Hey Paisanos, it's the Cruise Elroy (website) Pac-Man SuperFast Super Review!
About a year ago, I was made aware that Bandai Namco had trademarked a new Pac-Man game called "PAC-MAN SUPERFAST", and I was very unsure of what it was. Was it going to be a mobile game? Or maybe a new arcade release, like with Pac-Man Battle Royale Chompionship? Either way, I wasn't exactly ecstatic, but was a bit optimistic on this (supposedly) new Pac-Man game.
1 year and 2 months later, I was informed that SuperFast had been released! Now, what platform do you think this game was released on?
Switch? Xbox? PS5? PC? Android?
Well... it was released on YouTube. Yes, THAT YouTube.
Specifically on the Playables section, because YouTube loves adding features that basically add nothing, but hey! There's some pretty big names over there, like Angry Birds, and Cut The Rope! So a new Pac-Man title for this Playables section could be worth a look.
So I gave it a play, and, I mean, it's alright I guess.
The gameplay is basically just classic arcade Pac-Man (down to the Ghost AI), but when your speed meter on the bottom fills up, or you successfully complete a level, the game's speed increases, and when the speed increases, the maze's color changes, up until you reach the final speed, aptly titled "DOOM". Alongside that, when you get to the "Crazy" speed, the game's skin changes to this cool looking neon skin that I kinda like. Also, this game has all new bonus items, alongside certain ones from the original Pac-Man. These new ones are an eggplant, bananas, a donut, a generic spaceship in place of the Galaxian from the original, a fox head (which is probably a reference to the devs of this game, RedFox Games), and Pac-Man's face (which gives you an extra life if you eat it). Yeah, I don't get that one either.
In terms of difficulty, SuperFast isn't really a hard game to complete (or even play), considering that this game gives out extra lives like candy on Halloween, and the game isn't really that long.
The controls are pretty good, at least on PC. On Android, they're the typical "swipe to move" controls you've come to expect from a mobile Pac-Man game, which is fine, except the fast speeds seen in the later levels of this game are almost impossible to put up with using this control scheme.
Do I have any complaints? Well...
There's nothing really exciting, or new, or original about Pac-Man SuperFast. Pretty much everything done in SuperFast has been done before (and better) by other Pac-Man games. At most, the visuals change a little when you get farther in the game, which is nothing too spectacular either. Not only that, but, when you get to the Maniac+ speed, the maze's colors start changing rapidly, to the point where I think it could give actually someone a seizure. I would at least appreciate a warning for that, or better yet, why not just axe the flashing visuals entirely! Another problem I have with SuperFast is that it's way too short, ending at about level 13. It would've made more sense if it continued on endlessly until you die, considering this is still a high-score game after all.
Overall, Pac-Man SuperFast is an okay experience that's really held back by it's massive flaws, and I'd only really recommend it to those who are curious about this entry into the Pac-Man series. Oh, and if you have epilepsy, stay far away from this game.
According to one of my friends, this game is based on the Play.Works conversion of Pac-Man for smart TVs and while I can't say if that's true or not, I can say that I've played both, and SuperFast feels a lot better to play than that smart TV version, let me tell you.
This game appears to be US only at the moment, so if you don't live in 'Murica, you may need a VPN to play SuperFast, and if you can't get it to work, I can't say you're missing out on much.
PAC-MAN and other such characters depicted on this website belong to Bandai Namco, I am merely a fan.