It is a fairly obvious observation that Pac-Man is one of the best video games of all time, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a simple concept, expertly crafted and endlessly replayable. i have loved Pac-Man since I was a kid – with the weird black Tengen cartridge that was unlike any other NES games I’d seen – and I especially loved Pac man 2: The new adventures on the SNES.
I was initially excited for Pac-Man World: Re-Pac when it was announced, because I truly believe that Pac-Man is a character with a lot of versatility, and certainly has the potential to exist in games outside of its established formula. But not everything old can be new again, and Pac-Man World: Re-Pac is frustrating at worst and very mediocre at best.
Pac-Man World: Re-Pac begins, just like the original, with a huge birthday party for Pac-Man that is ruined by the Ghosts, who capture his entire family and return them to Ghost Island. On Ghost Island, it is revealed that a giant mechanical impostor TOC-Man is also throwing a party and wanted Pac-Man captured for his gift. Pac-Man must fight his way across Ghost Island to defeat TOC-Man and his minions and save his family.
It’s about the kind of story you can reasonably expect from a Pac-Man game, but I was a little disappointed to see it compared to the opening movie of the 1999 original release of Pac-Man World, which was much more goofy and had an extremely campy voiceover – complete with a hilarious close-up scream from Pac-Man. But the story hardly matters here, what really matters is the game itself, and it’s nothing to write home about.
“Pac-Man World: Re-Pac kicks off, just like the original did, with a big birthday party for Pac-Man being ruined by the Ghosts…”
It’s as generic as a 2.5D platformer, working in elements of Pac-Man, such as the pellets, fruits and spirits, to a rather weak effect. Pac-Man has a variety of moves that are semi-functional and a bit janky to use. There’s his classic butt bounce where he can stomp on enemies or be used to gain a bit of height on jumps, there’s his move where he briefly runs into place and performs a big rolling attack, and his signature air hover – not unlike Yoshi’s flutter kick – that’s absolutely useless.
Players will run and jump through levels, and to its credit the platforming isn’t all that terrible – jumps feel good and Pac-Man itself is easy to control, but the collection of skills coupled with a fairly simple level design makes each level feels dull more often than not, and in some of the more dangerous areas, just frustrating.
The worst thing about the game is how the same feels. Each level is almost identical: grab fruits to open doors, designated segments where ghosts are, and you need to find a Power Pellet to eat them, the obligatory Pac-Man maze, usually hidden behind a door, you need a fruit to unlock – wash, rinse, repeat. There is little variety in enemy types and little to no challenge.
“I really wanted to love” Pac-Man: Re-Pacbut unfortunately it’s another case of recreating a PlayStation-era game, without trying to evolve it or advance it in any way.
The mazes themselves – which should have been the hardest thing to go wrong – are usually more frustrating too, as the Ghosts don’t seem to behave as they were originally designed, instead all working together to ambush and cut you you out at every turn. Combine that with bizarre layouts and insta-kill hazards, and you’ve found a way to make the original Pac-Man less nice.
visually, Pac-Man World: Re-Pac good. The game looks good in HD with bright colors and nice lighting effects. There are some visual effects added to this remake that set it apart from the original – like when Pac-Man gets a Power Pellet and he grows into a giant classic Pac-Man, instead of just becoming invincible and bumping into the Ghosts run like he did in the original. For the most part, Pac-Man animates nicely, although some of the moves can seem a little pompous. Can’t say I’m a big fan of the soundtrack which ranges from generic to obnoxious – they take a lot of miles out of the Pac-Man pause screen song.
I really wanted to love Pac-Man: Re-Pac, but unfortunately it’s another case of recreating a PlayStation-era game, without trying to evolve it or advance it in any way. Which is a shame, because both Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS and Super Smash Bros Ultimate really shows how Pac-Man can have a lot of interesting movement and attack options. Pac-Man is a nice character and you could do a lot of nice things with him.
I’d love to see another attempt at a more free Pac-Man game that takes into account over 20 years of gaming development because I honestly think Pac-Man could work in a 3D or even 2D platformer/ adventure game but this is not it. Pac-Man World: Re-Pac probably should have stayed in the past.
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