Five favorite Pac-Man clones

Full disclosure: I'm not the world's biggest Pac-Man fan. Oh, I like the character well enough, and I love Ms. Pac-Man to death, but the Namco-made quartermuncher that started it all? It kind of bores me, if I'm allowed to be honest.

In fact, I'd much rather play any of the Pac-Man clones described below than the arcade classic that seemingly inspired their creation.

Crush Roller (Neo Geo Pocket Color)--OK, so this ADK-developed title, a remake of a 1981 arcade game called Make Trax, isn't a total rip-off of Pac-Man. After all, rather than tasking players with clearing each screen of something, Crush Roller tasks them with filling them with something. Paint, in particular. That's easier said than done, of course, thanks to the baddies, which look a bit like Dragon Quest slimes to my eyes, that chase you as attempt to "paint the town red" (or whatever color you're given for a specific stage). These baddies don't always play fair (they're often a smidgen faster than the paint roller you control), and as a result the game can be teeth-gnashingly frustrating. Still, I enjoy playing it now and then, and I have a feeling most people who have even a passing interest in Pac-Man would (mostly) enjoy it, too. If you'd like to see this Neo Geo Pocket Color game's packaging, by the way, you can do it in this old post of mine: "It's just a little Crush (Roller)."

Devil World (Famicom)--Although I like all of the Pac-Man clones included in this post, I like this one the least. Sure, it sports some great, early-Famicom-era (or early-NES-era) graphics and music, but its gameplay is a tad more complicated than it needs to be, in my humble opinion. Instead of having players focus on eating dots and avoiding enemies à la Pac-Man, Devil World has them perform those actions while also collecting crosses and bibles as well as staying far away from the crushing ropes that ring each maze-like stage. Speaking of which, the stages in Devil World are a lot more convoluted than those found in Pac-Man, which can lead to confusion and even death if you're not careful. In Devil World's favor, its cover art and the contents of its instruction manual are stellar and are worth owning on their own. (Bonus round: read my overly succinct Devil World review.)

Lock 'n' Chase (GameBoy)--At first glance, Lock 'n' Chase appears to be a lazy and uninspired Pac-Man clone. Hell, the protagonist looks like everyone's favorite spherical dot-muncher with a dapper fedora plopped onto his head. Thankfully, Data East's title differs from Namco's in a few other notable ways--chief among them being the former's larger, scrolling levels. Also, the levels in Lock 'n' Chase are far less symmetrical than the ones in Pac-Man, which I guess could be a positive or a negative, depending on your personality. Another feather in the snazzy cap of Lock 'n' Chase: its baddies all sport police hats. Unfortunately, the lack of color in this GameBoy port hurts its replay value by making it difficult to tell one screen from the next. If you can overlook that fact, though, you'll probably get a kick out of this portable Pac-Man homage.

Onyanko Town (Famicom)--This Micronics-developed and Pony Canyon-published Famicom cartridge belongs in the same camp as the one that houses Crush Roller. Onyanko Town looks great (although not as great as Crush Roller, it has to be said) and offers up an adorably appealing premise--which puts you in the paws of a mama cat who has to track down her kittens and safely bring them home--but it also tends to be beyond aggravating. That's due in part to the title's often-enormous stage layouts and in part to the extremely slow speed at which the mama cat moves. Add in a background tune that gives new meaning to the term "earsplitting," and you have a Japan-only release that's sure to turn off a large chunk of the population. I consider it a favorite Pac-Man clone anyway, though,  because I'm a sucker for games starring pixelated pups (the majority of Onyanko Town's enemies) and felines.

Painter Momopie (GameBoy)--There are a lot distressingly overlooked Japanese GameBoy games. Astro Rabby is one. Burning Paper is another. And then there's Sigma Entertainment's Painter Momopie. It may not be quite as fantastic as those other two efforts, but it's just as fascinating. After all, how many games have you played that have you paint the floors of cozy-looking kitchens, bedrooms and the like while avoiding mice and ghosts and other creatures? None, I'm sure. Plus, Painter Momopie's soundtrack is nearly as heart-warming as its homey setting. The same can be said of its outer box and its instruction manual. Another reason I'd recommend Painter Momopie to anyone who's open to playing a GameBoy cart in this day and age: it's almost assuredly the most relaxing (or at least stress-free) of all the Pac-Man clones discussed in this post.

See also: all of the "five overlooked games you need to play as soon as possible" posts I've published so far

Another Year of the GameBoy: Lock 'n' Chase

I had my eye on the GameBoy port of Lock 'n' Chase for a long time before I finally added it to my collection.

Why the wait? Well, to tell you the truth, I thought Lock 'n' Chase's gameplay looked kind of boring until I experienced it for myself.

Thankfully, a few months ago I went ahead and picked up a copy of this 1990 release despite my misgivings. I say "thankfully" here because now that I've thoroughly put this portable version of Lock 'n' Chase through its paces, I'd describe it as anything but a yawner.



Is it as worthy of praise as the Namco-made quarter-munching classic--that would be the original Pac-Man--that clearly inspired it? No, but how many games of this type are as worthy of praise?

Lock 'n' Chase does what it can to earn your attention even though it's "only" a Pac-Man clone at heart.

A good example is the game's behatted protagonist, who is as cute as a button and, at least initially, seems more visually interesting than his pellet-chomping counterpart.

The badge-sporting "baddies"--Lock 'n' Chase's equivalent to Pac-Man's multi-colored ghosties--are similarly adorable. Plus, they sport names like Stiffy (see below), which give them a leg up on the latter game's Pinky and Clyde.

And there are the different treasures--coins, money bags and jewels--that Lock 'n' Chase's main character nabs as he runs around each stage. They're quite an improvement over Pac-Man's "Power Pellets," don't you think?

Aside from all of that, though, Lock 'n' Chase doesn't do a whole lot to differentiate itself from Namco's genre-creating effort. I mean, the levels in the former often take up more than a single screen, but that's not always a positive.



Also, Lock 'n' Chase's levels are far less symmetrical than Pac-Man's but, again, that's just as liable to be annoying or off-putting than it is to be entertaining.

Still, this Data East title is worth checking out if you've got a GameBoy of some sort or other and you're looking for a cartridge that will grab your attention when you've got a few minutes of free time.

This is especially true if you can find a Japanese copy of the game. After all, the various aspects of that version's packaging feature some really spiffy illustrations, as you can see in the photos included throughout this post.

Five favorites: Japanese GameBoy box art

In the recent post in which I declared 2014 to be the "Year of the GameBoy," I warned folks that they should expect a good number of GB-focused write-ups in the coming weeks and months.

This isn't really the kind of post I was talking about, but it is related to them. After all, one of the things that has pushed me to turn my attention, once again, to Nintendo's first handheld system is the cool, quirky and even beautiful box art that was created for some of its Japanese titles.

The following five pieces of cover art certainly deserve to be tagged as cool, quirky or beautiful--if not all three--or at least I think they deserve to be tagged as such. What do you think?

Banishing Racer--I only became aware of this Jaleco-made platformer--which stars an anthropomorphic car that hops and bops its way across the US--a few months ago, but I've since made up for lost time by basically falling in love with it. Truth be told, the game itself is far from amazing and even can be downright frustrating at times, but I've never been overly picky and I've always been a bit of a masochist, so neither of those things bother me too much. Granted, I may be more lenient on the game than I should be because of its colorful--and kind of hilarious--box art.

Bubble Bobble Junior--Another kind of ho-hum GameBoy title, I have to admit, but, boy, do I like its box art. Of course, I like almost anything related to the iconic Bubble Bobble series, so maybe my interest here shouldn't be too much of a surprise. If only the gameplay were as tight and energetic as its arcade and Famicom/NES predecessors...

Hoi Hoi--Seriously, how can you not love a piece of cover art that features a gigantic, grinning--and winking--cockroach? I also like the kiddies that appear on this one, thanks in large part to the rosy cheeks that make them look like they belong in a cartoon or comic from the early 1900s. Thankfully, the gameplay--which can only be compared to modern tower-defense titles--in this one is worth a second glance, too.

Kitchen Panic--What? Another piece of Japanese GameBoy cover art that showcases illustrations of insects? Yep! Unsurprisingly, those bugs are the star attractions here, with my personal favorite being the bee or fly or spider or whatever you want to call the thing on the left (the one that's crying and holding its face with two of its many hands).

Lock 'n' Chase--After all of the drama above, you're probably surprised I'd decide to include such a "boring" piece of box art in this post. The thing is, I've always liked how this game's Pac-Man-like protagonist is depicted here. Plus, I like the overall use of color in this creation. A really attractive and well-balanced cover, in my humble opinion.

See also: previous 'five favorites' posts