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Did the original Pac-Man have a high score list? If so, how many scores could be saved?

I could only find an image showing the high score at the top of the game screen.

http://1000awesomethings.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/pac-man-high-score1.jpg

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3 Answers 3

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If this commented Pacman disassembly is accurate, it appears that only one high score is maintained for the lifetime of the game. I believe the comment below (from the aforementioned disassembly) indicates the address range of the high score value:

;; 4e88-4e8b High score

The Ms. Pac-Man disassembly also seems to follow the same pattern:

;           SCORE  AABBCC
;   $4e80   P1 CC
;   $4e81   P1 BB
;   $4e82   P1 AA
;   $4e83
;
;   $4e84   P2 CC
;   $4e85   P2 BB
;   $4e86   P2 AA
;   $4e87
;
;   $4e88   TOP CC
;   $4e89   TOP BB
;   $4e8a   TOP AA

One may wonder: are these two commented disassembly print-outs accurate and legitimate? It's hard to say for sure, but a few Pacman-oriented websites cite them, this article being chief among them: Splitting Apart the Split Screen.

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  • That suggests to me one high score whose digits are AABBCC and that those digits are stored in the bytes 4e88-4e8a. And it looks like this same format is used for P1 and P2 scores. The fact that the top score is in the same place as for Pacman makes me think that it migth be the same storage locations for both...
    – Chris
    Nov 10, 2013 at 1:40
  • Ah, good interpretation. I hadn't made the connection with the AABBCC portion of the comment. I'll update my answer. Nov 10, 2013 at 3:20
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No, it does not. The game's attract sequence has three parts:

  1. A title screen
  2. A screen that lists the ghosts' names, and demonstrates how power pills work
  3. A short gameplay demonstration

No high-score list is ever shown. In addition, no capability for initials entry exists. The current highest score achieved is recorded, but that is the extent of it.

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Well, first of all, the screenshot you show is of Ms. Pac-Man and not Pac-Man. But to answer your question, no - the highest score is the only one shown, and you don't even get to enter your name for that.

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