Pac-Man Championship Edition (NES) Playthrough
50,297
Published 2022-11-18
Here's what's shown in the video:
0:39 Normal mode, game 1
6:50 Extra mode, game 1
11:00 Normal mode, game 2
16:50 Extra mode, game 2
Once I get all the achievements, I play one more round of both modes to show the alternate graphics:
21:16 Extra mode, game 3
25:04 Normal mode, game 3
31:28 Listening to music in the sound test with a dancing Pac-Man
Pac-Man Championship Edition is a demake of a game that was originally released on Xbox Live back in 2007, and this Famicom version was first "officially" made available in 2020 as a part of the Namcot Collection and Namco Museum Archives Volume 1.
I say "officially" because, as far as I can tell, evidence of the game's existence has been kicking around the internet since as early as 2008 when @coke0774 posted video footage of his work on Japanese websites and NicoNico. Much of that evidence was scrubbed from the internet once M2 and Bandai Namco became involved, and though M2 apparently did do some work on it before it was included in the compilations, they claimed total credit for the game.
They pulled the same BS with the Genesis version of Darius ( • Darius (Genesis) Playthrough - Ninten... ) back in 2019.
Corporate shenanigans aside, this really is an amazing piece of work. It isn't just a mock-up to look like a retro game. Making use of Namco's custom N163 memory controller, Pac-Man Championship Edition runs on real Famicom hardware, and it does a phenomenal job of it.
The gameplay feels just as frenetic and polished as the Xbox 360 game did, and the presentation goes all out to make the experience something special. It's a bit like someone crammed a nightclub into an NES cartridge - even the sound test has an animated Pac-Man rocking out to the music.
It retains the basic gameplay concepts of the original Pac-Man ( • Pac-Man (NES) Playthrough - NintendoC... ), but in Championship Edition, eating all the dots on one side of the stage will trigger the appearance of a piece of food which, when eaten, will refresh the layout of the other side of the maze.
The normal game lasts for five minutes, the extra game for three. The goal is rack up as high a score as possible within the time limit, but the game has a set of achievements for anyone who'd like something more concrete to aim for. Even better, once you've hit every achievement, a new option is unlocked that will reskin some of the graphics with new ones inspired by Pac-Mania ( • Pac-Mania (NES) Playthrough - Nintend... ). The game also saves a replay of your most recent run to the cartridge so you can go back and review your performance if you're looking to improve your skills.
It's an addictive game that managed to capture my attention far better than the original Pac-Man ever did, and the sheer energy driving it is really a joy to behold. Imagine how many minds would've been blown had this been released for the NES in the late 1980s!
I only hope that @coke0774 got his due. The guy has a ridiculous amount of talent, so make sure to go check out his channel! Recently he has been posting videos of his work on a recreation of The Legend of Zelda for the Epoch Super Cassette Vision. Cool stuff.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
All Comments (21)
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How cool would it have been had this been released when the NES was still in its prime?
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Coke0774 is a wizard, I genuinely can not believe this runs on official Famicom hardware. So freaking cool
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The NES, though seemingly ancient now, is still incredible hardware. It never ceases to amaze me. The potential! On a random note: My elderly neighbour in the 80’s used to have two Shih-Tzu dogs - Pac Man and Ms. Pac Man. :)
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Looks like someone has Pac-Man Fever. It's driving you crazy.
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This game is madness. This would have been a fun game as a kid.
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This is just like Pac-Man but more thrilling
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As a HUGE retro fan this is insanely cool, a downgrade like this would be PRAISED back when the NES was still the talk of the town. …of course, I wasn’t alive at that time, but it’s still cool to imagine!
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I have joyful memories playing Pac Man CE when it came out. I also had the plus edition too! Ahh, such fun memories.
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This must be what ecstasy feels like, ive been staring at this video for hours
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It's amazing how the NES was more powerful than a lot of PCs at the time.
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Looking back then this should be legit to play Pac-Man CE on a real NES hardware. This feels much challenging.
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The best de-make I ever played!
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This Is so Fricking Crazy!!!
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Awesome! I love Pac-Man. The NES can be very powerful hardware.
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This is pretty awesome, that a guy like @coke0774 have made a port for the NES of this Xbox 360 game "Pac-Man CE". Almost no slowdowns, fun action replay, and many great things that i'm extremely impressed how did he ported that game to the NES. Sadly the original work isn't public, however BNEI & M2 guys have asked him for the work, and after some polishing, they finally released to the public. @NintendoComplete , will you play the NES official demake of Gaplus too? (This got released in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 for Switch, but the dumped NES rom is avaliable too) Great vid!
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I put this game inside my hacked Nes Mini, and wow, this is such an intense game, I love it!
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kinda cool that this is actually a nes rom
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An interesting take on the familiar Pac-Man gameplay.
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I played so much PacMan-CE DX on PS3 back in 2007+. Started playing it again last year.Had no idea this Famicom/Nes version really existed. Reading your info it sounds like it was a fairly recent release. Would love to try it out.
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I still cannot believe that they included this and Gaplus as games in Namco Museum Archives.
