Bandai Namco scrubs Ms. Pac-Man from its own classic game

Enlarge / Who's that Pac-lady in the pink hat, and what has she done with Ms. Pac-Man? (credit: @nickisonlinet / Twitter)

Obsessive Pac-fans of a certain age may remember Ms. Pac-Man's cameo appearance in Pac-Land, the 1984 side-scrolling spin-off that first gave Pac-Man legs. This week's re-release of the game on the Switch seems to have thrown the "miss" down the memory hole, though, an odd retcon that may be the result of the complicated legal history surrounding Ms. Pac-Man's creation.

Pac-Man book contributor Ryan Silberman and artist Nick Caballero were among the first to note the apparent change on Twitter this week. They highlighted Pac-Land Switch screenshots in which Ms. Pac-Man's iconic bow and high, red boots have been replaced with a character sporting pink high heels and a matching hat. The sprite for the baby-sized Jr. Pac-Man has been similarly changed to remove the trademark red bow that was first seen in 1983's Jr. Pac-Man.

Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man as they appeared in the original release of Pac-Land. The pair have been edited out of this week's Switch re-release. (credit: @nickisonlinet / Twitter)

Leaving the sprites in their original form would have obviously been the simpler choice for Hamster, which publishes the Arcade Archives series on Switch. And the description for Pac-Land's Arcade Archives re-release notes that the "series has faithfully reproduced many classic Arcade masterpieces," making such a minor change even more bizarre. What's going on here?

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