The original melody comes from Namco's Pac-Man, the arcade game first released in Japan in 1980 that became a defining part of video game culture. Its short opening jingle plays before gameplay begins and is instantly recognisable to generations of players. Reversed versions began circulating on soundboards and in video edits, where flipping familiar game audio became a simple way to create rewind and glitch effects. It remains popular because the tune is so well known that even backwards, listeners quickly recognise its source.