Ms. Pac-Man(Tengen) (NES) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.0.0 by
[email protected](anti spam spoonerism)
Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting
much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and
I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I
could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if
you'd like to post it on your site.
This guide is best used in conjunction with the maps posted to GameFAQs. I
have maps for the mini/normal, big and strange levels.
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
3. MAZE MAPPINGS
4. STRATEGIES
5. WALKTHROUGHS
6. CHEATS
7. VERSIONS
8. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
Ms. Pac-Man(Tengen) is a variant on the standard Ms. Pac-Man, which has 4
ghosts and 4 maze types. MPT has 32 levels per game/maze type, with mini,
normal, big and strange levels, and by the end, the ghosts go faster than you.
Your reward? One skit you don't see in the original arcade. Oh, and a lot of
fun going through the mazes. It was expected that someone would do this, and
I'm glad they did it so well.
While many of the mazes look similar, the turn offs and narrow bits that vary
make this a constant challenge. I'd say 3 continues aren't enough to get
through all 32 mazes in each level without a lot of practice, because by the
end, the monsters are going faster than you are, and you need to adjust to
the different tricks each maze provides. I'd say even if you froze the number
of continues you get and worked through that way, you'd still wind up really
enjoying this game. I did.
2. CONTROLS
At the game start you have several options.
1 player or 2--2 can be competitive or cooperating. Having 2 players can make
the last levels easier--use kitty corner tunnels to confuse the ghosts.
Pac booster: off, A or B, always on. Self-explanatory, as you can move
quicker with the booster. It is almost always an advantage unless you are
stuck between ghosts.
Game difficulty: normal, easy, hard, crazy. Determines how fast enemies go.
Maze selection: arcade, mini, big, strange. Determines how big the maps are.
Starting level: 1-7
There's little to add other than that you don't use A/B except if you have
the optional PacBoost on. And on later levels, there are open spaces where Ms
Pac-Man can duck and swerve, but the ghosts will be better at it than you.
Keep to the walls there when you can.
<start> during cut scenes 1-3 skips over them.
Points are as in Ms PacMan: 10 for a dot, 50 for a power pill, 200-400-800-
1600 for ghosts. There are additional random goodies later in the big and
strange modes:
milkshake 3000
ice cream 4000
slipper 6000
star 7000
hand 8000
ring 9000
flower 10000
3. MAZE MAPPINGS
Mini:
1 = 3, 6, 10, 14, 23, 25
2 = 4, 7, 11, 15, 22, 26, 30
5 = 8, 12, 16, 21, 27, 31
9 = 13, 17, 20, 28
18 = 19, 29
24 = 32
Normal:
1 = 2
3 = 4-6
6 = 7-9, 14-17, 22-25, 30-32
10 = 11-13, 18-21, 26-29
Big:
1 = 4, 16, 20, 24
2 = 5, 15, 30
3 = 6, 12, 22
7 = 13, 23
8 = 28
9 = 18
10 = 17, 19
11 =
14 = 25, 27
21 = 29
26 = 31
32
Strange:
Most levels are unique. Those that aren't are listed below.
10 = 19 hard
14 = 14 hard
17 = 9 hard
19 = 1 hard
20 = 2 hard
21 = 3 hard
22 = 7 hard
23 = 8 hard
25 = 26 hard
26 = 21 hard
28 = 16 = 18 mini
30 = 9 mini
13 = 6
24 = 4
31 = 12
4. STRATEGIES
The biggest thing you can do to avoid fast enemies is go around corners. When
they get faster than you on later levels, you really have to. This may
predetermine your path, so you may need to use power pills later on to go
after just straight lines of dots. You also may wish to approach a pill from
a certain way so enemies will run away from you after you eat--if they are
running away, it is hard for them to run at you.
Also note that Blinky, the dark red one, is the fastest. Inky, Pinky and Sue
also do not track you as much. So if you have a choice of who to make follow
you, pick not-Blinky.
Monsters don't tend to follow you until they reverse, so you can use that to
your advantage later on. However, they may move randomly, so they may get in
your way. Also passages just above the pen are fair game--they can move up
from there, unlike in Pac-Man.
If you are trying to survive and advance, grab a power pellet at the top and
work your way to the bottom. Often too near the end, if you have stuff left
at the top, you may need to wait at the bottom til the monsters break out of
their random patterns and run at you before you really have a clear path to
the top. Impatience is costly.
Picking off just these extra two dots is often a mistake--even if it clears
out a row. Always try to get dots in the flow of the game, as you are running
away, unless there are no monsters near.
If an enemy is diagonal from you, watch to see where he goes at the
intersection to avoid him.
You can leave only one dead-end or long bit to last. Though if you can get
rid of a long bit early on, do so.
Much of the game is about using tunnels to flip enemies around, or power
pills to disperse them, or just running up and down and back again.
5. WALKTHROUGHS
First, the acts are the same in each:
2=as in arcade, act 1
5=as in arcade, act 2
9=as in arcade, act 3
13=as in arcade, act 3
32 = act 4, "the end" -- Pac-Man and Mrs. Pac-Man face each other, talk, face
the screen, wave and disappear into the distance. Little pac-mans run around
the screen.
Second, specific patterns aren't possible, as ghosts move randomly to start.
5-1. ARCADE
You've probably played this variant before in arcades, and there is not much
I can add to general strategy that more specific FAQs don't have.
For level 1 equivalents, get the top bit first, or for the harder levels,
grab a power pellet to clear the top bit. Other than that there are really no
tricky alleyways except just UR and UL of the area. Lead enemies around to
the bottom and back up so they do not trap you there. You can always move
from one corner and crisscross to the other. If enemies are really fast, you
can fake them out through the tunnel.
1-2: you can clear the zigzag parts below you as well as the top center part
before the ghosts reverse. If you have a problem clearing the top out, you
can use a power pill, but you can probably also sucker enemies to the bottom
and go back up to outrun them.
3-5: the tricky parts here are the top loops. If you want to play
conservatively, approach the power pellets from below to go into the U and
above. Otherwise you can make sure most guys are following you before you go
into the U and the top bit--pull a few into the tunnel if you can. The bottom
bits should fall pretty easily, and you can work your way up the side as the
power pellets wear off. You just need to be able to decide when to use the
tunnels and when you can get the upper middle parts--and also, coming out of
the tunnel, you can work down the sides.
6-9: Clear out the loop below you right away. Then go into the DR corner and
get the dots there. You can clean that up for a bit, and if possible, sneak
up the left. The tough bit to clear is what is above the center pen, as if
you gobble an enemy, he reappears below. Around level 6, the traveling fruit
is worth more than what you can get for wiping out the enemies, which is
riskier anyway, so start using power pills for defense.
10-13: Basically it is easier to clean this up in one try than two, because
the enemies buzz around randomly at the top to start. I clean out the bottom
and wait for them to come down. Then I eat power pills and go to the top. The
tunnels are great for running away from enemies and slowing a few down--
especially Blinky. Then you can go up top and clean out a bunch there. To be
sure of things you may need to go to the bottom.
If you lose a life, don't go right up to the top to clean the rest out. Wait
for enemies to come down and then use the tunnels.
5-2. MINI
1: No great thought is needed here especially as the dangerous areas just UL
and UR of where you start have an additional column. Just bring the enemies
by and gobble them up at each power pill. You can save the top bit for last,
and you can just park in the bottom to run back up there if you are in real
trouble. To start, you may wish to go up a side, through a tunnel, and down
the other side. You can probably clear out most dots from the board as the
last ghost leaves the pen. With so many intersections, you can see which way
the ghosts are going.
2: This is an amusing level, as if you can get enemies stuck in the top
center when you eat a power pill, and you eat them, their eyes stay there for
good. So you don't have to pay attention to getting stuck there so much. I
started clearing out the bottom tunnels and looking for routes up the side
and then, when an enemy is in the top center, eating a power pill in the
UL/UR. You can repeat for the other side. Obviously my approach cuts down the
points you can get, so you may wish to save this trap for the last power pill,
but it gives you an idea of how to attack later levels where the enemies may
be bound in by the maze and cannot make it back to the pen. Basically, they
always try to head down to the pen when possible, and otherwise, they just
turn--but they wind up turning continually around the square, if they are
caught in it, by this algorithm.
5: Take out the rectangular loop you start in. Clear your loop out first. Run
through the UL and UR corners when you get the power pills--too risky to get
trapped up there later, and you won't get many points gobbling ghosts.
9: Clear out the small square to the left and you can then branch out to the
DL. This is a pretty easy level if you can get to the upper tunnels because
you can wait there and sucker the enemies into the tunnel. You will want a
couple out of commission to take care of the N-bit in the center.
18: Loop around the rectangle of small squares then get the 2-high dots to
clear that out. Work your way up the side and use the tunnels to distract the
enemies and go back to clear the tough center bits. Bend around a lot so the
enemies don't catch you at the top.
24: This level set is not so bad, because you can goad enemies into the
tunnels. I cut left to the lower left tunnel, and I go that way, then I
approach the power pellet from below. Then I recommend moving up and left and
waiting in that upper tunnel. When one guy follows, flip back and forth
before the left edge to get a few in, then reappear on the right and take out
a bit more. Always head for the tunnels ahead of time--getting just one row
per foray is good. At the end, you can just take out the power pill in the DL
or lead people there and run back to the top.
5-3. BIG
1: Clear out the zigzags above you, then below you. Work your way slowly up,
but go to the corner and get a power pill when you can. Because you are
faster than the enemies, the big board will make it easier to go back to the
top on level 1 proper. Later on, go up a side and then use a tunnel. Either
way, there are enough places to zigzag to shake enemies off long enough.
2: Here is the first instance of where you can go down a tunnel and can
actually jiggle horizontally in it--after you take out the starting rectangle.
The level itself is hardly taxing, with the four padded tunnels where you can
sit and wait for enemies, then zip around the other side of the board. You
will want to go there first, after mucking around to one side. Clear the
bottom bits going back and forth--wait for enemies to come over horizontally-
-then go to the top. Also, if you bring the enemies to the very bottom and go
up top, they may get stuck circling where you started. Eat a ghost when it's
there and he's stuck for good.
3: Go down and then circle around where you start. You can head to one tunnel,
but the problem here is that the enemy can shadow you along the sides as you
go to the top. There, however, you have more padded tunnels where you can
just sit in a corner a bunch. Once you get 2 enemies in the tunnel, you can
probably clear out the long bit on top and the circle above the enemies'
bullpen. You may have to look ahead a bit.
7: Ouch. Those areas in the corners are tricky. It's uncreative of me, I know,
but I think a good way to take care of things is to hit the DL loop without
the power pill(monsters will still be milling around) and then hit the DR one,
getting the power pill if any monsters trail behind. Get the lon horizontal
bit if you can and now work to the top using the tunnels as a way to get out.
Then, at the top, sucker enemies into the top tunnels and go across. The
tricky part here is the U above where enemies start, and you will probably
want to approach a power pill from the bottom and walk into that. You should
be able to loop around the dots at the top while enemies are distracted from
other places, and you can run up/down the sides after warping through the
tunnels.
8: Zigzag up (to the right) then down if possible, or if you need, go down to
the right. The tunnel is padded if you run into it and back out. The big
zigzags at the start are a great place to stick enemies in. There's nothing
else here you haven't done before, and all the zigzags with the tunnel at the
top give you plenty of opportunities to shake enemies. Oh yeah, the UL/UR
power pills--don't back up after eating them. This advice is for safety
purposes.
9: It's annoying here that two power pills are lumped together, but if you
have nothing better to do, you can just use one to clear out the UR loop and
the other to clear the other. You have 4 tunnel pairs for faking out enemies
with the top being padded. Again there are a lot of zigzags and intersections
to use at the bottom, although the bottom tunnel pair is only available after
eating a power pill. One thing you can do is eat a power pill and then double
back and go to the other side, and then re-double back once the monsters
follow you.
10: Sort of like classical pac-man. Sweep all of the bottom first, going all
the way left, down and back. You can use the tunnels pretty effectively, but
don't forget the enemies will come up when by the pen. Work the loops below
the upper power pills. Blinky is particularly susceptible to getting caught
here.
14: The big problem here is getting through to the loops. I think letting
Blinky chase you to an UL/UR power pill should let you clean up the rest, and
you will also want the enemies to chase you down to the DL and DR corners so
you can fake them out and come back. The middle exits are all bunkered, so
use those. You can take one side trip in the very middle part each time you
run across, so do that. If you trap or fake guys in the bottom, then you can
take care of the N above the pen.
21: Six power pills here, but it's their location that's the bonus, It's
amusing but not too easy to trap the enemies in the space areas. You would do
well just to get one with each pill, and you don't have to trap the enemies
right in the area. If you get them as they are moving down, that is good
enough. You can also, when the areas are clear, go to the DL and have an
enemy follow you down there, then go UL and back right, and the enemy will go
to the open area where he will wander for a good while. You can take out the
top with ease. He can also get stuck between the brackets at the top if you
clear the top.
26: Clean up the bottom center and wait for enemies to get near to the bottom
tunnel, then sprint to the top. Use a power pill if you need to shake them
off, then go through the top zigzag. You can probably go down the side zigzag,
and when you get back to the top, use the other top power pellet to go down
the other zigzag. Other than that, use the tunnels to distract the enemy and
it should not take long.
32: The power pills are tricky to get to here, so the best bet is to clear
out the very center and work your way up an edge if you can. Try to lump
enemies behind you as you go to the area in the top, and go back and forth
left and right in the UL/UR so that more enemies will lump around there, and
you can run to the other side without having a welcoming committee. Then you
can run to the bottom and see which way to go to get a power pill. It is best
to get the pill from above as there is a long walk to it from below, and
enemies will probably surround you if you try that. When they change
direction, they will pave the way for you to get the part below the pill,
anyway.
5-4. STRANGE
Strange replicates a lot of levels from earlier rounds. But overall, it is
not too bad to get through, and it has some interesting twists.
1: you can pretty much walk up to the top and back down again, taking out the
treacherous top loop, then gun down opponents as you please. You have tunnels
you can wind through if an enemy is on your tail, but it's level 1, and he
shouldn't be.
2: you can clear out the bottom center bits(loops to left and right and the
bit above) and then go up one side when an enemy comes down, going through a
corner power pill. You can use one power pill at the top to grab enemies,
then move down the inner part and switch sides and grab the other pill and
run through the loop. You can still outrun enemies, so you can let them chase
you around corridors, or you can eat the other bottom power pill to go up
that side. You can even use the bunkered sides if you want.
3: The power pellets are in awkward spaces here. Clear the center below the
bullpen and go to the outside. You have to go there to get to the bottom, but
wait til they are following you to eat a power pill. Loop around--use the
tunnels if necessary--clear out the area, and go to the top on the other side.
You will want to use one pill in the top to clear the top bit--you can also
fake the enemies out as they come at you--and one pill to make your way to
the small niche above the bullpen.
4, 24: The key thing here is to get to the outside, go all the way up, and
use the tunnels to go to the other side if you are foiled. Eventually, you
can go over the top to the inner bit. You then have enough power pills to
take care of everything. One possible strategy is also to wait at the bottom
for a while, or near to it, so the enemies lump, and you can take care of the
outside completely, though you may need to go up/dpwn on one side to get all
the enemies to that side before switching at the top and grabbing a pill. You
should save a top pill for last if you still have outside stuff to clear. It
doesn't matter which side it is on as the warping is so easy.
5: The top bit is very nasty to pick off here, an the only recommendation I
can make is to clear out the bottom and wait forever for enemies to come in
at you, then eat a power pill and go to the top. You also may try to stay at
the T above one bottom corner, then move to the other one and up once you
sucker two enemies into the tunnel--the power pill will make them move back
through the tunnel. The enemies will run in a circle at the top.
You can also wait at the very top and they will eventually come at you, but
they might not come at once. This is such a tricky level that it's okay to
chuck a life or two to get the top bit if for some crazy reason you are
playing honestly and at regular difficulty trying to get from 1 to 32.
6, 13: In these levels, you can trap an enemy by staying to the side of the
power pill in the middle right place and eating it and getting the monster,
whose eyes will go in a tight circle. The bottom of the upper corners will do
this as well. If you can knock out a couple guys early, this level formation
is a breeze. Until then, you can just circle along the sides to grab dots at
the bottom. Note it is tricky to go down from the upper corners, so always
look for a wall to run into where you can launch your next attack from.
7: This is a weird looking level, but you can link up each loop to a power
pill, and it will go quickly. You are well enough bunkered at the start to go
to the left and clear out the loop below the power pill. Then you should have
time to go to the right and clear out that area. Do not clear out the entire
bottom bit as you go back right. You can get that at the end, getting a side
power pill as you come down.
Moving up and eating a power pill allows you to clean out the top area and
then use the tunnels to avoid enemies, then you can loop for a pill and clean
out the 6 dots below the pen.
8, 29: The ads here are amusing, aren't they? If you can get to the upper T-
shaped bit while the monsters are still running around randomly, that is for
the best. Just go up the sides. You should be able to clear out the bottom
between power pills. If you can't get through the T at the start, you can eat
a power pill and force the issue, since the monsters will still move randomly
after it is done. Because the T is so close to the monster pen, if you use a
UL/UR power pill to clear things off, make sure you do not eat a ghost in the
meantime, or it will be right on your tail.
9: Here you have to eat a power pill to get to certain areas of the board.
Try your luck running past the enemies as they circle around the original
bullpen. If this works, clear out the dots on the top, waiting as long as
possible to goad enemies into the tunnel. If you cannot get above, retreat to
he bottom and get a power pill. Then you can go up the side. You can go down
the other side, too. Enemies should not track you, but if they do, warp.
It's also ok just to go straight for the power pill, waiting for enemies to
get down. But it takes a bit longer, since you will have more to clear. In
general, though, you can zigzag up and down the sides if need be, and the
center is tricky. Try to position yourself so that you can run by the enemies
as they loop around the bullpen, and cover one side of the dots you need to
get the first time down, and the other side the next time.
10: see 19 hard
11: Here you have to watch for squiggly bits by a corner--if you move at a
right angle too soon, you miss a dot. Clear out the center area by you. Use
one of the lower power pills to gain access to the top, where you should eat
another power pill to go along the top and clear what you can. Use the side
exits. From there it is a matter of making sure Blinky does not get too close
to you and clearing the rest of the area out using the warp tunnels and
switching the enemies.
12, 31: You have lots of turns to make, which is good for keeping space from
enemies, but because you have the small red bumper-dots as barriers, there
are places you think you can get to but you can't. You'll be using the warp
tunnels a lot, though you will want to start by clearing the part above you.
Then work on one corner and when the enemies get close, hit the tunnels.
Zigzagging, say, URURUR will definitely keep the monsters at bay through the
tricky parts, and when you reverse the warp tunnels, that is a good time to
pick off stray dots. There are a lot of places you'll need to zigzag just one
square through--if you leave off the controls, you'll get stuck and probably
get killed.
14: see 14 hard
15: This is actually a pretty strtaightforward level, even though it looks
weird. Take out the left cloverleaf looping clockwise after you hit the left
wall. Then take one of the two adjacent power pellets and take out 2 loops of
the cloverleaf and take the other one to try to take out the other two loops-
-if you can only get one, don't worry, because you can flip flop to take out
the remaining loop later. Go inside a bit and up to zigzag, then if an enemy
is behind, zigzag again on the left side down. Go back up for the power
pellet or, if you need a bit more time. Now with the remaining pellet you can
get the stuff above the bullpen that you forgot last time.
16, 28: see 18 mini
17: see 9 hard
18: The long horizontal slabs allow you to clear out a lot of the level or
even fake enemies out early on. If you stay in the bottom center, enemies
won't get out of the initial loop. Then you can lure them to the bottom to
gobble the power pellets so you can get to the top--sneak in the inside lanes
and gobble the 3-high to the sides of the bullpen so you don't have to later.
At the top you can use the same techniques as at the bottom--use the wide
horizontal barriers to see which way an enemy will go, then go the opposite.
You can run into a t-intersection here and then zigzag your way back. After
each warp you should have a zigzag planned, and it's always better to zigzag
too much and leave something for later than zigzag too little and get caught
from behind. You need to watch it here because there are only two power-ups,
but the warp tunnels close together can allow you to confuse the monsters--
you can double back past those you've gotten stuck.
19: see 1 hard
20: see 2 hard
21: see 3 hard
22: see 7 hard
23: see 8 hard
25: see 26 hard
26: see 21 hard
27: It's very difficult to get from the top to the bottom and back, and for
that reason, you should clear everything below the bullpen before moving to
the top. Start out by cloverleafing around, then go to the very bottom. Use
one tunnel after getting the first power pill, then clear out the rest of the
area, then when (almost) done, use the other power pill to move from below to
above, getting any stray chain of dots.
The top bit just requires patience as you can camp out in the middle
tunnel(bottom of the top) and enemies have quite a way to go to extricate
themselves. You can cut back across diagonally or even use the tunnel above
to double back. Plus you can run across the very top and clear the top center
after one of the above power pills.
There are a lot of t-intersections where you need to turn off quickly, the
most prominent being between the warp and the power pills.
30: see 9 mini
32: This level isn't especially irritating except for the glowing walls.
There's actually a good chance enemies will get stuck in some of the loops to
the DL and DR of the bullpen, so when you eat the power pills below, be sure
to take the enemies out. Then you have an easy trip up the sides before
turning from the power pill, and if the enemy eyes are slow, take out some of
the tricky top center bits. You can at least move D U quickly to get the
spare dot below the N-shaped parts. Use the power pills in the UL/UR to take
out the long stretches D and L/R, and be sure to come up to one to cover the
top bit. The upper tunnels are useful here to sucker enemies to where they
will be delayed a long time, but be careful not to show up on the other side
before the other enemies are committed.
If you get killed here, you can use your second chance to go up a side and
take out the dots in the top part. Then you can probably use a power pill to
go down and win pretty easily. But with your starting life, you will want to
clear out the areas around you--don't bother with the edges, because you will
get them in the course of the game, but clear out the inside part of the
loops DL and DR of the bullpen.
6. CHEATS
0x1e = thing running around 0=cherry up to 6=banana(classical)
7=milkshake up to d=flower for the extra stuff
0xd0 = tens/ones of score(no hexadecimal--x90 really is 90 decimal)
0xd1 = thousands/hundreds
0xd2 = 100000s/10000s
0xd4 = # of lives left
0xd5 = your level - 1
0x122 = # of continues left
0x124 = pac booster (0=off 1=a/b 2=on)
0x125 = difficulty(0=normal 1=easy 2=hard 3=crazy)
0x126 = maze selection
0=arcade 1=mini 2=big 3=strange
On the start screen, change byte 0x127 to (#) to get to level (# + 1).
0x383 = # of dots left
0x2ee = start of dot map
0x45a = start of X map
Both are bit based. 1=dot/wall, 0=open.
End of FAQ Proper
================================
7. VERSIONS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 2/18/2008, complete.
8. CREDITS
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they
are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done.
Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow
Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and
others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message
board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of
mine.
Thanks to the NES Completion Project folks for keeping it going.
