- The following project is a fan creation. The cabinet is not for sale or distribution.
- To press and publishers: All images on this page after the "History" article depict my project and do not represent the original game, a property held by Bandai Namco. Images downloaded from this page may be used for non-profit personal purposes only. Any usage must include an attribution to Brendon Parker and a link to this webpage. For any other use please contact [email protected].
History
Pac & Pal was a Pac-Man sequel designed by Namco Japan in 1983. In the game, Pac-Man must flip cards in order to unlock the corridors of the maze. Eating all fruits and powerups completes the levels. Pac-Man may stun monsters for points with Galaxian's tractor beam, Rally-X's smokescreen, trumpet music, or ice. A green "pal" character, named Miru, steals uneaten fruit and brings it to the monster pen for destruction. This costs the player points but helps in completing the level.
Pac & Pal was released in Japan as an enhancement kit for Super Pac-Man cocktail machines, containing instruction cards and a replacement chipset (program and sprite ROMs, color and sound PROMS, and two Namco-custom I/O chips). Namco rebranded Pac & Pal as "Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp" in preparation for worldwide release. The Pal character was replaced with Pac-Man's pet dog Chomp Chomp, but the gameplay remained unchanged. A small number of Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp conversion kits were produced for Europe, containing a similar chip set to the Japanese Pac & Pal kit. The game was set for a 1984 release in the United States under the Bally Midway license, and one known cabinet was open-field tested in a Chicago Aladdin's Castle. Information on this test cabinet is very scarce. However, the American release was cancelled, likely due to the Pac-Man licensing termination between Namco and Bally/Midway in 1984. Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp never saw the light of day. |
Japanese Pac & Pal conversion manual (Photo credit: Shertz from KLOV)
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My Project
Because Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp is essentially lost to time, I took it upon myself to build a complete cabinet to replicate what Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp could have been like, had it been released by Bally Midway in 1983/1984.
This involved designing complete cabinet artwork, modifying the Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp programming to work on common hardware, and restoring an original Ms. Pac-Man cabinet. This project debuted at the California Extreme Arcade Expo. Links: Arcade Heroes Games of CAX article The Retro Gaming Times - Tenth Issue NEW: Destructoid article |
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Cabinet/CircuitryA Mappy/Jr. Pac-Man style cabinet would have been most time-accurate, but I could not locate one within the time frame I set for the project. I used instead what I had available: a Ms. Pac-Man converted to Gaplus in atrocious condition. I initially planned to restore it to a Gaplus but Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp took priority.
The cabinet had seen water damage and the edges were frayed, which I repaired with wood hardner and filler. I painted the cabinet bright white with orange T-molding, to match what Midway used on the Mappy and dedicated Jr. Pac-Man cabinets. The wiring is a mix of old and new. The previous cabinet owner poorly spliced the original Ms. Pac-Man wiring. I threw out most of the existing wiring and replaced it with a JAMMA harness and a Super Pac-Man to JAMMA adapter. Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp ran originally on modified Super Pac-Man hardware; requiring multiple chip swaps and an extra socket. However the original conversion also required a custom-produced IC that was made in very small numbers, and is now unobtainable. Vernon Brooks modified the code to run directly on Super Pac-Man hardware, without the custom IC. The cabinet runs this modified code on a Super Pac-Man board. Download the modified ROM here. |
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Early Pac & Pal ArtworkAt a young age I took on designing a Pac & Pal marquee as a form of fun art practice. Collectors took interest and I continued to design control panel art. There was no goal yet to build a cabinet, as Crazy Otto was still my focus.
I printed a few Pac & Pal marquees and have a few left over, including one hanging in our kitchen! |
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Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp Artwork
I began the artwork as soon as I settled on the project. This was challenging as there is no original Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp material to simulate, but I highly enjoyed the creative freedom.
I used Namco's drawings of Pac-Man as inspiration to develop a new art style for the characters. I created a unified Pac-Man font to keep lettering consistent between this project and my products. As I originally intended to build this project in a Mappy style cabinet, I designed a large marquee. When I could not find a Mappy cabinet I adapted the set for a Ms. Pac-Man style cabinet. I drew a basic design for the Chomp Chomp character, but my limited character design skills led me to reach out to a friend, Melissa Burke, for character sketches. I vectored these into final artwork. |
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