zombiecraig Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I only vaguely remember seeing this in the arcade when I was very young back in the early 80s. Can anyone explain the gameplay to me? Or better yet, link me to some screen shots. I sort of remember it maybe being a hybrid pinball machine with a video monitor that I assume was used for something gameplay-wise. It seems like a unique gimmick. Unfortunately it didn't last long at the local arcade. Was it a real stinker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 I've only played it a few times. It is indeed a pinball hybrid. One thing I remember about it is that there weren't any power pellets. Here's a link to some screenshots and cab shots: http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter...r=&game_id=6987 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 One thing I remember about it is that there weren't any power pellets There were, but you had to earn them by playing pinball. Kind of a neat idea, but the pinball table sucks IMHO. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oesii Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 You can now play Baby Pac-Man with PinMame and Visual Pinball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiecraig Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 Hey, I didn't realize that. Of course I do play MAME and some other emus, but I never checked out anything pinball related. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbaeza Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Hi I'm having serious problems trying to play Baby Pac Man. What emulator works better when playing this game, and what emulator is not difficult to install / play? Regards Hey, I didn't realize that. Of course I do play MAME and some other emus, but I never checked out anything pinball related. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 It's actually kind of tough to get it all working together properly. It's been years since I put the software on my system so I don't remember exactly how you install it all, but I do know this: you've got to have the newest version of Visual Pinball. You've also got to have PinMAME and the ROMs for the games you want to play. After that, you've got to integrate the two pieces of software somehow... I think this is accomplished by pointing Visual Pinball toward the directory where PinMAME resides. As for Baby Pac-Man, you're really, really not missing much. Trust me on this one. I was curious about the game as well, but I was crestfallen when I discovered that it was a weak Pac-Man game, married to an equally disappointing pinball game. Combining the two does not produce a good game. I explain the reasons why in a review on my web site, which you'll find here: http://grblitz.overclocked.org/others.htm If you download Visual Pinball for any reason at all, it should be for the excellent Star Trek pinball games. Next Generation is exceptional, and the 25th Anniversary game's not bad, either. Bad Cats is also a lot of fun, although much easier than it should be... it just takes a little practice before you can shoot the ramps with unfailing consistency. If you've got to play a video/pinball hybrid, make it Granny and the Gators. The video game is a bit rough around the edges, but when you get past the somewhat dull graphics you'll really enjoy the gameplay. It's a precursor to the Atari game Toobin', which requires you paddle down a danger-infested river, picking off enemies and picking up prizes. It's quite fun when you adapt to the control, and on top of that, the pinball portion of the game is more fun and less frustrating than it is in Baby Pac-Man. Whatever you do, stay away from Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man! It's easily one of the worst pinball games ever. There are LEDs on the playfield which try to simulate an arcade experience, but fail terribly. The pinball's really frustrating, too... the game will suck down your silver spheres faster than Ted Kennedy sucks down shots at a Hooter's. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbaeza Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 it was a weak Pac-Man game, married to an equally disappointing pinball game. Hi I remember playing Baby Pac-Man when I was a kid, the pinball had serious mechanical problems, flippers got stuck very easily. Thanks for the tips, I'll try to give it a shot soon. Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooterb23 Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 stay away from Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man! I loved that table!! I was really good at it too I also really enjoyed Baby Pac-Man. I'd love to own a copy, even if it diesn't work right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassidy Nolen Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Just FYI: Very few arcade collectors want the hassle of this machine. It used a VIDIOT board (some wierd hybrid pin/vid board) that is completely bizarre and hard to keep working. I actually had one of the real machines back in 99, and ended up selling it partially working. Color vector Sega games are more reliable (the arcade guys will get the point, but just imagine them as the LEAST reliable of all). I played the game at Shakeys back in like 84. I thought it was amazing, and it did have quite a bit of replay value when I owned it. The pin playfield is a bit underwhelming, but overall I like the game. Not enough to deal with it being broken most of the time. Cassidy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 I really enjoyed BabyPac Pin also when it came out - I loaded it up in PinMAME as soon as I saw this msg - Great! But I remember why I wasnt good at it - the GHosts make U-Turns and everything else to trap you! There are energizer pills, but you have to earn them on the Pinball field. I will still prob play Black Knight 2000 a bit more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 (edited) Just for the record...I'm the co-author of Baby Pacman Visual Pinball version and I found this thread (and many other threads discussing Baby Pac-Man here) through search engine. Actually I thought I was already registered here as I'm a huge Atari fan since the 2600 days... and Gravitar & Tempest are 2 my all-time favourite arcade games. But better late than never...I guess... The current Visual Pinball version of Baby Pac-Man looks like this: Lots of confusion whether this arcade game is emulated or not...and YES...it is emulated fully and it's 100% playable. The emulation should be 100% right now...and the game should play quite faithfully to the original (I played the arcade game a lot when I was a kid). Of course Visual Pinball flipper physics set some limitations...especially with this machine... in which it should be easier to aim center shots with the flippers. But all in all it should be a decent recreation. If you have any problems with installing Visual Pinball and the game just let me know. Cheers. Kristian PS: I know...this is an old thread...and there were more recent ones too... but you can consider this a "shameless bump". Edited October 22, 2006 by kristian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakpack Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Welcome aboard Now if only that could be ported to XBox,hmmmmm or Baby Pac-Man for Atari 7800................ :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Thanks for the welcome. I'm not sure if PinMAME & VP can be ported to XBox...I doubt it. But didn't someone port MAME into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breakpack Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Thanks for the welcome. I'm not sure if PinMAME & VP can be ported to XBox...I doubt it. But didn't someone port MAME into it? Yep With virtual memory,so more games load with XBox 's limited RAM (not sure but I think XPort did it - he does a lot of emu ports ) I read somewhere one of the reason's it's not ported is the PINMAME source wasnt released Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Er... where's the download? JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 (edited) Er... where's the download? JR Sorry. Register here: http://www.vpforums.com/ Table downloads: http://www.vpforums.com/vptables/tables.php?ltr=all Edited October 22, 2006 by kristian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 It's definitely an improvement over the past versions. I was actually able to get past the second stage! JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I didn't entirely like Baby Pac-Man when I first played it (which was probably my only game of it) in the arcades. The concept is not bad, but having to earn power pellets through the pinball section of the game just royally stinks like a truckload of used diapers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Well...to each their own. I always thought the concept was clever and different. I wholeheartedly LOVED the game when I was a kid. Works really well...to build the energizers, go back to the pinball, earn a few energizers... build the tunnel speed.....go back to the video game and slowly but surely empty the maze. Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 I'll agree that it's a promising concept, and you've done an admirable job of capturing the game's essence. However, I just don't think that the original game by Bally/Midway was particularly well designed. If the monsters looked and acted like they did in the Namco games, I'd enjoy it a lot more, but they're too random; too aggressive. They simply can't be tricked into following the wrong path while chasing you... if they do make a mistake, they simply reverse direction and resume the hunt. As a result, there's no real strategy to the gameplay... your only real hope for survival is to jump into the pinball table and hide there for as long as you can. Once the ball drops into the drain, Baby Pac-Man's death is a certainty. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Thanks for the compliments. But I completely disagree with you. There are plenty of different strategies in this game and it has amazing depth...compared to any other Pacman game. However I love Ms Pacman and Jr Pacman I don't think either of them can be compared to Baby in depth and repeat value. You're absolutely right...the ghosts and mazes are much more difficult in Baby Pacman which just makes it challenging and enjoyable for me. The trick to empty the mazes is to do it bit by bit. First collect the energizers from the captive ball and targets and shoot the ball to the kicker hole. Then go to the video game, use the energizers, empty the maze some more and go back... and again... If you go to the "table info" section you'll find out some strategic tips for the mazes. There's one trick that works especially well in 1st and 2nd mazes. After 6 first leves the maze walls turn invisible...btw. I think I completed 15-16 mazes in the arcade game and have done the same in Visual Pinball conversion. I'd say the difficulty level is quite authentic. PS: If it feels too challenging you can always press F6 to set the dip switches to make it easier. Give it another go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 I'd probably have enjoyed it more if I didn't have such a hard time keeping the ball in play. I'd usually lose it 10-30 seconds on average Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiecraig Posted October 23, 2006 Author Share Posted October 23, 2006 PS: I know...this is an old thread...and there were more recent ones too... but you can consider this a "shameless bump". I for one appreciate the bump. Thanks for the information. I will certainly take the time to check this out. It's been some time since I played anything on Visual Pinball. Much too long. Thanks for giving me an excuse and reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpfalcon2003 Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 This game is my favorite of all. Jr. Pac-Man 2nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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