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Bandai Namco sends Ms. Pac-Man down the memory hole

Who's that Pac-lady in the pink hat, and what has she done with Ms. Pac-Man?

Enlarge / Who’s that Pac-lady in the pink hat, and what has she done with Ms. Pac-Man? (credit: @nickisonlinet / Twitter )

Obsessive Pac-fans of a certain age may remember Ms. Pac-Man’s cameo appearance in Pac-Land , the 1984 side-scrolling spin-off that first gave Pac-Man legs. This week’s re-release of the game on the Switch seems to have thrown the “miss” down the memory hole, though, an odd retcon that may become the result of the complex legal history surrounding Ms. Pac-Man ‘s development.

Pac-Man book contributor Ryan Silberman and artist Nick Caballero had been among the first to notice the apparent change on Tweets this week. They highlighted Pac-Land Change screenshots in which Ms. Pac-Man’s iconic bow and high-red shoes have been replaced with the character sporting pink high pumps and a matching hat. The particular sprite for the baby-sized Junior. Pac-Man has been similarly transformed to take away the trademark red ribbon and bow that was first seen within 1983’s Jr. Pac-Man .

Ms. Pac-Man as well as , Jr. Pac-Man as they arised in the original release including < em> Pac-Land< /em>. Some pair have been edited looking of this week's Switch re-release.

Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man because they made an appearance in the original release associated with Pac-Land . This pair have been edited away of this week’s Switch re-release. (credit: @nickisonlinet / Twitter )

Leaving behind the sprites within their original form would have obviously been the easier choice for Hamster, which posts the Arcade Archives series upon Switch. And the description with regard to Pac-Land is Arcade Archives re-release notes the fact that the “series has faithfully produced many classic Arcade masterpieces, inch making such a minor modify much more bizarre. What’s going in here?

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