Pac-Mania Review Video - Great Conversion!

ZEUSDAZ · 29 November 2018, 04:34

Hi all, just had to do a "Let's Play" of Pac-Mania on the Amiga, a very classy conversion indeed, I hope you enjoy it

P.s, sorry if the volume is low but you can still hear it fine.
[ Show youtube player ]

Peter · 29 November 2018, 10:44

Enjoyed the video - cheers for sharing- it is a very decent conversion.

and yes where did the years go... !

Tigerskunk · 29 November 2018, 11:04

Actually I never understood why people said this is a good conversion.
I remember being completely disappointed with it, since it looks nothing like the arcade version.

While obviously being arcade perfect was out of the question because of the lack of simultaneous colors on screen (each moving object needs around its own 10 colours for different shades of one color), the Amiga could have done better than what they came up with.

gimbal · 29 November 2018, 11:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steril707

Actually I never understood why people said this is a good conversion.

Look, it is very simple. I loved the Amiga version unconditionally because: I was not burdened with the knowledge of how the arcade version looked! It cannot be simpler and more honest than that.

Not that it would have mattered, it was 3D pacman with a jumping mechanic, scrolling levels and a very catchy tune. It was completely awesome.

AMIGASYSTEM · 29 November 2018, 11:42

I would say a game of excellent graphics and music for the period, certainly one of the most beautiful and representative for AMiGA

a reamake AGA in my opinion would have been a great success.

Konrad · 29 November 2018, 12:14

As a child I never knew the arcade version. Without that reference I found Pacmania on the Amiga to be very enjoyable.

roondar · 29 November 2018, 12:25

I've played both the C64 version, Amiga version and arcade version. And while Steril707 is certainly correct in stating that the graphics of the Amiga version don't look as good as the arcade (the ghosts especially), I still think it's a good conversion.

Why? Because it plays very well. It's just a very nice game to play and it 'feels' like Pac-Mania even though it doesn't look as nice as it could. It's also interesting to see an Amiga game in full overscan when the arcade game wasn't

Overall, I'm very happy to have the game and still go back to it from time to time.

Pyromania · 29 November 2018, 12:32

Pac-Mania was fun to play. I’ve never played the Arcade version, I bet it’s fun too.

Jope · 29 November 2018, 14:34

I own the arcade board and I prefer it these days. The Amiga conversion was very good for a stock A500 single loader game, though.

AMIGASYSTEM · 29 November 2018, 15:14

Surely the AMiGA version is superior to all for the audio, for the graphics not bad for being an OCS game

Pac-Mania - Atari ST: [ Show youtube player ]

Pac-Mania - NES : [ Show youtube player ]

Pac Mania Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: [ Show youtube player ]

Pac-Mania - Arcade: [ Show youtube player ]

Pac Mania - AMiGA: [ Show youtube player ]

Retro-Nerd · 29 November 2018, 15:58

Pac-Mania didn't aged that well, as a game concept. But i agree that it is one of the better Arcade ports for the Amiga. The PAL overscan resolution is really nice. Looks at the ST version and you know why.

LieutLaww · 29 November 2018, 16:08

I had it on the MSX, thought it was great fun.

gimbal · 29 November 2018, 17:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by LieutLaww

I had it on the MSX, thought it was great fun.

I wasn't even aware this game existed on the MSX! Youtube videos of it look rough though, really poor framerate

AMIGASYSTEM · 29 November 2018, 18:05

Pac-Mania Conversion Comparisons:

[ Show youtube player ]

Tigerskunk · 05 December 2018, 16:49

I had read about Pacmania in the "Arcade"-part of a german game magazine, and was quite at awe how it looked back then.

And being spoiled by how Marble Madness looked on the Amiga, I hoped for something similar off course...

If I hadn't know that in before, I probably would have liked the Amiga port of Pacmania a lot as well.
But that wasn't the case, so I was severely disappointed.

Maybe Marble Madness and Defender of the Crown being released so early in the Amigas life was kind of a detriment to my enjoyment of the Amiga, since 95% of the games released couldn't hold up graphics wise compared to these two games.

Shatterhand · 05 December 2018, 22:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimbal

I wasn't even aware this game existed on the MSX! Youtube videos of it look rough though, really poor framerate

There's an MSX 1 version made by the very same guys who made the Amiga vesion, and an MSX 2 version made by Namco itself.

It's true the Amiga version doesn't look like the arcade game at all... and the ghost AI is very different... but come on, did you really expect pixel perfect ports at that time? I really think it was a very solid version.

I am still even more amazed that nearly every home port (including some of the console ports) were made by Shaun Hollingworth and Pete Harrap, and they did a pretty good job on basically all the ports. It was certainly a mamooth task to port the game to so many systems... and except by the MSX 1 version (Which is a direct ZX Spectrum port), all ports are using the hardware properly.

Estrayk · 06 December 2018, 01:30

Dont forget the excellent Acorn Archimedes version.

[ Show youtube player ]

Notice that the sprites from Acorn version are big as original arcade version.

[BONUS] The Atari Falcon version (ported from x68000) also is cool.

[ Show youtube player ]

29 November 2018, 04:34	#1
ZEUSDAZ Registered User Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: England Posts: 745	Pac-Mania Review Video - Great Conversion! Hi all, just had to do a "Let's Play" of Pac-Mania on the Amiga, a very classy conversion indeed, I hope you enjoy it P.s, sorry if the volume is low but you can still hear it fine. [ Show youtube player ] Last edited by ZEUSDAZ; 02 July 2022 at 00:55.

29 November 2018, 11:04	#3
Tigerskunk Inviyya Dude! Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Amiga Island Posts: 2,775	Actually I never understood why people said this is a good conversion. I remember being completely disappointed with it, since it looks nothing like the arcade version. While obviously being arcade perfect was out of the question because of the lack of simultaneous colors on screen (each moving object needs around its own 10 colours for different shades of one color), the Amiga could have done better than what they came up with. Last edited by Tigerskunk; 29 November 2018 at 11:10.

29 November 2018, 12:14	#6
Konrad Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Germany Age: 43 Posts: 742	As a child I never knew the arcade version. Without that reference I found Pacmania on the Amiga to be very enjoyable. Last edited by Konrad; 29 November 2018 at 22:15.

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29 November 2018, 10:44	#2
Peter Still an Amiga user Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Kent Age: 55 Posts: 2,715	Enjoyed the video - cheers for sharing- it is a very decent conversion. and yes where did the years go... !

29 November 2018, 11:42	#5
AMIGASYSTEM Registered User Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Brindisi (Italy) Age: 70 Posts: 8,252	I would say a game of excellent graphics and music for the period, certainly one of the most beautiful and representative for AMiGA a reamake AGA in my opinion would have been a great success.

29 November 2018, 12:25	#7
roondar Registered User Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 3,421	I've played both the C64 version, Amiga version and arcade version. And while Steril707 is certainly correct in stating that the graphics of the Amiga version don't look as good as the arcade (the ghosts especially), I still think it's a good conversion. Why? Because it plays very well. It's just a very nice game to play and it 'feels' like Pac-Mania even though it doesn't look as nice as it could. It's also interesting to see an Amiga game in full overscan when the arcade game wasn't Overall, I'm very happy to have the game and still go back to it from time to time.

29 November 2018, 12:32	#8
Pyromania Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 3,380	Pac-Mania was fun to play. I’ve never played the Arcade version, I bet it’s fun too.

29 November 2018, 14:34	#9
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	I own the arcade board and I prefer it these days. The Amiga conversion was very good for a stock A500 single loader game, though.

29 November 2018, 15:14	#10
AMIGASYSTEM Registered User Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Brindisi (Italy) Age: 70 Posts: 8,252	Surely the AMiGA version is superior to all for the audio, for the graphics not bad for being an OCS game Pac-Mania - Atari ST: [ Show youtube player ] Pac-Mania - NES : [ Show youtube player ] Pac Mania Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: [ Show youtube player ] Pac-Mania - Arcade: [ Show youtube player ] Pac Mania - AMiGA: [ Show youtube player ]

29 November 2018, 15:58	#11
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 52 Posts: 12,453	Pac-Mania didn't aged that well, as a game concept. But i agree that it is one of the better Arcade ports for the Amiga. The PAL overscan resolution is really nice. Looks at the ST version and you know why.

29 November 2018, 16:08	#12
LieutLaww Registered User Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Uckfield, UK Age: 53 Posts: 195	I had it on the MSX, thought it was great fun.

29 November 2018, 18:05	#14
AMIGASYSTEM Registered User Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Brindisi (Italy) Age: 70 Posts: 8,252	Pac-Mania Conversion Comparisons: [ Show youtube player ]

05 December 2018, 16:49	#15
Tigerskunk Inviyya Dude! Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Amiga Island Posts: 2,775	I had read about Pacmania in the "Arcade"-part of a german game magazine, and was quite at awe how it looked back then. And being spoiled by how Marble Madness looked on the Amiga, I hoped for something similar off course... If I hadn't know that in before, I probably would have liked the Amiga port of Pacmania a lot as well. But that wasn't the case, so I was severely disappointed. Maybe Marble Madness and Defender of the Crown being released so early in the Amigas life was kind of a detriment to my enjoyment of the Amiga, since 95% of the games released couldn't hold up graphics wise compared to these two games.

06 December 2018, 01:30	#17
Estrayk Registered User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Spain Posts: 512	Dont forget the excellent Acorn Archimedes version. [ Show youtube player ] Notice that the sprites from Acorn version are big as original arcade version. [BONUS] The Atari Falcon version (ported from x68000) also is cool. [ Show youtube player ]

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