10 Video Game Sequels That Pointlessly Took Away Things Fans Loved
3. The Entire Reason You Played - Pac-Man 2
Pac-Man is one of the most recognisable protagonists of all time in gaming, but that’s nothing to do with his personality. He’s a yellow circle with a mouth who bobs around a maze collecting dots; that’s all there is to it. Like the paddle from Pong, he’s not really meant to have any sort of story or narrative. It’s just fun.
That makes Namco’s decision to make a sequel all the more bizarre. They could have gone with new mazes, different power ups, changed the ghost AI... all would have been acceptable upgrades. Instead, they gave Pac-Man a point and click adventure game. Yes, really.
You’d say they were trying to cash in on Pac Man’s name by adding him to a point and click that was supposed to be a new IP, but honestly, what is there to cash in on? Okay, his name is recognisable but he’s known for arcade style mazes, why would we root for him?
Everyone loves Red Dead but if the next one is a football game with John Marston in goal and Sadie Adler on the wing, who in their right mind would buy it? This is just plain weird.