Ghost Gang

"The Ghost Gang Gives Chase!"

Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde, collectively referred to as the Ghost Gang, are the main antagonists of Namco's Pac-Man franchise, debuting in the original game released in 1980.

They are also playable characters in Nexed, working together as a group as opposed to taking up seperate roster or costume slots.

Real-World History
The Ghost Gang was designed in 1980 by Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani, who wanted to create a game that would appeal to women and children as opposed to the usual adult male audience arcades usually attracted at the time. To bolster this appeal, Iwatani wanted the game's antagonists to be cute and colorful, citing characters such as Casper the Friendly Ghost as inspiration for the enemies' design. While Namco president Masaya Nakamura wanted all enemies to be colored red, Iwatani eventually convinced him to allow multicolored enemies, leading to the Ghost Gang's current color schemes.

The Ghost Gang's Japanese names stem from their behaviors in the original Pac-Man; "Oikake", "Machibuse", "Kimagure" and "Otoboke", translating respectively to "chaser", "ambusher", "fickle" and "stupid". The international Midway release of the game changed the names to "Shadow", "Speedy", "Bashful" and "Pokey" while introducing the characters' most common names as nicknames; "Blinky", "Pinky", "Inky" and "Clyde".

Iwatani had originally envisioned the Ghost Gang as generic monsters as opposed to ghosts. However, due to the flickering screen of the Pac-Man port for the Atari 2600, the monsters were often referred to as ghosts by both players and the game's instruction manual, leading to the ghost moniker carrying on to future Pac-Man products.

Due to the success of Pac-Man, the Ghost Gang has been recognized as some of gaming's most iconic villains, with them reappearing as constant antagonists in a variety of Pac-Man games. However, they have appeared in other forms of media, such as Wreck-It Ralph, as well as allies of Pac-Man in the Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures continuity.

Gameplay Information
"Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde have spent the last forty years chasing down Pac-Man, and they don’t seem intent to stop any time soon! It seems like they want to scare our yellow hero more than they want to harm him, but that doesn’t matter to Pac-Man; Once he gets a Power Pellet, the Ghost Gang becomes his personal four-course meal!

Once they received an invitation to join the tournament, there was some discourse on whether or not they’d join. Blinky wanted to join and show Pac-Man his place, and Pinky wanted to go too, if only to act on her crush on Pac-Man. However, Inky and Clyde wanted to stay in Ghost Land, either being too afraid or uninterested to fight. After some debate, they headed into battle as a team!"

The Ghost Gang is a very technical character, being four fighters in one. While each ghost shares the same moveset, they all have some form of advantage the others don't have. This, combined with their emphasis on stage control, requires a heightened awareness of the match's status in order to achieve success. By seperating the Ghost Gang at opportune times and with the right ghosts, they can cover lots of space while retaining their strengths.

However, their high-skill nature makes them difficult to learn as opposed to the majority of the cast, making them less friendly for beginners. In addition, despite their above-average mobility and average attack power, they are among the game's lightest characters. All of these factors make the Ghost Gang a character that is relatively hard to learn, but incredibly rewarding when mastered.

Moveset

 * Hover: After performing their mid-air jump, the leading ghost can hover in the air for a few seconds, being able to perform their aerials and move horizontally.
 * Ghost Swapping / Ghost Box: By using their Guard Special, the Ghost Gang can rotate the leading ghost, which is the one the player controls.
 * Each ghost adds a different buff to the “fighter’s” overall stats.
 * Blinky increases attack power.
 * Inky increases movement speed.
 * Pinky increases jump height.
 * Clyde increases knockback resistance.
 * The leading ghost at the start of the match is Blinky by default, but this can be changed on the character select screen.
 * All other available ghosts are seen in a “Ghost Box” on the player’s HUD - They will leave the box if they have been sent out with the Neutral Special or if they have been “KO’d” while patrolling, being unavailable for control or patrolling until they return.
 * The fewer ghosts present in the player’s Ghost Box, the lighter the leading ghost will be, making them susceptible to KOs.
 * All non-leading ghosts will return to the Ghost Box upon the leading ghost being KO’d, despawning from their patrol if appropriate.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: The leading ghost throws a palm strike.
 * Dash Attack: The leading ghost performs a shoulder tackle.
 * Forward Light: The leading ghost throws a hook punch.
 * Up Light: The leading ghost throws a straight headbutt upwards.
 * Down Light: The leading ghost sweeps their hand across the ground.
 * Forward Strong: The leading ghost throws a double punch.
 * Up Strong: The leading ghost flies in a circle, with their bottom portion acting as a backflip “kick”.
 * Down Strong: The leading ghost somersaults forward.
 * Counter: The leading ghost rams into the opponent.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: The leading ghost flies in a circle.
 * Forward Air: The leading ghost performs an overhand punch, capable of spiking opponents.
 * Back Air: The leading ghost throws a backhand behind themselves.
 * Up Air: The leading ghost performs a corkscrew battering ram upwards.
 * Down Air: The leading ghost “stomps” downwards.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: The leading ghost grabs the opponent with both hands.
 * Pummel: The leading ghost headbutts the opponent.
 * Forward Throw: The leading ghost rams into the opponent, launching them forwards. This is their best kill throw.
 * Back Throw: The leading ghost spins around and tosses the opponent behind him.
 * Up Throw: The leading ghost throws the opponent into the air. This is their best combo throw.
 * Down Throw: The leading ghost rises into the air before throwing the opponent to the ground.

Stage Intro
The leading ghost flies onto the stage in their pixelated form before entering their normal form and assuming their battle stance.

Taunts

 * The leading ghost transforms into their pixelated form and flies as the ghost siren from Pac-Man can be heard.
 * The leading ghost laughs with their hands on their stomach, referencing an animation from Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures.
 * The leading ghost looks forward with a different expression for each ghost; Blinky grimaces, Inky blows a raspberry, Pinky winks, and Clyde puts his finger to his mouth.
 * The leading ghost looks up as pixelated forms of all ghosts within the Ghost Box orbit around their head. If no ghosts are in the Ghost Box, the leading ghost will appear worried.

Victory Animations
The Ghost Gang's victory animation is a remix of the Game Over jingle from Super Pac-Man.
 * The ghosts toss the Golden Fruit from Pac-Man World 2 between themselves before flying off, with Blinky flying by the camera to blow a raspberry at the camera.
 * All the ghosts fly into view and pose.
 * A pixelated Pac-Man is seen on screen before he turns around, appears scared, and runs off, with the Ghost Gang hot on his trail.

Colors / Costumes


Trivia

 * The Ghost Gang's Level 2 Nexus Attack originally called in a swarm of ghosts, but was changed due to being too uninspired.

Gameplay-Related

 * Upon being KO’d, the leading ghost’s eyes can be seen rushing to the top of the screen before they appear on the respawn platform with their regular appearance, referencing how ghosts return to the Ghost Box in Pac-Man.
 * The leading ghost will turn dark blue and gain a worried expression while guarding, grabbed, dazed, or buried, resembling their appearance when under the effects of a Power Pellet in Pac-Man.
 * The leading ghost will turn green while asleep, resembling the sleeping ghosts from Pac-Man Championship Edition.