Ms. Pac-Man

Ms. Pac-Man brings the 1982 maze-chase arcade game to Nintendo’s Game Boy. This 1993 cartridge was published by Namco; the game record credits Midway. Guide Ms. Pac-Man through the maze, eat every pellet, and avoid Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Sue to clear a round.

Four energizers turn the ghosts blue for a short time, letting Ms. Pac-Man eat them for increasing point values. Fruit and other bonus items travel through the maze, while the pace rises as the rounds continue and the ghosts become harder to catch safely.

The Game Boy version uses the arcade game’s four maze layouts rather than a single board. They are introduced in sequence and later rotate, so players must learn several route patterns, tunnel positions, and escape choices instead of relying on one fixed map.

It supports one player or two players. Two people can take turns by passing the Game Boy, or play simultaneously with two Game Boys connected by a link cable; the second player controls Pac-Man. This is a portable competitive option, not a two-character mode on one handheld screen.

Do not confuse this release with Tengen’s 1990 NES version. That separate port added selectable Arcade, Mini, Big, and Strange maze sets, speed and difficulty choices, a Pac-Booster, and several multiplayer modes. Those expanded options are not features of the 1993 Game Boy cartridge.

Ms. Pac-Man itself began as a General Computer Corporation project that Midway turned into the 1982 arcade sequel to Pac-Man. The Game Boy release preserves its central appeal: short, increasingly tense chases built around pellets, power pellets, moving bonuses, and split-second decisions at every intersection.