5 Retro Video Games That Tried To Copy Pac-Man

As far as timeless arcade games go, it doesn't get much more iconic than Bandai Namco's 1980 classic "Pac-Man." Over 45 years later, the "Pac-Man" franchise is worth billions of dollars and remains a recognizable face for the medium at large. Even as video games have grown considerably more technologically advanced, the "Pac-Man" arcade games still provide endless replay value for modern audiences. If the '80s arcade scene has a flagship character, there's a very strong argument that Pac-Man should fill the role.

Naturally, many other video game companies tried to replicate the success of "Pac-Man" with their own titles, some eerily similar to the 1980 game. Though legally distinct, these games featured mechanics and presentations similar to the Bandai Namco franchise. With that in mind, we've gathered some of the most memorable "Pac-Man" clones from the '80s. Here are five retro video games that tried to copy "Pac-Man" with varying levels of success.

Among the "Pac-Man" clones that made it to arcades, rather than being relegated strictly to home platforms, was the 1981 title "Lady Bug." Players control a brightly colored ladybug as she ventures into a maze, consuming flowers, letters, and hearts as she progresses. The ladybug is pursued by enemies designed after other types of insects, with the gameplay speed steadily increasing after completing several levels. The game's distinguishing gameplay mechanic is that it gives players the ability to control gates built into the maze, helping them keep the enemies at bay.

While a modest success in its original arcade release, "Lady Bug" would find a wider audience through its home console ports. The game was released for ColecoVision in 1982, with an Intellivision port released the following year. Though its similarities to "Pac-Man" are clear, the gate mechanic really helps set the game apart from the Namco property. A fun take on the maze game genre, "Lady Bug" offers its own fun-filled experience to the familiar setup.

One of the early personal computers, the Apple II, saw its own riff on "Pac-Man" with the 1981 game "Snack Attack." Players control a character known as Snacker who eats gumdrops strewn around a maze while eluding the Gumdrop Guards. The level has certain gates that can only be accessed by Snacker and others that can only be accessed by the Gumdrop Guards. Instead of Power Pellets, Snacker eats stars to temporarily power up and gain the ability to eat the pursuing enemies.

"Snack Attack" is one of the more overt "Pac-Man" clones of its era, offering only a slight redesign and a gate mechanic also seen elsewhere. Despite these obvious similarities, or perhaps because of them, the game ended up becoming a commercial success for the Apple II. A sequel, "Snack Attack II," was released the following year for IBM platforms, refining the gameplay and offering new maze layouts. Bringing the arcade experience to personal computers, "Snack Attack" provided its own light twist on the "Pac-Man" formula.

Numerous tech companies produced their own gaming personal computers through the '80s, including the Atari ST and the Commodore 64. Texas Instruments, best known nowadays for manufacturing graphing calculators, had its own platform with the TI-99/4A, with the obligatory line of games. Among these was "Munch Man," a 1982 maze game that retained the basic color palette from "Pac-Man" in its cover art. Rather than consuming dots, however, the goal is to fill the labyrinth with a trail left behind by Munch Man while avoiding monsters known as Hoonos.

In early prototypes for "Munch Man," the game was much more of an overt "Pac-Man" clone. In this unreleased version, Munch Man did indeed eat dots throughout the maze, giving the game its title. To avoid any potential lawsuits, the developers decided to revolve the game around a trail-leaving mechanic instead. A highlight in the TI-99/4A library, "Munch Man" is just different enough to feel like its own gameplay experience but still holds a clear link to the Namco classic.

As Nintendo branched into the home console market after years of making arcade-first games like "Donkey Kong," it began producing games exclusively for home platforms. Among these was "Devil World," directed and designed by Nintendo visionary Shigeru Miyamoto in 1984 for the Famicom. The maze game has players control a dragon as they eat dots across the labyrinth, while also being stalked by a variety of monsters. Though players can temporarily fight back when empowered by crucifixes and bibles, a devil at the top of the screen moves the camera in an effort to crush the dragon.

While more visually detailed than "Pac-Man" and opting for a different theme in Christian religious iconography, "Devil World" is functionally similar to the Namco game in general gameplay and goal. The addition of the camera-shifting devil is a nice distinguishing feature, though the decision to center the game around biblical demons cost Nintendo the American market.

The first game Shigeru Miyamoto made specifically for consoles was banned in the U.S. because of Nintendo of America's strict ban on titles featuring religious imagery. It wouldn't be until 2023 that "Devil World" finally got an official American release, albeit through the Nintendo Switch's digital NES library.

Sonic wasn't Sega's first official mascot, with the publisher looking to its Alex Kidd and "Fantasy Zone" series on the Master System to fill that role. The latter franchise began in 1986 as a brightly colored side-scrolling shoot'em-up title before its follow-ups explored different gameplay styles. This includes 1987's "Fantasy Zone: The Maze," with the game featuring the franchise's protagonist, a spaceship named Opa-Opa, through a labyrinth. Traveling through the maze, Opa-Opa collects dots, avoids enemies, and can drain a central dot where the enemies' energy builds up.

Compared to other games of its genre, "Fantasy Zone: The Maze" lets up to two players navigate the levels simultaneously. The mazes aren't quite as large or elaborately designed as other "Pac-Man" pastiches, but the similarities are evident. It does feel like a strange use of the "Fantasy Zone" franchise; comparatively, it'd be like giving "Space Invaders" or "Galaga" a maze game. Sega had a tradition of giving its flagship franchises odd spin-offs, notably with all the strange Sonic titles outside of the main series, and that distinction began with "Fantasy Zone."