Pac-Man World receiving remake, but one family member won’t be at the reunion

Ms.Take

During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Bandai Namco revealed that it is developing a remake of the 1999 PlayStation adventure Pac-Man World, starring the company’s eponymous mascot and his memorable crew of friends and enemies. Unfortunately, however, it seems that one family member will be conspicuous by their absence.

Pac-Man World Re-Pac, (neat name), will once again see the pill-popping hero on a quest to rescue his family from the villainous Toc-Man, who has not only kidnapped the spherical clan but also chosen to perform this nasty deed on Pac-Man’s birthday! What a complete bastard. While the remake will feature a fully revitalized replication of the original 3D platform adventure in its entirety, tiresome red tape will call for alterations to be made pertaining to, you guessed it, the appearance of Ms. Pac-Man.

In Pac-Man World Re-Pac, the bow-wearing babe will be replaced by everybody’s favorite sun hat-wearing imposter “Pac-Mom,” who is becoming the de rigueur stand-in for all Pac-Man-related remakes and rereleases. As we have previously reported, arduous and tiring licensing laws have seen the rights to Ms. Pac-Man fall into disarray, with a petty dispute between Bandai Namco and developer AtGames (of “Plug ‘n’ Play” console fame), are keeping the character locked up in licensing jail.

Ms. Pac-Man does not appear in Pac-Man Museum Plus, she was removed from the recent Arcade Archives release of Pac-Land, and, clearly, she will not be appearing in Pac-World Re-Pac. While this seems such a minor issue, it is a clear and ongoing irritant to the Pac-Man community, while also burying the legacy of a legitimately important character in the history of female representation in video games. But, there’s money to be made by someone, somewhere, so this issue is set to continue.

Pac-Man World Re-Pac launches August 25 on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.