Following the release of last month’s Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series, Bandai Namco is back with an update to another PS1 classic, 1999’s Pac-Man World. Sadly, unlike Klonoa, this is a remake of the first game rather than his remastered collection which includes two of his PS2 sequels. Thankfully, Pac-Man World Re-Pac stands alone as a solid platformer and a modernized version of his one of the most interesting experiments in Pac-Man history.
In a story that looks like an episode of The Last of Us, Sesame streetPac-Man returns home for his birthday to discover his wife, two young children, a dog, a professor, and a dwarf Dig Dug, all kidnapped. To make matters worse, he discovers he’s the victim of identity theft, as a ghost advertises a meeting with Pac-Man on Ghost Island. The villain behind this has been identified as Toc-Man (the evil robot Pac-Man) and our hero must take action to rescue his family and defeat the crooks.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest change in Re-Pac is on the presentation side. The visuals are much more vibrant this time around, and there’s been a visual overhaul throughout the levels. Re-Pac also sprinkles additional cutscenes throughout the game before the bosses fight, making Toc-Man a much more presentable villain. It’s been completely altered, both by removing the voice acting and replacing it with gibberish. There is no doubt that Because of this, new characters such as Puck-her-mama and Puck-her-boy have replaced her and Junior-her Pac-Man in the game.
Spyro and super mario 64 This game was popular in this era, such as Crash Bandicoot and super mario 3d world, the goal is simply to reach the end of the stage. The six-hour adventure consists of six worlds, most of which include his three levels and boss battles.
Each of these levels comes with its own set of collections. Mainly the achievements of the original arcade game. These act as door keys scattered throughout the stage. Most of these doors will lock once you reach them, but require minimal exploration, as the required fruit is rarely further than the next screen to the right. There’s: extra lives and health, buttons that affect the level layout, hidden PACMAN characters, and Galaxian doors that unlock bonus maze levels in the style of classic arcade games. Each world also has one key to free the captive family.
There wasn’t much source material available for the character’s transition to 3D, so Namco had to devise his moveset. The main form of attack and traversal is the bat bounce. This allows Pac-Man to jump higher and gain momentum while defeating enemies. You also have access to ranged attacks where Pac-Man collects pellets and throws them at enemies, as well as dash attacks. Sonic’s spin dash. You can’t make a platformer without some sort of power-up. Pac-Man World offers three. Classic power pellets transform him into a giant, invincible eating machine that destroys everything in his path.
While not an incredibly challenging game by any means, Re-Pac has rebalanced the game in several key ways. First, access Flutter to extend Pac-Man’s jump time and aid in trickier landings. The game also features an easy mode that extends your float time to make some tricker bits even easier.
Re-Pac also makes changes to some boss fights to make things simpler. The original game’s infamous his Anubis Rex battle is made much easier by filling the ground between four singular platforms. What’s most striking about Pac-Man World compared to his other 3D platformers of the era is how unique each boss fight is. You can transition from typical arena battles with bouncing on the heads of your enemies to first-person races with clowns and Galaga pastiches. However, if you die during these multi-phase battles, you’ll be sent back to the beginning of a rather lengthy battle.
Tommy Tallarico’s fantastic original score is back in this remake, blending classic Pac-Man tunes with a unique flavor that strikes a great balance. However, Re-Pac’s music can sound very low fidelity. I’m not sure if it uses his original PS1 track. When I went back to listen to the original OST on YouTube it sounded better than them. However, while the tracks are noticeably lower quality on some levels, others sound perfectly fine.
Conclusion
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a fun pack from a time when 3D platformers were much more prominent than they are today. It doesn’t quite beat contemporaries like Crash Bandicoot Warped and Super Mario 64, but if you’re looking for a solid 3D platformer adventure, Pac-Man: His World is a must.Depending on how you look at the new difficulty balance (or just For real I love Ms. Pac-Man) This is definitely the best way to experience a PS1 classic.
