While Ms. Pac-Man enhances the features that made Pac-Man such a fun game, Super Pac-Man deviates from the original by introducing features that weren't as well received by the general public, yet adds a new layer of strategy to the usual gameplay. It takes two non-essential elements from the original game and re-purposes them to make them part of the core gameplay. The first is keys, which were originally used as the most valuable of the items which granted bonuses in the original Pac-Man arcade game. Here, they unlock doors which are needed to collect all of the fruits in order to finish each level. The second is the giant Pac-Man form, which was originally seen as a joke sequence in a cutscene in the original game. This form allows Pac-Man to go through doors to eat the fruits within without needing the keys to unlock the door first.
The rest of the formula of the game is similar, yet noticeably different. Pac-Man needs to eat all of the fruits, rather than pellets, to progress. The fruits add points while the only pellets are now the larger pellets which give Pac-Man his larger super form and also allow him to eat the ghosts that chase him around the stage. When not powered up by the large power pellets, Pac-Man will lose a life upon being touched by a ghost.
There is another major difference. There are still three levels between stages, but the game doesn't have cutscenes between stages. Instead, there are now bonus stages in which Pac-Man has to clear a maze within the time limit while entirely in his large super form.
The sound effects from the original game return, along side new sound effects for the collecting of keys. The opening music also returns, albeit in a slightly faster and higher pitched form. The most memorable music of the original two games in the series came from the cutscenes, however, and without these the music is a bit lacking compared to the other games. The early 1980s Pac-Man games, however, were never were music-heavy due to the restrictions of their time, so this isn't too much of a loss.
Super Pac-Man is a game that takes most things about previous Pac-Man titles and tosses them out the window for something new. The basic eating and chasing mechanic is still there, making it feel familiar, but the addition of keys and the reduction of edible items due to the larger fruit graphics and fewer item placements makes it feel strangely unfamiliar at the same time. This makes it a bit of a less accessible title than its immediate predecessors, but it is still an excellent example of an arcade maze game that is well worth playing at least once.
Final Verdict:
3½ out of 5
