FAQ/Strategy Guide for Pacman Last updated 05/12/05 Version: 1.00 Project started: 05/12/05 Project completed: 05/12/05 Total development hours: 004* File size: 22.1 kilobytes (0.022 MB) Written by: Josiah Herrington This FAQ is of course copyright (c) 2005 Josiah Herrington *Hundreds, if you count the hundreds of hours I've spent playing pac-man. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Contents [TOP] | [W0.1] | |__________| Table of Contents.........................[TOP] Use the above box to keep the 1: Intro.................................[010] Search code for your current 2: Legal stuff/Updates...................[020] Location in so you can jump 3: Overview..............................[030] right back to where you were 4: Frequently Asked Questions............[040] in the walkthrough without 5: Units.................................[050] having to search! 6: Playing the game......................[060] You can access any area in 7: Strategies............................[070] the table of contents by Levels 1 - 4.......................[W0.1] Pressing CTRL+F and copy Levels 5 - 8.......................[W0.2] and pasting the code into 8: Credits...............................[080] the find box and it will 9: Contact Information...................[090] take you right to it! =============================================================================== 1: Intro =============================================================================== [010] Hello people. I'm writing this guide for Pac-man, simply to show that it is simple to write a guide for pacman. I'd like to dedicate this FAQ to the memory of my beloved dog Cocoa, who I had for 12 years. She died of a broken back, resulting from the inability to dodge cars entering and exiting my driveway. Damn you, death. =============================================================================== 2: Legal stuff/Updates =============================================================================== [020] This FAQ is mine and is copyright(c) 2004 Josiah Herrington. This FAQ, as of now, can only be displayed at: - Gamefaqs (http://www.GAMEFAQS.com) - Gamespot(www.gamespot.com) - IGN(www.ign.com) - www.neoseeker.com This document is only for personal use. You may not sell this FAQ or distribute it. Otherwise you may not under any circumstances host this FAQ unless I give permission. I still reserve all rights to discontinue any site's hosting of this FAQ. =============================================================================== 3: Overview =============================================================================== [030] Pac-man! The one game that everybody has, at some point or another, played if they are a true gamer. If you need this walkthrough, then you are not a true gamer, but merely a trainee. I wish you luck on your quest to become a gamer. N00b. >_> =============================================================================== 4: Frequently Asked Questions =============================================================================== [040] Q: I keep freaking dying! What the heck is up with that? A: Stop running into ghosts. Don't take any risks if you don't have to. Even if it will save you a couple seconds, or have a potential reward. View the fruits as bait, designed to lure you to your death. If you are skilled, you can take the bait and not get harmed, if you aren't...GHOST'D!!!! Q: What is the story in this game? Why do I eat the dot's I do? Why do the ghosts haunt me so? What did I ever do to them? A: I do not know. You're probably ugly. That's probably why you have to eat dots that are left on the floor. Q: How do you get more lives? A: All you need to do to gain an extra life is make 10,000 points. When you do that, a life will be added to your stock, up to a maimum of three extra lives. Q: What is the secret to getting a high score? A: Try to maintain a full supply of extra lives. Always have three if you can. Don't take risks if you aren't forced to, try to keep as many options open as possible. In the end, having backup routes and options is what will save your round, yellow, butt. Q: So should I even bother going after the fruit? A: Yes, and no. If it's wide, and I mean VERY wide, open, then yes, you should. If there is a chance that you could be trapped, then not on your life. Try to save the flashing dots for when there is fruit, if possible. Q: Should I save the flashing dots? A: Yes. Don't immediately go after them. Eat what dots you can without using them as they are a source of good points if you get all 4 ghosts. Like so: - 1 Ghost: 200 points. - 2 Ghosts: 600 points. - 3 Ghosts: 1400 points. - 4 Ghosts: 3000 points. So you should always save the flashing dots for emergencies, or when you can get at least three ghosts. Never eat one flashing dot while another is still active. Q: Are there any kinds of special power or ships in this game? Unlockables? A: I'm afraid not. The best you can get is the satisfaction at knowing you have beaten Pac-man. Q: Where can I get the ROM for this game. Can you send it to me? A: This is a very bad Question. I don't want to see anybody E-mail me this question again. EVER! If you do I will block you and not respond! =============================================================================== 5: Objects =============================================================================== [050] Ghosts: Red: Blinky Blue: Inkey Pink: Pinky Orange: Clyde These are your enemies, they are the ones that kill you. grind your sorry, yellow, face into the dirt and pee on your corpse. Their names are deceptive; they are vicious killers. Dots...: These are what you eat. They net you 10 points, each, for eating them, and you have to eat all of them to clear the level. Flashing dots: These are special dots. They give you the power to eat the ghosts for a limited time. They ghosts will give you points, and will also move slower, when you eat one of these dots. They also give you 50 points to eat. Fruits: These are simply point bonuses at first glance, but when you see the big picture, they are bait, and you are the game. They will lure you into the long stretch of no exits where the ghosts can kill you! Bwaaahaaaahaaa! The later the level, the more value they have. =============================================================================== 6: Playing the game =============================================================================== [060] The object of the game is to eat all the dots, hence clearing the level. The ghosts try to kill you, and you have to evade or destroy them. But even if you destroy them, they will respawn, so bear in mind that you can only temporarily rid yourself of them. If you get hit by anything in this game, you die. No shields, no armor, no HP. One hit = You die. The only thing that can change this is that you can get some special "powerup" dots. These flash and allow you to eat your enemies! Yay! Here is the board of play: B = Blinky's starting position I = Inkey's starting position P = Pinky's starting position C = Clyde's starting position X = Your starting position . = A dot (10 points) O = A flashing dot. (10 points + ability to eat ghosts) --> = A place where you can exit the screen, and enter the other side. I = Place where point items spawn every so often. (Fruit, key, etc.) - Cherries: 100 pts - Strawberries 300 pts - Peaches 500 pts - Apples 700 pts - Limes 1000 pts - Orange Badge 2000 pts - Orange Bell 3000 pts - Blue Key 5000 pts .____________________________________________________. |. . . . . . . . . . . . | | . . . . . . . . . . . . | |. _____ . _________ . | | . _________ . ______ . | |O | | .| |. | | .| |. | |O | |. |_____| .|_________|. |_| .|_________|. |______|. | |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | |. ______ . _ . _______________ . _ . ______ . | |. |______|. | | .|______| |______|. | |. |______|. | |. . . . . . | | . . . . | | . . . . | |. . . . . . | +---------+. | +------+. | | . +------+ |. +---------+ | |. | +------+. |_| . +------+ |. | | | |. | | B | |. | | +---------+. |_| _______________ |_|. +---------+ . | | . <-- . |I P C| . --> . | | . +---------+. _ |_______________| _ . +---------+ | |. | | I | |. | | | |. | | _______________ | |. | | +---------+. |_| |______| |______| |_|. +---------+ |. . . . . . . . . . . . | | . . . . . . . . . . . . | |. _____ . ________ . | | . ________ . _____ . | |. |___ | . |________|. |_| . |________|. | ____|. | |O . . | | . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . | |. . O | |---+. | | . _ . _______________ . _ . | |. +---| |---+. |_| . | | .|______| |______|. | |. |_|. +---| |. . . . . . | | . . . . | | . . . . | |. . . . . . | |. ________| |______ . | | . ______| |________ . | |. |________|_|______|. |_| . |______|_|________| . | |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | |____________________________________________________| =============================================================================== 7: Strategies =============================================================================== [070] Note, I use a slightly different approach for grouping the "levels." I group them based on the fruit that appears in the level. For instance, you get cherries in the first level, strawberries in the next, and peaches in the third. However, there are two "boards" in the third "level" meaning that you must clear the board of dots twice in order to go to the next level. *********************** Levels 1 - 4 [W0.1] *********************** Level 1 difficulty: 1/10 | 1 board. Fruit worth: 100 pts. Level 2 difficulty: 2/10 | 1 board Fruit worth: 300 pts. Level 3 difficulty: 3/10 | 2 boards Fruit worth: 500 pts. Level 4 difficulty: 4/10 | 2 boards Fruit worth: 700 pts. Map below: Places marked with ===== are danger areas for this level of difficulty. These are areas where you will die the most as they offer the fewest routes of escape or,in some cases, no routes of escape. The bots will try to trap you here, one coming from each side. Areas with a flashing dot don't count as a danger area. Strategies: Ghosts will try to trap you in the danger areas so try an get into the area, clear out the dot's, and then get out ASAP. The middle is a place you should avoid if at all possible. There are no dots there anyway, ghosts respawn there, and there are limited directions to go. Level 1 is really, really, easy. The ghost's are slow, stupid, and seem to lack much coordination. You probably won't die unless you're completely new to Pac-Man, or unless you really, REALLY, suck. Believe it or not, this is the best level to make points, though the slowest. Just evade the stupid ghosts, collect the fruit, and get the last dot when you're done. You can't make the most points here, but you can get a higher ratio of points gotten to points possible here. Level 2 is a bit harder, but not much. The Ghosts are still stupid and don't cooperate with each-other, but they are a little faster. They are still easy to avoid. The fruit starts to be worth something now, so you might want to try to get your points here. It's slightly harder, but faster, and in higher quantity, than using level 1. Level 3 is exactly the same as level 2, but the ghosts start getting a little smarter. If you watch them, one might circle an area while the others move behind you and try to get you between you. They do this clumsily, but they do it all the same. It is somewhat easy to avoid their traps, but you have to watch for them. whenever you see three of them start to group together and one go off on it's own and they start to get on different sides of you, get near a flashing dot, or a side exit. Level 4 is the same as level 3 except they move faster now, AND cooperate a little bit. Few unexperienced players will make it past level 4. They not only will deliberately, though poorly, try to ambush you, but they move at a pretty brisk pace as well. This makes this level a step above levels 1 through three. They will constantly try to surround you, and even if they are scattered, they are a threat by themselved. Space out your flashing dot use to keep them constantly scrambled. .________________________ _________________________. |. . . . . .=============| |============ . . . . . . | |. _____ . _________ ==| |== _________ . ______ . | |O | | .| |==| |==| |. | |O | |. |_____| .|_________|==|_|==|_________|. |______|. | |. . . . . . . . . . . ==. .== . . . . . . . . . . . | |. ______ . _ . _______________ . _ . ______ . | |. |______|. | | .|______| |______|. | |. |______|. | |. . . . . . | | . . . . | | . . . . | |. . . . . . | +---------+. | +------+. | | . +------+ |. +---------+ | |. | +------+. |_| . +------+ |. | | | |. | |==========B========== | |. | | +---------+. |_|== _______________ == |_|. +---------+ . ==| |== . <-- . ==|I P C|== . --> . ==| |== . +---------+. _ ==|_______________|== _ . +---------+ | |. | |===================== | |. | | | |. | | _______________ | |. | | +---------+. |_| |______| |______| |_|. +---------+ |. . . . . . . .=========| |======== . . . . . . . . | |. _____ . ________ ==| |== ________ . _____ . | |. |___ | . |________|==|_|== |________|. | ____|. | |O . . | | . . . . . . ===X=== . . . . . . | |. . O | |---+. | | . _ . _______________ . _ . | |. +---| |---+. |_| . | |==|______| |______|== | |. |_|. +---| |. . . . . . | |=========| |========= | |. . . . . . | |. ________| |______ ==| |== ______| |________ . | |. |________|_|______|==|_|== |______|_|________| . | |. .============================================== . | |____________________________________________________| *********************** Level 5 - 8 [W0.2] *********************** Level 5 difficulty: 6/10 | 2 boards Fruit worth: 1000 pts. Level 6 difficulty: 7/10 | 2 boards Fruit worth: 2000 pts. Level 7 difficulty: 9/10 | 2 boards Fruit worth: 3000 pts. Level 8 difficulty: 10/10 | inf.? boards Fruit worth: 5000 pts. Level 5 is a couple of steps above level 4. Now, in adition to coordinating their movements and being a bit faster, they gain another speed boost, and are aggressive in their hunt for you. They will always be trying to manuver into a situation where they can kill you, and, wait, there's more! Now instead of the occasional 1/3 split of them where they go after you, they do lots of splitting up and sometimes two will split off from the group and attempt to herd you in. What fun! Level 6 is exactly the same as level 5, in terms of enemy tactics, but now they gain yet another speed bots, and have less lag turning corners. Corners are now major kill points if they are right on your tail. Try to stay as far away as possible from all ghosts, even if it means skipping dots. Level 7 is another step up from level 6. They go incredibly fast now, hunt you agressively, and will use cooperation which involves all 4 of them coming at you from 4 different directions. Now they will also try to ambush you into using the side escape while another comes at you from that side. They are sneaky and tricky as well as fast and deadly. Level 8...Well, you made it this far, so you must be very brave, but *nobody* withstands, "the machines"! For that is what the ghosts are in this level: Little machines of death. Now they move way faster than you, hunt you cleverly, agressively, and constantly, and will split up any way they see fit. Add that to the fact that they still use the side escapes as part of ambushes and attacks, and now you take a *cut* in speed, and you will have to be VERY good to peat this level. The fruit here is actually a key, worth 1500 points. At this point, just try to finish the level. You'll never get the fruit. EVER. Or rather, you will, but they will ALWAYS ambush you and you will never make it out alive if you go into the area where it spawns. I never have, anyways, so I don't know if anybody can. I've managed to finish this level once, and I've played hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of Pac-man in my life. Good luck, you will need it. Also, you mught try some caffine drinks here, as everything is moving as double or so speed. .________________________ _________________________. |. . . . .===============| |===============. . . . . | |. _____ == _________ ==| |== _________ == ______ . | |O | |==| |==| |==| |==| |O | |. |_____|==|_________|==|_|==|_________|==|______|. | |. . . . .=================================. . . . . | |. ______ == _ == _______________ == _ == ______ . | |. |______|==| |==|______| |______|== | |==|______|. | |. . . . . ==| |=========| | ======== | |==. . . . . | +---------+==| +------+==| | ==+------+ |==+---------+ | |==| +------+==|_| ==+------+ |==| | | |==| |==========B========== | |==| | +---------+==|_|== _______________ == |_|==+---------+ ==================| |=================== ====<--===========|I P C|===========-->===== ==================| |=================== +---------+== _ ==|_______________|== _ ==+---------+ | |==| |===================== | |==| | | |==| | _______________ | |==| | +---------+==|_| |______| |______| |_|==+---------+ |. . . . . ==============| |============ . . . . . . | |. _____ . ________ ==| |== ________ . _____ . | |. |___ | . |________|==|_|== |________|. | ____|. | |O . . | | . . . . . . ===X=== . . . . . . | |. . O | |---+. | | . _ . _______________ . _ . | |. +---| |---+. |_| . | |==|______| |______|== | |. |_|. +---| |. . . . . . | |=========| |========= | |. . . . . . | |. ________| |______ ==| |== ______| |________ . | |. |________|_|______|==|_|== |______|_|________| . | |. .============================================== . | |____________________________________________________| My highest score ever: 134130 pts. =============================================================================== 8: Credits =============================================================================== [080] CJayC for the excellent gaming site. Huge thanks to Brian Sulpher, whose guide tipped me off that I wrote mine using a modified version of pac-man. I figured the only difference was the switching of the pac-man sprite for mario, and the ghost sprites for goomba/koopas, but apparently the mechanics of the game were also edited. Thus my guide contained erronious data I would never have seen had I not looked at his guide. He's really a great FAQ writer. You should read his stuff someday! Also, the real version of Pac-man is so much easier than the version I was playing. Strawhat, for asking how one would write a Pac-man FAQ, which got me started with this FAQ. Josh and emi, for being awesome! I love you guys, You rock! =============================================================================== 9: Contact Information =============================================================================== [090] Before I give you my E-mail Address: ******************************************************************************* * FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY ON THIS GOOD EARTH * ******************************************************************************* R E A D T H E F R E A K I N G W A L K T H R O U G H ! ! ! That is what it's here for! I have get several dozen E-mails a week that are promptly deleted because the answer was in the FAQ. I'm Not your private gaming nerd! Read! Please don't abuse the E-mail and make sure I haven't answered your question in the guide. With that said: If for some reason or other you wish to E-mail me, My E-mail is: Kirbyroks @ gmail . com Also, be sure to put "Walkthrough Question" in the title or it will get deleted by my spam filter, and be sure to mention which guide it is. I have several guides out and asking me questions about how to do something in "Game X" aren't going to be answered. =============================================================================== And that wraps up this literary masterpiece. Thanks for reading! Josh and Emily, you own! I love you guys so much! \^^^/ \^^^/ \m/(-_-)\m/ GROG AND LOOT AND Pi ARRRRR SQUARED! \m/(-_-)\m/ ( . ) [Hugs]----<(^_^)>----[Hugs] ( . ) _/ \_ (>^_^)> <(^_^<) (>^_^)> <(^_^<) _/ \_ ************************END OF FILE********************************************