PacMans 40th anniversary is right around the corner. To celebrate, were going handson with a few affordable mini and collectible PacMan games with the Super Impulse Tiny Arcade, Tiny Arcade Tabletop Edition, and the new PanMan Tamagotchi. Head below to see them in action.
PacMan Tiny Arcade
What might be the most recognizable version of the popular game is the classic arcade cabinet. Super Impulse, who sells tiny versions of other games, has a tremendous mini cabinet in its Tiny Arcade line for $20. While some changes were inevitable because of the Tiny Arcade design, it is still an excellent scaleddown replica that can be used as a keychain. Measuring just 3inches tall, its straightforward to find a home for in a collection.
Upon getting the cabinet out of the box, it is in a demo mode, and when any button is pressed, the arcade comes to life and starts a game. To enter the normal mode, toggle the power switch off and then back on.
PacMan 40th: Video
In normal mode, the arcade lights up when any button is pressed. The marquee illuminates, and the screen shows some credits. To start a game, press the left button and get ready. The game will automatically go into a sleep mode if no input is received for 20 seconds, or you can also turn off the mini arcade when finished playing, so save some charge from the three AAA batteries.
In Use
Input is simple with the small joystick and feels responsive with a gentle click when a directional button pressed. Because it is so tiny, I occasionally had a misclick, but overall I found the game easy to play. With a one inch screen, the cabinet is pretty tiny. But thankfully, PacMan doesnt need a big screen to play. I do wish that it had a volume dial. It has some tremendous authentic audio, but it can be a little obnoxious, in my opinion, since you do have to be close to it to play on the small screen.
PacMan Tiny Arcade Tabletop Edition
In another classic miniremake, the $21.59 PacMan Tiny Arcade Tabletop Edition brings another style of the arcade to small design. It functions very similarly to the other Tiny Arcade. There is a joystick and two buttons on the front of the arcade with a power switch on the bottom. The miniature replica is covered with some nice details like protectors on the corners and a legend for the ghosts.
The gameplay is pretty identical to the Tiny Arcade. Turn on the table and push the left button to start the game, and it will go to sleep after 20 seconds of inactivity. Making some input will start the game back up again. Just like the mini arcade, I wish that there was a volume dial.
PacMan Tamagotchi
A new way to celebrate the 40th anniversary is by combining two different games with the $20 PacMan Tamagotchi. There are two colors available, yellow maze and black maze, but both offer the fun take on both PacMan and classic Tamagotchi.
With three different buttons, taking care of the Tamagotchi is pretty standard. Enter the menu with the left button, use the middle to check the time, or select an item, and the third will check the Tamagotchis status and back out of menu items.
PacMan Protects
Occasionally, there will be some Ghosts or bugs that appear on the screen with your Tamagotchi. To get rid of them and help your pet, call up PacMan by pressing the first button, and hell chase away the unwanted guests.
MiniGames
In addition to feeding and fending off Ghosts, you can also play two different minigames with the PacMan Tamagotchi. The first has three separate lanes where you can eat dots and avoid ghosts, and in the second game, you can use the three buttons to face left, up or right and eat dots.
Munching up
If youre a collector, then you wont want to miss these affordable PacMan replicas. The new Tamagotchi is a fun mashup of the two different games. I havent spent much time with a Tamagotchi in a long time, and though I have two kids of my own taking up most of my time, I still wanted to see the little thing grow into an adult.
If retro tech is your thing, be sure to check out some of our handson reviews of the products from New Wave Toys. Their Replicade Arcade cabinets and line of Replitronics deliver a full dose of nostalgia in a wellcrafted package.
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