On your mark, Get set, Munch.
K.C. Munchkin! is a 1981 video game by Magnavox/Phillips for the Odyssey². The game consists of the main character K.C. running through a maze of 12 floating Munchies and eating them before the Munchers eat him. It was so similar to its inspiration Pac-Man that Atari (who held the home rights to Pac-Man) successfully sued Magnavox and got the game off the market. It was followed a few years later by K.C.'s Crazy Chase!, where K.C. now chased after a multi-segmented centipede-like creature called the Dratapillar to devour it before the single-headed insects devoured him.The game is also available as a homebrew title for the Atari 7800.
This game and its sequel provides examples of
- Alliterative Title: Not this game, but its successor, K.C.'s Crazy Chase!.
- Derivative Differentiation: The first installment is an obvious clone of Pac-Man (although there are a fair amount of differences between it and its inspiration already, most notably the ability to create your own maze), enough that a year after it was released, Atari, who had just released their own port for the 2600, successfully sued to get it pulled from shelves. To continue the series, a sequel, K.C.'s Crazy Chase, was released, which redesigned the lead character, and revamped the gameplay to where your goal is to chase and eat a giant centipede throughout the maze to get power ups and win (not only distinguishing it from Pac Man, but also serving as a sly jab at Atari). It also supports the Odyssey 2 voice module.
- Endless Game: Once a maze is completed, it repeats itself until you lose your only life.
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Follow the Leader: One of many Pac-Man clones. - Invincibility Power-Up: The flashing Munchies act just like the Power Pellets from Pac-Man: eat one and you can chase after and eat the Munchers for a brief time.
- Maze Game: Of the Pac-Man variety.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: K.C., who only has one life per game.
