Tekken Boss Wanted 'Muscular' Pac-Man as a Character, But the Idea Was Brutally Shot Down

Tekken series boss Katsuhiro Harada has shared some cracking stories over the years, but this latest one has truly tickled us.

It involves a "muscular" version of Pac-Man being a playable fighter in the original Tekken, which sounds like one hell of a gimmick.

In a new interview with Japanese outlet 4Gamer (as translated by Automaton), Harada explains that Pac-Man would have been a proper character — the iconic yellow head stuck on a buff body. He was so confident in the idea that he pitched it to Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani — but it didn't go down well.

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Indeed, Iwatani actually scolded the young upstart, stating that it would be "reckless" to use the company mascot in such a way. The veteran would then hand Harada a "thick document", covering all of the ways in which Pac-Man should be featured in other projects.

Tekken has had its fair share of 'gimmick' characters in the past, but even Tekken 3's Gon would have seemed quite tame in comparison to a muscle-busting Pac-Man.

Hilariously though, this whole saga has actually come full circle (kind of). Tekken 8 recently got its own Pac-Man stage and cosmetic items in celebration of the latter's 45th anniversary.

One such item allows you to wear the ghost-eating mascot as headgear that fully covers the character's face. Harada got his way in the end, we suppose...

Would you have played as a buff Pac-Man in Tekken? Try not to eat your opponents in the comments section below.