Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga

I recently visited a pizza place in south Augusta and discovered some arcade games there. Among them included NBA Jam and a dual-cabinet featuring Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga! To my surprise, Bambino’s Pizza was perhaps the last bastion in my town to have both pizza and an arcade!

With that said, I went ahead and tried my luck at Ms. Pac-Man. Bottoming out at 100,000 high score using 4 credits, my food was ready and I finally hung it up. However, I pledged to come back for some more delicious pizza and try my hand at Galaga.

When I went the next time, I brought my girlfriend. As she watched me play Galaga, she asked me where the powerups were. All I could tell her was, “this isn’t Gradius!” Upon that happening, the Boss Galaga captured my ship.

Yet when I rescued it, I could not believe that the ship would join you. I now had two cannons firing at once. In other words, I got a powerup at the cost of one life. The level of depth for a 1981 game surprised me even today.

And yet, I felt my renewed interest for playing these retro games came heavily motivated from all the time I’ve spent playing Smash Bros.

Pac-Man and Galaga in Super Smash Bros.

As a long time Smash fan, one thing important to me is the amount of influence Super Smash Bros. has once again held on me. In this case, Smash features a number of references to both series. Pac-Man himself even features a grab inspired from Galaga.

Meanwhile, the Boss Galaga itself appeared as an item. Using it could send your opponent floating away. Unless they could mash out, they were losing a stock after 90% or so. Moreover, you could actually beat it down until it changed colors and was knocked out.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate included a few more references to each series. For instance, the Spirits mode includes a Galaga-inspired stage. The game even comes complete with a new remix of the arcade classic’s music.

You can listen to the remix here. It features sound effects and jingles from the original game. Plus it uses some modern instrumentation to go along with the chiptunes!

Furthermore, the developers redoubled their efforts to promote even more old-school Namco goodness. In addition, Nintendo revamped the character to become much better than he was before. Where Pac-Man was seen as a decent character in his debut appearance in Smash 4, in Ultimate he’s tremendously better. You can check out his changed toolkit here, as well as his greatly improved grab! His results shine in Smash tournaments thanks to players, like Japan’s own Tea, winning large tournaments such as Thunder Smash 3.

Personal impact.

It goes without saying that the games featured in Smash influence me to try out new and old games represented in the series. Seeing Galaga in Smash inspired me to want to play the beloved arcade classic again. I made it through 10 stages before losing all my credits.

With that being said, it’s important to note how important Super Smash Bros. is to the gaming industry. Smash not only features tons of gaming references that span over the past 29 years. It also serves as an effective marketing tool. The most recent example would be the Hero’s debut trailer at E3 2019 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In turn, this trailer was immediately followed by a trailer of Dragon Quest XI S for Nintendo Switch. The representation of characters and series has proven to be effective at marketing games to influence players to try the many series featured in Smash.

Smash has influenced me tremendously and got me to try many games. I feel my appreciation for Galaga and Pac-Man only deepened after experiencing them in Smash over the last few years. With that said, hopefully the next time I go to Bambino’s, I can break a record of more than just a few levels. But not without a continued, newfound love for retro arcade gaming.

We hope you enjoyed our blog on Pac-Man and Galaga! When has Smash Bros. influenced you to play another game? Let us know in the comments below!