Pac-Attack (GEN)
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- This page is for the Sega Genesis version. For other games in the series, see Pac-Attack.
Pac-Attack (Pac-Panic in Europe) is a puzzle game developed and published by Namco. It is a western localization of their game Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle. The game plays similar to Tetris; blocks (containing 3 segments) are placed on the bottom of the well. Whenever a row blocks are formed in a complete row, they disappear. However, one to all three of the segments will likely contain ghosts. Every few moves, a piece with Pac-Man on it appears, who is the only one who can make the ghosts disappear off screen. Pac-Man will move downward until there's nowhere left to go, so the ghosts must be strategically placed so that Pac-Man can eat the ghosts more efficiently, giving the player room.
There are three modes in the game; Normal Mode is an endless one-player game. There is also the Puzzle Mode, which requires the player to eliminate all ghosts off the board with a limited number of Pac-Man pieces. There are 100 levels in all, each containing a password consisting of three letters (Whew!). Finally, there is the Versus Mode, in which two human players can play head-to-head in the best of three games.
The game was ported to many platforms, including the Super Nintendo, Game Boy, and even the Phillips CD-i.
Contents
Screenshots
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Music
Pac-Attack has very good music. The original SNES version was composed by Hiromi Shibano. The Genesis FM sound is lower in fidelity compared to the power of the SNES version's instrument samples, but Namco created a very good-sounding FM driver. A majority of the music is based on funk music. The Normal Mode theme uses motifs from Pac-Man (ARC). The Danger music uses Pac-Man's intro from the arcade version, and the rest is a rock arrangement of Jacques Offenbach's The Can-Can.
The credits are a little complicated; The original SNES game credits Shibano, while the Genesis version credits Shibano and Takaki Horigome; one of his few works for Namco. It is most likely that Takaki arranged Shibano's music for the Genesis, as the arrangements differ from those found in the SNES original. For example, the Name Entry music is played slower and with a brush drumkit, rather than the fast-paced jazz anthem heard in the SNES version. To complicate things even more, the Genesis version has an original Puzzle Mode theme, rather than use the song from the SNES version. It is likely Takaki composed this song himself, as it wouldn't make sense for Shibano to create one original song for the Genesis version but not the rest.
The song titles and track ordering are taken from the VGM rip.
Recording
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Title Theme | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 1:48 | Download | |
| 02 | Menu Theme | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 1:18 | Download | |
| 03 | Normal Mode | Toshio Kai, Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 2:44 | Download | |
| 04 | Danger! | Jacques Offenbach, Toshio Kai, Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 0:58 | Download | |
| 05 | Game Over | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 0:03 | Download | |
| 06 | Name Entry | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 1:27 | Download | |
| 07 | Puzzle Mode | Hiromi Shibano, Takaki Horigome | Takaki Horigome | 2:31 | Download | |
| 08 | Stage Clear | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 0:03 | Download | |
| 09 | Ending Theme | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 0:39 | Download | |
| 10 | Staff Roll | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 0:42 | Download | |
| 11 | Versus Mode | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 1:40 | Download | |
| 12 | Versus Match Over | Hiromi Shibano | Takaki Horigome | 0:03 | Download |
Credits
- Ripper: DJ Squarewave (-DJSW-)
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Sound: Hiromi Shibano credited as Isayan
- Sound: Takaki Horigome credited as Polygome
(Source)
The game's credits can only be accessed by beating Stage 100 in the Puzzle Mode, as the Normal Mode goes on endlessly. Hiromi Shibano's alias has been identified based on the credits of Famista '92 and Famista '93. '92 credits Shibano as Shiba and '93 credits her as Sayasaya like in the SNES version of Pac-Attack. Since both Famista games use the same music, the music is credited to her. Junko Ozawa also confirmed the alias as belonging to Shibano.
We have also received verification from Namco staff that Polygome is an alias for Takaki Horigome. The alias is just a homophone of Takaki's surname.
Game Rip
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This rip is missing songs. |
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Format |
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Audio Devices
The game utilized the YM2612 of the Sega Genesis. It uses Namco's sound driver.
Releases
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Links
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/genesis/586366-pac-attack - GameFAQs.
- mobygames.com/game/genesis/pac-attack - MobyGames.
