pac-Man but somehow never played this one, do it you are missing out.
Pac-Man Arrangement (Console): 4/10
"How dare you stand where he stood." ~ idk I think Luke Skywalker said that
how do you release a cool looking game like Pac-Mania in 1987 and then have this almost twenty years later? visually this looks like mobile slop, which is funny since there is a mobile game in this collection and it looks a lot better than this, gameplay wise it's not a good first impression. quickly skimming through the game online it seems the levels do get pretty interesting later on, but the first few levels I played were not anything special and I'm not sure if I really want to continue when I already have the superior Arrangement in the same collection. idk maybe I'm missing out but oh well.
Pac-Man Championship Edition: 8/10
Pac-Man but for a modern audience, it's very solid. more fast-paced, the mazes change layouts, there's an awesome neon look to everything, I'm sure most people on this page know what Championship Pac-Man so I won't go into any more detail. you're probably better off with DX or Championship Edition 2 since those ones improve the formula more, heck there's even a NES fan creation of this game that I'd say has even more style, but this is still really great on its own.
Pac-Motos: 5/10
I don't know what a Motos is, but I'll just say that I don't have much of an opinion on this one other than I got huge Checkerboard Chase vibes from this one. basically Pac-Man has to bump into his enemies like the Ys guy and knock them off the stage. there's some power-ups you can collect in the levels which you can save for later in a inventory of some sort and that's a neat way for Pac-Man to use his power-ups. idk what else to say, it's good I guess
Pac 'n Roll Remix: 7/10
Pac-Man forme de Marble Madness. I can see myself playing this through to the very end if I had the time to do so, it seems like a much better version of Pac-In-Time where instead of collecting Pellets through lame platforming, you collect them by rolling around in this fun little golf courses. don't have much else to say here other than....awesome.
Pac-Man Battle Royale: 3/10
what no Battle Pass? Pac-Man Battle Royale is really a game that gets all its magic from being at the arcade. in the arcade, it's at least a wonderful 7/10, but when you're just sitting there in a dark room alone battling against a Pac CPU inside a very small maze, all the magic is missing. why would I play this when every other game in this collection gives me a more unique experience? I guess if you had some friends with you in the house it'd be better but I really think the best way to play this is out in the arcade.
Pac-Man 256: 5/10
it's fine
the total of 75/140 bring the overall score to something like 5/10....I don't know that seems a bit harsh I'll bring it up to a 6/10. for the cheap piece I'd say it's well worth it, especially with the big hitters like Arrangement Arcade and Championship Edition. I feel it this collection could have been improved upon but this is a well-done effort and if you need an easy way to play a bunch of Pac-Man games, give this collection a go.
MS. PAC-MAN IS STILL IN THE CREDITS OF ARRANGEMENT CONSOLE YOU CAN'T CHANGE HISTORY FOREVER REVISIONISTS