Ghosts (Pac-Man)

The Ghosts, primarily Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, are the monsters chasing the player in the Pac-Man franchise.

History

The enemies in Pac-Man are known variously as "ghosts," "goblins," and "monsters".^[1][2][3] Despite the seemingly random nature of the enemies, their movements are strictly deterministic, which players have used to their advantage. In an interview, creator Toru Iwatani stated that he had designed each enemy with its own distinct personality in order to keep the game from becoming impossibly difficult or boring to play.^[4] More recently, Iwatani described the enemy behaviors in more detail at the 2011 Game Developers Conference. He stated that the red enemy chases Pac-Man, and the pink and blue enemies try to position themselves in front of Pac-Man's mouth.^[5] Although he claimed that the orange enemy's behavior is random, the game's code reveals that it actually chases Pac-Man most of the time, but also moves toward the lower-left corner of the maze when it gets too close to Pac-Man.

Cartoons

In the Pac-Man cartoon, with the male Ghost Monsters wearing various styles of hats and partnered with a new ghost named Sue (who was purple and wore earrings), the Ghost Monsters work for Mezmaron who assigns them the job of finding the Power Pellet Forest. Just as Pac-Man could "chomp" the Ghost Monsters to devour their "suits" after gulping down a power pellet and thus turning the Ghost Monsters blue — with their disembodied "eyes" floating back to Mezmaron's lair — the Ghost Monsters themselves, whenever Pac-Man hadn't been able to consume a power pellet for a time, could likewise "chomp" Pac-Man to defeat him. The episodes "Chomp-Out at the O.K. Corral" and "The Greatest Show in Pacland" featured the Ghost Monsters' 3-year-old cousin named Dinky who was bratty, which greatly annoyed all the male ghost monsters.

In the 2013 TV series Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, the four Ghosts come from the Netherworld. Though they are ruled by Lord Betrayus, they are actually good-natured spirits and often supply Pac-Man with information about Lord Betrayus' plots, while ensuring Betrayus doesn't catch them in the act. It is also suggested that they could be reunited with their bodies and brought back to life, though their 'living' forms are unknown. There were also some Ghosts that were exclusive to the TV series like Cyclops Ghosts (a race of heavyset, horned Ghosts with one eye), Fire Ghosts (a race of orange Ghosts who can emit fire from their body), Tentacle Ghosts (a race of 4-eyed purple-black Ghosts who look similar to jellyfish), Guardian Ghosts (a race of large Ghosts who guard the Netherworld), and Aqua Ghosts (a race of light blue Ghosts with fins on their head).

Known ghosts

Below is the description of each Ghost.^[6]

Blinky

Blinky is a red ghost who, in the original arcade game, follows behind Pac-Man. He is considered the leader of the ghosts. In the Pac-Man cartoon, Blinky (voiced by Chuck McCann) is slow-witted and cowardly with grammar problems. In Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2, & Mappy: The Movie, Blinky (voiced by Ian James Corlett in the TV series and by Lucien Dodge in the video game) is the default leader of the Ghost Gang Family and tends to help the winning side. Blinky receives a speed boost after a number of pac-pellets have been cleared. This mode has been informally referred to as "Cruise Elroy".^[6][8] He is sometimes known as Clyde, mainly in the Pac-Man World games.

Pinky

Pinky is a pink ghost who, in the original arcade game, positions him/herself in front of Pac-Man. In the Pac-Man cartoon, Pinky (voiced by Chuck McCann) is depicted as male dimwitted shape shifter. In recent games, and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Pinky (voiced by Ashleigh Ball in the TV series and by Julie Kliewer in the video game and sequel) is depicted as a female with a crush on Pac-Man, which often puts her at odds with Cylindria.

Inky

Inky is a baby blue ghost who, in the original arcade game, has a fickle mood. He can be unpredictable. Sometimes he chases Pac-Man aggressively like Blinky; other times he jumps ahead of Pac-Man as Pinky would. He might even wander off like Clyde on occasion. In the Pac-Man cartoon, Inky (voiced by Barry Gordon) is depicted as dim and loony. In Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Inky (voiced by Lee Tockar in the TV series and by Bryce Papenbrook in the video game) is the youngest member. Though the smartest, he lacks focus most of the time. In Pac-Man, Inky likes to appear in front of Pac-Man's face.

Clyde

Clyde is an orange ghost who, in the original arcade game, acts stupid. He will chase after Pac-Man in Blinky's manner, but will wander off to his home corner when he gets too close. In Ms. Pac-Man, this ghost is named Sue, and in Jr. Pac-Man, this ghost is named Tim. In the animated series, Clyde (voiced by Neil Ross) is the leader of the group. In recent games and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, Clyde (voiced by Brian Drummond in the TV series and by Orion Acaba in the video game) is depicted as a large ghost who is simple, but not unintelligent and has an appetite equal to Pac-Man's. He lacks the devious natures of his brothers and sister and is considerate towards others. He is sometimes known as Blinky, mainly in the Pac-Man World games.

Other Ghosts

With the release of further Pac-Man games, more ghosts have been added.

• Kinky – a yellow Ghost that only appeared in Pac-Man Arrangement. He is also called Kinzo. Kinky is the scientist of the Ghosts who has the ability to combine with other Ghosts. When he combines with Clyde (note: in Pac-Man Arrangement, Clyde was the red ghost and Blinky was orange), Kinky becomes a bull-like ghost named Urchin that can charge after Pac-Man. When he combines with Inky, Kinky's glasses appear on Inky's body and grant this new combined ghost (named Stylist) the ability to split in two. Stylist's reflection will mirror Stylist's movements on the other half of the map (about the vertical axis). When Kinky combines with Pinky, the resulting ghost is rabbit-like and named Romp. Romp can hop to any part of the map, usually very close to Pac-Man's position. The combination of Kinky and Blinky (who is orange in Pac-Man Arrangement) results in Crybaby, a chubbier version of Blinky who adds 20-point Pac-Dots to the maze.
• Orson / Toc-Man – a greenish-gray intellectual Ghost who initially appears as the main antagonist of Pac-Man World under the alias of Toc-Man. In Pac-Man World 3, Orson has reformed and is now an ally of Pac-Man.
• Spooky – a dark gray Ghost in gray armor that is the King of the Ghosts in ancient times until he was sealed under Pac-Ville's largest tree by Sir Pac-A-Lot.
• Funky – a jumping green Ghost that debuted in the game Pac-Mania. He has an interest in Sue.
• Spunky – a jumping iron gray Ghost that debuted in Pac-Mania. She is a counterpart of Funky.
• Sue – is the female counterpart of Clyde in Ms. Pac-Man, entirely identical to him. In the Pac-Man series, Sue (voiced by Susan Silo) is featured as Clyde's second-in-command. She also appears in Pac-Mania colored purple with mascara and eyeshadow, greatly resembling her cartoon counterpart.
• Tim – is an orange Ghost that appeared exclusively as Clyde's replacement in Jr. Pac-Man.
• Yum-Yum – a female red Ghost that debuted in Jr. Pac-Man. She is a relative of Blinky and has a romantic relationship with Jr. Pac-Man. Yum-Yum appears exclusively in Jr. Pac-Man's cutscenes.
• Lord Betrayus (full name: Betrayus Sneakerus Spheros) – a white ghost that is the supreme ruler of the Netherworld and of all Ghosts and Monsters and acts as the main antagonist of Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. His primary goal is to steal the power berries and take over Pac-World and rule it with an iron fist. He is currently voiced by Samuel Vincent.
• Butt-ler – Betrayus' long suffering personal servant and butler who appears in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. He is a purple-gray ghost with a butt-shaped head, topped with a dapper black hat. He's always loyal to his master. He will take some small satisfaction seeing Betrayus fall flat on his face.
• Dr. Buttocks – The Netherworld's greatest mad scientist and Butt-ler's twin brother who also has a butt-shaped head, but is light blue, has a cybernetic right hand, wears glasses and speaks with a German accent. He specializes in monster experimentation in hopes of achieving Pac-World domination. He sometimes suspects that the Ghost Gang are working with Pac-Man, but has had no luck convincing Betrayus of this since he usually blames him or his brother for his failures and sometimes tortures him for fun. He wants all of the workers to get out of his way. He sometimes hates his twin brother, Butt-ler.

Voice actors

American

Blinky

Chuck McCann in the television series

Martin T. Sherman in Pac-Man World 3

Ian James Corlett in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series

Lucien Dodge in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and sequel

Inky

Barry Gordon in the television series

Stuart Milligan in Pac-Man World 3

Lee Tockar in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series)

Bryce Papenbrook in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and sequel

Pinky

Chuck McCann in the television series

Mindy Lee Raskin in Pac-Man World 3

Ashleigh Ball in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series)

Julie Kliewer in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and sequel

Clyde

Neil Ross in the television series

John Guerrasio in Pac-Man World 3

Kevin Deters in Wreck-It Ralph

Brian Drummond in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures TV series)

Orion Acaba in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game and sequel

Sue

Susan Silo in the television series

Japanese

Blinky

Kazuhiro Fusegawa in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Inky

Mai Tōdō in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Pinky

Kiyono Yasuno in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Clyde

Yutaka Nakano in Wreck-It Ralph

Kunpei Sakamoto in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

In other media

• In the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Gang Busters", Buster Bunny and Plucky Duck play Pac-Man using their eyeballs as the characters. Buster plays as the ghosts.
• The Ghosts appear in The Simpsons episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", where they are seen at Pac-Man's wedding. They also appear in the episode "I Married Marge", where Mr. Burns was playing Ms. Pac-Man and laughs when he eats the ghosts.
• The Ghosts appear in the Futurama episode "Anthology of Interest II".
• The Ghosts appear in the South Park trilogy "Imaginationland".
• The Ghosts appear in the Family Guy episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart".
• The Ghosts appear in the Annoying Orange episodes "Pac-Mania" and "TV OF TERROR".
• Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde appear in Wreck-It Ralph. While Blinky, Inky, and Pinky appear in Game Central Station, Clyde (voiced by Kevin Deters) is shown to be the head of Bad-Anon (a support group for video game villains) where the members have been meeting in the Pac-Man game once a week. When Wreck-It Ralph comments on how he does not want to be a villain anymore, Clyde is among the villains that react to this. When Ralph states he gets no respect from the others characters, Clyde understands how he feels but says that he will have to accept who he is.
• The Ghosts appear in the MAD segments "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus", where they were shown chasing Pac-Man, and "ParaMorgan", where they were shown with other popular fictional ghosts.
• The Ghosts appear in secret levels in Wolfenstein 3D.
• The Ghosts appeared in Abobo's Big Adventure as enemies on Contra Bobo. When Abobo hits them, they will turn blue and when Abobo hit scared ghosts, they will die with their eyes run offscreen.
• The Ghosts appear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Pac-Man uses them for his Smash attacks and they can also be summoned through an Assist Trophy. The Ghosts also wander in the Pac-Maze stage found in the 3DS version. They deal damage upon contact with other fighters and can be eaten by those who got a Power Pellet.

References