History VideoGame / PacMan99

''PAC-MAN 99'' is a {{Battle Royale|Game}} version of ''VideoGame/PacMan'' developed by {{Creator/Arika}} and published by Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment, released on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Nintendo Switch Online]] service on April 7, 2021. It is the third Arika-developed Battle Royale based on a classic video game, following the highly-successful ''VideoGame/Tetris99'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros35''.

After a run of roughly two and a half years, the game's online services were [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down on October 8, 2023]], with ''PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs'', formerly a UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia exclusive, [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute announced]] for all platforms shortly afterwards for early 2024.

After a run of roughly two and a half years, the game was [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down on October 8, 2023]], with ''PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs'', formerly a UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia exclusive, announced for all platforms shortly afterwards for early 2024.

After a run of roughly two and a half years, the game was [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down on October 8, 2023]], with a successor titled ''PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs'' announced shortly afterwards for early 2024.

* GuideDangIt: Just like ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}} 99'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros35'', there are absolutely no tutorials whatsoever. This makes understanding mechanics specific to ''99'' very hands-on, and unlike ''Tetris'', which reuses existing official mechanics, in ''Pac-Man'' many of the mechanics were created specifically for this game, making understanding them that much harder.

After a run of roughly two and a half years, the game was [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down on October 8, 2023]], to be replaced with an offline-only version.

The game will be [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down on October 8, 2023]], to be replaced with an offline-only version.

The game will be [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames shut down on October 8, 2023]].

In this variation of the classic game, players compete with 98 other players to become the last man standing, the "PAC-ONE". To win, players must survive an endless maze of ''Pac-Man'' while chomping dots and avoiding the deadly touch of the four ghosts. Eating a Power Pellet and consuming a blue ghost allows the player to attack other players in the form of Jammer Pac-Man that impede players and eventually increase in lethality over the course of a match. In addition, players can increase their attack power by activating the "sleeping ghosts" to summon ghost trains a la ''Pac-Man Championship Edition'' and generate more ghosts to chomp at once, and swap between four different kinds of power-ups to gain an edge over the competition.

* BalancePowerSkillGimmick: The relationship shared by the four power-ups. "Standard" is balance with no upgrades or drawbacks, "Stronger" is power that sends more Jammer Pac-man but makes power pellets wear off sooner and permanently reduces your speed by one level every time it's activated, "Speed" is skill which makes you faster but sends less Jammer Pac-man, and "Train" is the gimmick of doubling the ghosts that get added to a train when waking sleeping ghosts in exchange for adding Jammer Pac-Man to ''your own maze'' when doing so.

In addition to the free base game, there is an all-in-one DownloadableContent package called the "Deluxe Pack" that enables Private Matches and several offline features, including a COM Battle mode, a Score Attack, and Blind Time Attack mode, as well as adding catalogue of custom themes based off of various ''Pac-Man'' games and titles from Namco's exhaustive retro games library. Themes can also be bought individually, and the additional modes can be purchased as their own bundle.