The Pac-Man-Conspiracy: Parallels between the TMNT and the Pac-Man-Game

[Coprophagous Beauty]

Hello everybody,

first, the TMNT had red bandages and then they get the exactly colors of the Pac-Man-Ghosts. (April's suit is yellow, her hair is red and Ms. Pac-Man wears a red ribbon and has a yellow body.)

The favorite food of the TMNT is pizza and it is said that Tōru Iwatani got the idea for Pac-Man during eating a pizza.

Further it's not just the color. The characters of the ghosts and the Turtles are similar, too:
The red ghost (Blinky) is called "Shadow" because he's the most aggressive like Raphael. The pink ghost (Pinky) is originally named Speedy but he isn't faster than the other ghosts. But his japanese name "Machibuse" means "ambush" because he's the strategy-guy and the most intelligent ghost (he also got the most complex hunt-algorithm) like Donatello. The blue ghost's name is Bashful (Inky) because he's cautious maybe like Leonardo he takes care of the others and wants to avoid battles. The last one - the orange ghost (Clyde) is called "Pokey" but his japanese name means "Fool" so he's the "fun-maker" of the group and the weakest.

So you see there is some room for interpretations. (Oroku Saki hide his mouth so he is something like an Anti-Pac-Man ).
What do you think - Is it random or a conspiracy?

Does anyone know why the TMNT got these colors?

Thank you for your answers and sorry for my bad english!

[Dragnskull]

well this is a silly fun thought.

I'd assume they got their colors simply because they are fairly spread on a color wheel, thus giving them the most identifiable differences

[Jester]

So April want's to eat the Turtles? I'm confused...

[Foot Soldier Clang]

It all makes sense now!

[Coprophagous Beauty]

Originally Posted by Dragnskull

I'd assume they got their colors simply because they are fairly spread on a color wheel, thus giving them the most identifiable differences

I don't think they just choose any colour. I think they have chosen certain colors which say something about their character or something like that.

Further it's not just the color. The characters are similar, too: The red ghost (Blinky) is called "Shadow" because he's the most aggressive like Raphael. The pink ghost (Pinky) is originally named Speedy but he isn't faster than the other ghosts. But his japanese name "Machibuse" means "ambush" because he's the strategy-guy and the most intelligent ghost (he also got the most complex hunt-algorithm) like Donatello. The blue ghost's name is Bashful (Inky) because he's cautious maybe like Leonardo he takes care of the others and wants to avoid battles. The last one - the orange ghost (Clyde) is called "Pokey" but his japanese name means "Fool" so he's the "fun-maker" of the group and the weakest.

Originally Posted by Jester

So April want's to eat the Turtles? I'm confused...

No, the Turtles haunt April!

[gobo]

O_O Someone, get those power pellets away from Miss O'Neil, pronto!

[marcelangelo]

if you check out the kevin eastman interview from the comics journal from 1998(there's a link to it on his facebook page if you care) you get to know that peter laird came up with the solution of different colored bandanas and he also states that he came up with the colors themselves...so best to ask him on his blogI think in those days he was into video games, so he might have gotten inspiration from pac man

[Candy Kappa]

I had no idea the ghosts had personalities or even names

[Falconhood]

The power pellets are the pepperoni. It all makes sense! The truth is out there!

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

Originally Posted by Jester

So April want's to eat the Turtles? I'm confused...

Not to mention eat everything else in her sight. Including eating cherries, stem and all?

[oldmanwinters]

This is a thread that I never thought would ever be made.

[Plasticplayhouse]

this is an interesting theory. while there's a chance that pac man game may have been part of the inspiration for peter laird, i think its more coincidence than anything else.

very fun to think about though!

[Falconhood]

well, there are 6 basic colors, and since the turtles are green and their tummy's are yellow, the masks had 4 options left (using green or yellow on a mask would have been terrible)

[Icebot]

Never thought of all 4 of them so similar to the turtles but the red one reminds me of Ch'rell the Utrom Shredder, they kind of look alike accept Ch'rell's tatoo.

[pannoni1]

Though in Ms. Pac Man, the orange ghost had become Sue. I always thought Pac-Man came from a cake or pie and not pizza.

Perhaps if Pac-Man was gray/black/purple as the Shredder, it would have been a better comparison. Shredder always needs to find an energy source to destroy the turtles, and those power pellets are similar to Shredder activating a magic spell that can either make him more powerful or weaken the turtles, and thus when Pac-Man eats a dark blue ghost, it doesn't really destroy it but reduces it to just eyes, and are born again in a lair (the ghosts have a lair similar to the turtles' lair!) But when Shredder doesn't have any weapons or are useless, is fair game to be defeated by the turtles, and eventually the turtles will win. Completing a maze a similar to Shredder escaping.

[Anima Gemini]

Originally Posted by Coprophagous Beauty

The red ghost (Blinky) is called "Shadow" because he's the most aggressive like Raphael. The pink ghost (Pinky) is originally named Speedy but he isn't faster than the other ghosts. But his japanese name "Machibuse" means "ambush" because he's the strategy-guy and the most intelligent ghost (he also got the most complex hunt-algorithm) like Donatello. The blue ghost's name is Bashful (Inky) because he's cautious maybe like Leonardo he takes care of the others and wants to avoid battles. The last one - the orange ghost (Clyde) is called "Pokey" but his japanese name means "Fool" so he's the "fun-maker" of the group and the weakest.

Ha! The nicknames of the ghosts are also somewhat linked to the Turtles: "Shadow" is obvious, "Pinky" is what Slash calls Krang is TMNT Adventures, "Inky" is also a character in TMNTA, and in the OT, Shredder frequently calls people "Fools". I know I'm stretching here, but I had to post these further observations just for fun.

[BubblyShell22]

I think it's just a fun coincidence and nothing more.

[Stingray69]

now aint that wierd.