Super Pac-Man 5200 vs. arcade

[Chris-in-NJ]

Via one of those strokes of luck, I managed to come across a 39-in-one arcade machine at a local PathMark yesterday (read about it on the Coin-op forum) and played one game of Super Pac-Man on it. The last time I'd played was pre-Crash. Made it to Stage 8. A few thoughts in comparison with the 5200 version, which I've had for a few weeks...

 

Atari did a commendable job in reproducing the mazes and game-play. The maze turned pink on Stage 4 of the arcade version, though 5200 stays blue. The ghosts aren't the original four colors on the 5200, and their eyes don't point to where they're going.

 

The various objects have much more detailed graphics on the arcade. On the 5200, I wasn't certain if the first item was an apple or a tomato. Spotted a Galaxian in the bonus box in the arcade, I'm guessing the 5200 has replaced this with a computer graphic, the one used in Stage 15.

 

The 5200 sounds more tinny, the arcade has a rather richer type of sounds for eating of the keys, the bonus star, etc. The intermissions are reproduced nicely on the 5200.

 

One thing that doesn't change is the difficulty in controlling Pac-Man when he's Super. I found myself wrestling with the stick on the coin-op the same way I do with my 7800 stick and Redemption adapter trying the clear the bonus rounds quickly.

 

Hey, here's a question -- if I use a 2600 stick with this, will it automatically make me Super when a super dot is eaten? Other games I've tried with the 2600 stick that require a fire button have had auto fire. Something to try tomorrow morning...

[Cobra Kai]

Hey, here's a question -- if I use a 2600 stick with this, will it automatically make me Super when a super dot is eaten? Other games I've tried with the 2600 stick that require a fire button have had auto fire. Something to try tomorrow morning...

 

Huh? All the button does in SPM is give you the speed boost.

[Chris-in-NJ]

Oops, that's what I get from staying up so late. What I meant was, will the speed boost be automatic?

[NE146]

In SPM, you have to hold the "super speed" button down when you're large to get the speed. It's not automatic.

 

Personally I think the downfall of the 5200 version is the escalated difficulty. It doesn't take long at all to get to a point where the ghosts only stay blue for a very short time. It's as if the 5200 version is set at the "expert" difficulty.

[Chris-in-NJ]

It works -- I hooked up an FB2 joystick to my 7800 Redemption adapter, and the extra speed becomes automatic. Think I'll play it like this from now on! The FB2 sticks have much better feel than my old Prolines anyway...

[Cobra Kai]

In SPM, you have to hold the "super speed" button down when you're large to get the speed. It's not automatic.

 

Personally I think the downfall of the 5200 version is the escalated difficulty. It doesn't take long at all to get to a point where the ghosts only stay blue for a very short time. It's as if the 5200 version is set at the "expert" difficulty.

 

I never really thought SPM was about eating the ghosts anyway. You always have better success getting higher scores just by making sure you take the correct 'path' in the game to get the Star everytime. On the 5200 version I've achieved a score of over just over 300,000 points. I used a Competition Pro to do this, don't know how I'd fare with anything else.