In 1999, Namco knew they had to do something to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their flagship mascot, Pac-Man. Since its inception in the 1980s, Pac-Man has been not only a gaming icon, but also a cultural icon. So after two years in development, they unleashed Pac-Man World on the PlayStation 1 to coincide with the birthday. The game became a success both critically and commercially, selling over a million copies in the US alone. The game would spawn two sequels and a racing spin-off in the coming years. But the series has been dormant since 2006. Out of nowhere, Bandai Namco announced Pac-Man World Re-Pac earlier this year.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a remake from scratch for modern systems. Namco plans to remaster the original title in 1080p with a targeted frame rate of 60FPS. Have they fulfilled their ambitions? Are there any changes to the original game? Does it go well with the 1999 cult classic? Let’s go chew, shall we?
Let me break down the original title first Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a remake of . Pac-Man World was released when 3D platformers were all the rage. Especially on the PlayStation 1. You control Pac-Man in 3D levels where the goal is to take down enemies and make it to the end. Meanwhile, collect dots, fruits and letters to spell Pac-Man in each level. Yes, it had all the trademarks of the beautiful Collect-a-thon platformers of the time.
But it still had the charm of what made Pac-Man the series it was. The levels included mini-maze areas where you had to collect dots and chase away ghosts. Each stage also featured a hidden maze, like the Pac-Man levels from the previous games. If you found and defeated them, you collected rewards such as more lives.
Combining the elements of platform games in the 90s with what players loved about the original Pac-Man, the game gained a lot of success with fans of the series and new players. Me included! I played it at the time because of my love for collect-a-thon 3D platformers. So I waited patiently Pac-Man World Re-Pac. But I had a lingering fear that nothing would change.
Fortunately, that fear was taken away at startup Pac-Man World Re-Pac. A new, remixed version of the opening let me know right away that the development team didn’t want to give the original a new coat of paint and just let it be for a day. But that new coat of paint shines and performs well! In my playthrough, the game never dropped below 60FPS. In addition, the 1080p graphics look beautiful and add a pleasing sheen to the world’s unique designs.
It makes playing the game nostalgic but fresh at the same time. Gameplay wise this is still the Pac-Man World I grew up with love at its core. Every mechanic is cool and functions well. The worlds and areas still feel so fun and rewarding to explore and find each collectible.
It reminded me how much this game and Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series show how good Namco was at making 3D platform games in the late 90’s. It’s hard to put into words, but each platformer felt unique and original compared to others on the market. And Re-Pac was a fantastic reminder of how much I miss their studios that occasionally swing in this genre.
So what has changed? Pac-Man World Re-Pac? Two major additions to the game. Throwing points and Big Pac-Man. Throwing points is easy. You can now use dots as projectiles to defeat enemies along with your other two attacks, butt bouncing and dashing.
The bigger change (literally) is the great Pac-Man. In the original, eating a power dot only changed the ghost to blue and you could “eat” them by touching them. In Re-Pac, eating a power point makes Pac-Man huge and lets you not only eat ghosts but also cause significant destruction in areas to find hidden secrets. It’s a simple idea, but it’s great to see how the development team plays with it in levels as the game progresses.
Before everyone thinks I’m praising this up and down, there’s one key element where I feel like the game is going awry. And that’s in the story. Yes, I know there is no long story in it Pac-Man World Re-Pac. It’s literally a “go save your family from enemies” story. But one of the more charming elements of the original was how weird the story presentation was. The enemies were all voiced in a campy way. The cutscene graphics gave off a bit of a darker tone. Finally, the ending was darkly comical in a way you wouldn’t expect from a family series like Pac-Man.
That’s all gone in the remake. The cutscenes of the story are lighter in tone and have graphic colors. The ending is also adapted to the friendly style. In addition, this time there is no voice acting at all. It has the “characters who speak gibberish” that you see in platform games for some reason.
Is this nitpicking? Yes. I fully understand that this may be a complaint about my taste. And it’s not a deal breaker for the game at all. But that charm is a big reason why I love the original so much. It’s the weird presentation you don’t see a lot these days, and it makes me sad to see it neutered here. Wow. I’m getting to that age now. Am I not?
A weird comment I’ve found in research I need to bring up. The copy I received was for the Xbox Series X. As mentioned above, I consistently got 60FPS at 1080p. As you can guess, the Switch version is downgraded to 30FPS and 1080p docked or 720p disconnected in those areas. That is if you don’t know about a switch in the options. In the options there is a switch between two modes, resolution and performance. This option is on the Switch version. It is in resolution mode by default. Switching this to performance will bring the Switch version close to 60FPS. And there is hardly any change in resolution. So if you’re planning to buy the Switch version, make sure you do so if you want the best framerate.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac has its heart in the right place. Remastering the game from scratch was the right decision. Significant changes and upgrades have been made to make the gameplay feel fresh and new, even for players who love the original like me.
I wish more attention was paid to the small elements in terms of presentation. While the game reaches its performance level of 1080p and 60FPS, there is a significant loss of charm in the story cutscenes, family dialogue, and odd humor of the original game.
But those are personal nitpicks. I am still grateful that Bandai Namco decided to put in the willpower and effort Pac-Man World Re-Pac not at all. With this and Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series just this year Bandai Namco may have realized just how good they are at 3D platformers. Here’s hoping the success of Re-Pac can result in World 2 and 3 also get potential remasters. A kid from the 90s can dream, right?
GOOD
GOOD
Pac-Man World Re-Pac has its heart in the right place. Remastering the game from scratch was the right decision. Significant changes and upgrades have been made to make the gameplay feel fresh and new, even for players who love the original like me. While the game reaches its performance level of 1080p and 60FPS, there is a significant loss of charm in the story cutscenes, family dialogue, and odd humor of the original game.
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