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05/25/2003: Pac-Man’s Magnetic Maze.

The latest article takes a look at another Pac-Man spinoff, put out by Tomy in 1982. It’s Pac-Man’s Magnetic Maze, which lets you control a Pac-Man magnet on his quest to avoid ghost magnets while collecting fruit magnets. Whole lotta magnets going on with this one. It didn’t have the same longterm appeal as his Milton Bradley board game, but as you’ll see, the Magnetic Maze certainly looked like a winner.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 38 comments

I’m sorry, but that is the ugliest damn cat I’ve ever seen.

Ghosted by Zooey @ 05/25/2003 11:24 PM EDT

Tell me about it. Vicious little bastard, too.

Ghosted by Matt @ 05/25/2003 11:25 PM EDT

I didn’t knew that pac-man had legs and arms like in the picture, he is supposed to be a quadraplegic who moves with telequinesis for god’s sake!

Ghosted by Porn pieces or the scars of cold kisses @ 05/26/2003 12:01 PM EDT

Ahhh i got that Damn Pac-man thing i bought over 5 years ago from a Flea Market an i havent played with it once maybe i will play with it one day

Ghosted by CheebaSmoker @ 05/26/2003 12:23 PM EDT

I thought it was a cute little cat.

Ghosted by Stacey @ 05/26/2003 12:42 PM EDT

I agree with Stacey. That is a beautiful little cat (is she a tortoise shell?). And watching her play with pac pieces is damn funny.

Maybe there is a way to bring Pac back into everyone’s life–as cat toys! That kitty sure seems to like them (hey, even leave the magnets in them).

Ghosted by Sean @ 05/26/2003 12:50 PM EDT

That cat looks like one my grandma had.

Ghosted by pikachulover @ 05/26/2003 12:53 PM EDT

Wow, I remember this game. My mom bought it for me at a garage sale many years ago. For some reason, I played it for hours on end, even though I owned at least one far superior home version of Ms. Pac-Man at the time.

And Matt, don’t listen to the first guy. Your cat’s adorable.

Ghosted by thatsasin @ 05/26/2003 1:21 AM EDT

I don’t think it so much ‘loves’ Pac-Man as much as ‘Wants to eat him.’ But that’s just me.

Ghosted by Sargasm @ 05/26/2003 2:11 AM EDT

Augh, that damned footy Pac Man! AUGH! That fucker has always bothered me, too! What IS it? What. Is. It!? It’s Pac Man, right? Only… it’s not, ’cause he’s never looked a goddamned thing like that. Even in the cartoon it was just… Pac Man with legs. That thing’s not Pac Man with legs. I don’t know what it is. It’s always made me want to cry, though. Maybe it’s Satan. Or a bunch of Go-Bots stuffed into a yellow sack. That’d explain the crying.

I’m glad you brought this up in the article, Matt, ’cause I was going to mention it here if you didn’t.

Ghosted by ChaosMonkey @ 05/26/2003 2:36 AM EDT

Wow, I was totally into forcing my family to buy me tons of Pac crap back in the early 80s, and I have NEVER seen that before. Makes me wish I had it.

Tomy also made a LCD tabletop Pac-man game (which I asked for instead of Coleco’s model for Christmas one year because it was.. yellow. -_-) and they called the ghosts ‘monsters’ and the fruit ‘bait’ there too. Must be a translation error thing.

Cute kitty, btw. :p

Ghosted by Lynx @ 05/26/2003 3:14 AM EDT

aww, kitty!

Ghosted by evin @ 05/26/2003 3:21 AM EDT

E! is showing the Child Star Marathon all day again today. Matt, the Corey’s are on from 1-3pm Eastern

Ghosted by ME @ 05/26/2003 9:28 AM EDT

My favorite part was the kitty =D My cats aren’t quite as into arcade game spinoffs.

Ghosted by jjgoreha @ 05/26/2003 10:12 AM EDT

Pac Man, the world’s biggest yellow butt cheek!

I remember seeing the old legged version of Pac Man in my youth. It scared me so much, I wouldn’t play anything but Dig Dug for some time.

Ghosted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 05/26/2003 10:23 AM EDT

First off I don’t love Pac Man..I simply thought he was a mouse covered in nacho cheese….mmmmm…..mouse nachos……droooooool…..anyone want pictures of cat’s watching Grumpier Old Men..I got ‘em…50 bucks…duuuuuuude.

Ghosted by The Cat That Loved Pac Man @ 05/26/2003 10:48 AM EDT

Matt’s cat is a ghost-monster?

Anyway, I already brought up the Tomy Pocket Game version of Pac-Man in the commercial montage comments. I saw that electronic Coleco Pac-Man (or was it Donkey Kong?) at a flea market some years ago. If I had the money and it had a joystick, I’d have it right now. They made a whole bunch of those and even designed the box to look like a scaled-down version of the arcade game. THAT’S quality!

Ghosted by ShadowWing the Technorganic Autobot @ 05/26/2003 11:14 AM EDT

I love the kitty.. kitty kitty kitty… I love kitties…

In ORANGE sauce!! BWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Ghosted by Otaku Queen @ 05/26/2003 11:23 AM EDT

Oh man! I remember getting that game when it was new. That brings back fond memories

Ghosted by Steve @ 05/26/2003 11:46 AM EDT

First off, how in the world can anyone say that cat looks evil? It’s, by far, one of the most adorable things on Earth (second only to my fiancee, of course). But then, I’m a cat-lover, so…

Okay, anyway, the "monsters" and "bait"… Apparently, Pac-Man is actually based off of some legendary Japanese character (sad, but true!), so perhaps in the original stories, there were monsters who were always trying to capture Pakku-Sama via traps with food-bait? I dunno. I have termites burrowing in my skull.

And, finally, look at that costume at the top of that article. Just LOOK at it! You TELL me that’s not the single-most horrifying image you’ve ever seen! (Not counting the weird Mr. Skullhead turtle-suits. They exist on a completely different dimensional plane.) Thank you, Matt. I’m going to see that stupid thing in my nightmares for the rest of my life. I hate you.

I’ll stop hating you if you give me money, though…

Ghosted by The Mysterious Dr. X @ 05/26/2003 11:50 AM EDT

I’ve never seen this incarnation of Pac-Man before. I did have a pocket Pac-Man game by Tomy where you had to roll metal ball bearings down a board of pegs and catch them with the Pac-Man figure on the bottom. I could never get them all.

Oh, and that Pac art with the legs was the original concept art for Pac-Man translated by Bally’s Midway arcade license. It’s supposedly called "Up Torstack". The REAL Pac-Man has arms and legs and looks just like the action figure in the Pac-Man World games by Namco.

Ghosted by Go Knock Jimmy Down @ 05/26/2003 12:42 PM EDT

YAY! A KITTY! DINNER!

Ghosted by Haze Dalmanio @ 05/26/2003 1:03 PM EDT

I have an itching for a Mr. Rogers article. Although X-E is not normally known for promoting those greedy bastards at PBS (there really is no need to beg your loyal watchers for funds with the endowments and money from cable subscriptions fees they receive), yet I still think the guy should get some love. I would never have learned my love of BS opera if it was not for those special episodes where the cast acts and "sings" with the bad Robert Goulet guy, or the idea of a "colored" multiverse from the monotone musings of the transdimensional Purple Panda, and the idea Westwood was a normal puppet town with schools-n-shit compared to the freaky Land of Make Believe. What can I say? I will miss the greatest senior ever to play in a sandbox.

Ghosted by Richard @ 05/26/2003 2:14 PM EDT

MMMmmmmmmmm Cat the other white meat

Ghosted by CheebaSmoker @ 05/26/2003 2:14 PM EDT

Cat may be the other white meat, but Pac-Man is the first yellow meat. I hate Pac-Man, because he must have taken over $100 in quarters. I hate that yellow-condom-with-legs Pac-Man. I would love to take all the quarters I have ever put into a Pac-Man machine into a sock, and get a good running sock, and nail him in the head, a la Mallrats. Snoogins.

Ghosted by Bansheex @ 05/26/2003 3:19 PM EDT

Bonus points for the Pac-Man hunting demonic cat

Ghosted by Rogue-13 @ 05/26/2003 6:04 PM EDT

BTW, the legged Pac-man is actually a yellow sentient testicle

Ghosted by Rogue-13 @ 05/26/2003 6:06 PM EDT

Pac Man has big red boots, so what is he stepping into that he needs those boots for?

Ghosted by ,gjccgj,,cg @ 05/26/2003 9:32 PM EDT

Pac-Man based on a legendary Japanese spirit? Nahh. Not to say that Japanese mythos doesn’t worm its way into games(Tanooki, Keaton, Ninetales… Anyone?), but Pac-Man is based off of pizza. I’m not kidding. The creator saw a pizza with a slice taken out of it and BAM, inspiration.

Ghosted by Freezair @ 05/27/2003 2:14 PM EDT

According to a book I have, Pac-Man is actually a cheesecake that didn’t want to be eaten like his friend was. Which puts a Pac-Fan and cheesecake addict like me into a quandry.

I still have my Pac-Man Tomy Pocket Game and all four Pac-Man wind-up toys. (Featured Inky, Blinky, Pac-Man, and Ms. Pac-Man, although I lost the stickers they used for her eyes.) I don’t have my Pac-Man underoos because they stopped fitting years ago, although I did wear the shirt like a regular T-shirt.

I also have (see if you remember this) "The Pac-Man Picture Album". Remember picture albums? Supposedly the regular vinal full-sized 33’s album with pictures printed on the record. (I also had one for "The Fox & The Hound".)

Ghosted by ShadowWing the Technorganic Autobot @ 05/28/2003 10:29 PM EDT

I have a Strawberry Shortcake picture album. It’s been scratched beyond repair for 10 years, but it looks good on the wall.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 05/29/2003 7:52 PM EDT

i just looooooooooooooove killing threads! Watch out for me! I’m a murderer!

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 06/02/2003 7:05 PM EDT

That pic of Pac Man at the top of this entry, it’s from an old video game called Pac-Land. I’ve got it for the TurboGrafx 16. It was this crazy side-scolling Pac Mac adventure. He had arms and legs.

Ghosted by UniAce @ 06/06/2003 1:26 AM EDT

Pac-Man has to do with mythology, yes, but not like ancient Shinto mythology. There’s apparently a nursery rhyme about a creature that comes to gobble up the monsters that bump in the night, making a puck-puck sound as he comes. Hence, "Puckman," which was renamed "Pac-Man" when they figured out how easy it would be for vandals to change the P into an F.

The thing about the pizza is true, though: he was going to be a pizza, but they didn’t have the graphical capability to give him pepperoni, so it was reduced to a chomping yellow circle. The best part, though, is in the inspiration: How do you get women into arcades, Namco said to themselves? What do women like to do? After heated debate, the answer was clear: They like to EAT!

As for Pac-Mania merchandise… I’ve got something called "Pac-Man Panic!" which is hard to describe: a transparent plastic sphere, bearing a big three-dimensional Pac-Man in the center, with a jaw that opens and shuts. The object of the game is to maneuver the little ghost-colored balls into Pac-Man’s mouth, which is difficult because you have to roll them up the inside of the sphere, then jerk it away, more often than not jerking his mouth shut as well. Stupid pizza boy.

Ghosted by G'Tron @ 06/06/2003 12:30 PM EDT

I tried to tell my girlfriend that a cat was playing with the magnetic pac-man and she got all piss-faced. maybe it’s because she’s cookin’ mad food and i’m laughing my arse off at funny pictures on this site. =( sad face

Ghosted by Nelson @ 08/12/2003 7:52 PM EDT

i was chilling playing pacman when ……….

Ghosted by chris nobton @ 06/30/2004 9:35 AM EDT

i was chilling playing pacman when ……….

Ghosted by chris nobton @ 06/30/2004 9:35 AM EDT

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