Pac-Man is possibly the most known character in all of gaming, and if the internet knows about something, of course it's going to make memes about it.
Please add entries in the following format:
- The meme. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The explanation behind the meme, if necessary.[[/labelnote]] ExplanationLike this.
- Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
- Waka Waka Waka. ExplanationThe onamotapoeia created for the noise Pac-Man makes when it eats the dots.
- Here Comes Pac-Man. ExplanationAn animation
of a particularly bad CGI Pac-Man smoking crack while his two human friends try to convince him that Drugs Are Bad. The audio track itself came from Bloodhound Gang's track "Mope". - Smug Pac-Man. ExplanationIn Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures, Pac-Man has a mood meter that, when fully happy, makes him look hilariously smug.◊
- Pac-Man Killed Mario. ExplanationPac-Man 99 was announced a week after Super Mario Bros. 35 got removed from the Nintendo Switch Store. This quickly led to memes saying that Pac-Man literally killed Mario, Pac-Man is Nintendo's new mascot, Namco is replacing Nintendo in the Console Wars soon, etc. Ironically, Pac-Man 99 would be met with a similar fate, with F-Zero 99 announced shortly before its own shutdown.
- Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures:
- "Aw man, I'm a meme..." ExplanationA line uttered in "Is Zit You Or Is Zit Me?", in which Pacster bemoans that he's become a meme when images of his zit-laden self, made worse by the Balloon Berry, is photographed all over town. It ended up becoming a meme outside the show as well (for various reasons).
- Nerd Pac-Man. ExplanationThe over-the-top dorky way Brainiac Pac moves in his introduction from "That Smarts" caught on in 2022 as a gif, mainly used in the same kind of contexts as the nerd emoji started being used earlier that year.
- The Pac is Back. ExplanationName of the show's intro theme and a Tagline, used to promote the reboot as Pac-Man's grand return. The phrase became a minor joke in the fandom due to how often Bandai Namco uses "Pac-Man is Back" or variation thereof to advertise Pac-Man games, the variant used for Ghostly Adventures specifically catching on. Then in June 2022 (curiously not long after the aforementioned nerd Pac's rise as a gif), a mild resurgence of the fandom occurred after a Twitter post of the show's intro claimed "this is the worst opening of all time", with the phrase "The Pac is Back" becoming especially notorious. The phrase's widespread use became very perfectly timed when Bandai Namco soon revealed a full remake of Pac-Man World that would then come out within a mere two months — and that therefore Pac really was back.
- Xok. ExplanationA creepy image of Pac-Man by sashastan. Commonly used in surreal memes and sets of "cursed emoji".
- "This is a wrench!" ExplanationIn Hanna-Barbera cartoon series' episode "A Bad Case of the Chomps", Pac-Man scolds Chomp-Chomp for not finding him a wrench in a very Large Ham way. It was most likely popularized by this YouTube Poop by Geibuchan, with the line generally being said in reference to the video.
- Pac-Land:
- "Pac-MILF". ExplanationWhen Pac-Land got rereleased as part of the Arcade Archives collection, it was discovered that Ms. Pac-Man was replaced with a new character named Pac-Mom due to legal disputes over the original character. Redditors quickly mocked the rename.
- MS Paint graphics. ExplanationThe game has a very unique art style, made to resemble a Hanna-Barbera adaptation of the series. To newer audience, however, the game looks like it was drawn using Microsoft Paint (which Pac-Land predates by a year). The comparison was coined when Pac-Land became a stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U by players who were unfamiliar with the game and mocked how it looks.
- Ghost Dance. Explanation"Pac Baby" from Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 became infamous for being paired to an animation by Rule 34 artist minus8 featuring genderbent (except for Pinky), Moe Anthropomorphic versions of the Ghost Gang dancing. The dance and the song would end up spreading to other fandoms, as well, including Dream's.
