Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness (2024)

Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness (ミズパックマン メイズマッドネス Mizu Pakkuman Meizumaddonesu) is a video game released by Namco Hometek in 2000. It is the second game to feature Ms. Pac-Man as the main protagonist, and is also considered the companion game to Pac-Man World.

Gameplay[]

Quest Mode[]

The player navigates Ms. Pac-Man through a series of mazes around the four Wonders of Pac-Land, eating dots and avoiding ghosts alongside new enemies. Like the original, Ms. Pac-Man cannot jump or attack the enemies, unless she eats a Power Pellet, which allows her to attack the enemies and eat ghosts. While not every Pac-Dot in the level has to be eaten, a considerable amount of them are often required to pass areas. Remaining Pac-Dots are indicated by a compass on the top of the screen. The level is completed upon reaching the gold star/checkmark at the end of the stage. Ms. Pac-Man has a vitality meter that depletes when she is hurt by enemies or stage hazards, with the amount of damage differing between enemies or hazards. The player will lose a life if the vitality meter fully depletes.

Maze Madness features many puzzle-solving elements, which become more challenging as the game progresses. These include blocks which must be pushed into specific areas, trampolines that need to be jumped on facing a certain direction, and locked doors that require Keys to be opened, switches and buttons that need to be activated. Many levels feature various gimmicks, including opening/closing doors, slippery floors which prevent Ms. Pac-Man from stopping in place, TNT and more. There are occasions where Ms. Pac-Man will also use the Reset Token to reset moveable boxes and TNT. There are certain areas or stages that let Ms. Pac-Man use missiles by using the Directional Pad or the A/X button. A holographic Professor Pac-Man helps guide the player through these obstacles in the first level.

Across all the levels, gold stars can be earned, which are necessary to collect in order to progress further through the game. Gold stars can be earned by reaching the target score set by the level, eating all the Pac-Dots, eating all the fruit and completing the level's Time Trial mode.

Upon clearing a Quest level, the level's respective Time Trial mode is unlocked, where the player can earn a gold star. In the Time Trial mode, the player must reach the end of the stage before the timer runs out. The remaining time can be extended by eating/attacking enemies or by collecting clocks, though time will also deplete if Ms. Pac-Man is hurt.

Across the many levels, there are also additional bonus rounds between them, which alter regular gameplay, but is not necessary to complete.

As the player acquires stars or completes certain objectives, new features are unlocked:

• The Sound Test, unlocked after collecting 40 stars or by getting 14 names on the high score screen, allows the player to listen to the game's music. The Sound Test is accessed from the Pause menu.
• The Movie Player, which is unlocked after collecting all 70 stars, allows the player to rewatch the game's animated cutscenes.

Levels[]

Each of the four worlds have detailed environments themed around specific locations. The enemies (including the Ghosts) are themed to their respective areas as well. Certain levels are locked until the player acquires the required amount of stars needed to progress.

• Cleopactra
• Mummy Dearest
• Temple of Dots
• Crystal Caves
• Pacfooticus Stompicus
• Freezer Burn
• Slip Sliding Away (bonus round)
• Pac Ping Harbor
• Year of the Pac
• Pac Crackle Pop
• Pier Pressure (bonus round)
• Haunted Halloween
• Creature Feature
• Watch Your Pac
• Shock Therapy
• Gobblin (boss)
• Sand Witch
• Boulder Over
• Out to Launch
• Bats a Wrap
• Mesmerelda (boss)

Enemies[]

• Blinky
• Pinky
• Inky
• Sue
• Alligator
• Anubis
• Baby Dragon
• Bat Dracula
• Centipede
• Chinese Dragon
• Firecracker
• Franken-Pac
• Gargoyle
• Hellhound
• Neander-Pac
• Pac-Foot
• Saber-Pac
• Whirl Mummy

Multiplayer[]

Several multiplayer modes are included in Maze Madness. Players can choose their character, from Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Baby Pac, Professor Pac, and two unlockable characters, Pooka and Pac-Jr.

• Dot-Mania has players fighting to be the first to eat 80 dots while encountering power-ups, such as the size-boosting Chocolate Cake, the speed-boosting Sneaker, and the protective Bolt of Lightning.
• Ghost Tag allows the players to play as the Ghosts, though they are confined to specific players (Blinky is always the first player, Pinky is always the second player, Inky is the third, and Sue is the fourth). The objective is for the ghosts to eat the Pac-Person player. The ghost who manages to eat that player will then become a Pac-Person, forcing the other players to chase after him or her. The first player that eats 80 dots wins the game.
• Da Bomb is a tag mode, similar to a game of hot potato. The player that has the bomb must pass it on to the other players by touching them. The player that is holding the bomb by the time that it explodes is eliminated from the game. The last surviving player is the winner of the game.

An extra map can be unlocked by scoring 50,000 points in the Pier Pressure bonus round.

Classic Mode[]

The Classic mode is nothing more than a faithful port of the original Ms. Pac-Man (seemingly the same version found in Namco Museum Vol. 3).

Plot[]

Note: some parts of this section may be considered spoilers.

Professor Pac-Man learns that the Gems of Virtue - four jewels that power and sustain the four wonders of Pac-Land - are being sought by a dark force in order to use the gems for powerful dark magic. The dark force kidnapped the Princess of the Enchanted Palace, and turned her palace into a haunted castle. Ms. Pac-Man visits Professor Pac-Man. at his laboratory, where he demonstrates his newest invention to Ms. Pac-Man: the Pactrometer, which allows travel between the four wonders of Pac-Land. Their conversation is interrupted when a shadowy villain appears in a mirror, using magic to capture Professor Pac. Before he is pulled into the mirror, he throws the Pactrometer to Ms. Pac-Man, telling her to find the Gems of Virtue.

The heroine makes her way through Cleopactra and finds the Gem of Generosity. She then travels through the Crystal Caves, finding the Gem of Truth. Her next stop is Pac Ping Harbor, where she discovers the Gem of Wisdom. During her travels, the shadowy villain watches over Ms. Pac-Man as she obtains the gems. Finally, she arrives at Haunted Halloween, where she captures the Gem of Courage. After capturing the Gem of Courage, Ms. Pac-Man is ambushed by Mesmerelda, the witch leading the dark force and the one responsible for kidnapping Professor Pac-Man; who steals Ms. Pac-Man's gems and fights her with Gobblin and her magic attacks. Ms. Pac-Man beats Mesmerelda, who clumsily drops her Witch Key while trying to flee with the gems, which is then picked up by Ms. Pac-Man. Mesmerelda escapes with the gems alongside Gobblin, who returns to her castle, but realizes she dropped her key; preventing her from reaching her crystal ball that allows her to use the gems.

Ms. Pac-Man travels through the four wonders once again, then returns to Mesmerelda's castle, where she defeats the witch and reclaims the four Gems of Virtue. With the gems placed in the Pactrometer, the Pactrometer breaks Mesmerelda's spell. The Castle of Haunted Halloween transforms back to the Enchanted Palace, and Mesmerelda is revealed to have been a transformation of the Princess, who is then returned to her normal form. The Princess of the Enchanted Castle thanks Ms. Pac-Man for freeing her from the spell and holds a celebration. With the Princess and Professor Pac-Man by her side, Ms. Pac-Man is deemed a hero by all of Pac-World.

Home Ports[]

• Game Boy Advance
  • The Game Boy Advance version, handled by Full Fat and released in 2004, is severely downgraded from the other three versions due to the handheld's limitations. Many of the features, such as the port of the original Ms. Pac-Man were removed entirely due to it running on inferior hardware; the soundtrack is also altered. The Game Boy Advance version was also bundled in a 2-in-1 cartridge with Pac-Man World, simply titled Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness & Pac-Man World. For unknown reasons, both games suffer from glitches not found in the single-cartridge releases.
• Nintendo 64
  • The Nintendo 64 version, ported by Mass Media, has slight differences. Due to the system's usage of cartridges instead of discs, the FMV cutscenes are replaced with slideshows containing text dialogue, and the music was altered to feature specific loops of the original songs, and have been compressed to fit the cartridge. The graphics are of higher quality than the PS1 version.
• PlayStation
  • ThePlayStationversion was the original version of the game, and was the first to be released. The music in gameplay is sped-up by 4%, meaning the music is pitched up as well, similar to Pac-Man World. Due to the PlayStation being the weakest of the systems, the graphics are the worst of the three original versions.
• PlayStation 3
• PlayStation Portable
• PlayStation Vita
• Sega Dreamcast
  • The Dreamcast version, also ported by Mass Media, is a port of the PlayStation version with high-quality graphics, music and sound. Very minor differences apply here (In the cutscenes, no sound effects play at all). The music instead plays through redbook audio, meaning that it remains at its standard speed.

The PS one Classic release (compatible with PlayStation 3, Portable, and Vita) seems to have only ever been available in Japan and Thailand. A North American release was planned, as evidenced by it receiving an ESRB rating, but seemingly nothing ever came of it.^[1]

Trivia[]

• Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness was a sponsor for the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO), a nonprofit organization for information on breast cancer.
• The multiplayer game modes in Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness were also included in Pac-Man: Adventures in Time (albeit in a slightly different form), and would later spawn their own spinoff game titled Pac-Man All-Stars.
• A sequel to Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness was in development at TKO Software and CSA3D, but was canceled.

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Artwork[]

References[]