Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Daily Pac-Man

@dailypacman.bsky.social

1.2K followers 1 following 540 posts

Daily facts, news, trivia, and other enlightening tidbits about Pac-Man! Owned and run by @RyanSilberman.bsky.social. Not affiliated with Bandai Namco. Pac-Village discord server: discord.gg/zzEmRts

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Welcome back to Pac-itorial, a series of threads where I review Pac-Man games!

Today, we will be looking at the VERY long-awaited return of a sixth generation classic in Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac.

Follow along for the Pac-itorial! 🧵

1 11 46

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (16/16)

While some quirks and oddities may keep it from being an “objective” contender for one of the best Pac-Man entries, It is such a charming take that hits so many right notes for me that this might very well be one of my new personal favorites. And MAN does it feel good to say that about a version of Pac-Man World 2! And if this is the kind of thing they’ve cooked for a remake, I can only imagine how much cooler a new Pac-Man World game will be.

If there is any time to show Bandai Namco that people care for 3D platformer Pac-Man games, it is now. Even if you aren't intrinsically familiar with the yella fella's exploits, Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac is well worth the $29.99 USD price of admission as a fun colorful romp with a feast of content to dig into, whether you are a casual observer or part of the hardcore gaming crowd. Don’t brush this off as just another retread.

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (15/16)

That said, I wouldn’t have gone for 100% if I didn’t thoroughly relish my time with Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac. It isn't often I describe my experience with a new game release as "addictive," yet that was what I felt from the rush I had as I digested every nook and cranny the game had to offer. Whenever I wasn't playing the game, my brain kept poking at me to pick it back up. I think the folks at NowProd and Bamco have truly understood the appeal of the series by this point, and it shows through the effort on display here. I don’t know what I ever expected a Pac-Man World 2 remake to be, but I’m very glad this is the one we got.

1 5

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (14/16)

...Which brings me to my most major gripe with Re-Pac 2: the time trials. Yes. They are back.
And they can be HELL.

I wouldn't have so much a bone to pick with them if netting gold medals from them weren't required to 100% the game. There's already a lot to do for total completion purposes; collecting all the fruit and Gashapon in each level, playing all the Galaxian mazes, and doing whatever else the missions demand round out the overall experience perfectly fine. You even have online leaderboards for comparing best times with other people, which is perfect for the trials. But if you wanna make that 100% quota, you have to tap into your inner speedrunner and play like you're chasing platinum relics in Crash Bandicoot.

1 6

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (13/16)

Also, while the new bosses are great, a bunch of them can really kick your butt - especially when the post-game opens you up to fight amped-up variations potentially allowing for Shadow Labyrinth PTSD to kick in. It kind of makes them and the levels leading up to them feel imbalanced at times (Pinky expecting you to hit the ground running without much of a heads-up doesn’t help matters). It would at least make sense to keep around the health bar checkpoints og PMW2 had - after all, these bosses are explicitly split into phases. But for some reason, that's been cut in most cases. Fortunately, if you just want to embrace the spectacle without much of the pain, the Fairy Mode from Re-Pac 1 returns to make life a bit easier for you. With enough skill, you can even use Fairy Mode to your advantage and get the gold medals for the time trials of harder fights despite the penalty the mode comes with...

1 5

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (12/16)

Beyond console specifics, there are a few odd inconsistencies here and there I feel like could’ve used another revision. The Golden Fruit Tree winds up being absent from the ending seemingly for story purposes, but then it nonchalantly reappears right after like it wasn’t taken up into the sky for Spooky’s encounter in the first place. Certain mission objectives are also worded deceivingly: “Never hang on an edge,” for example, apparently doesn’t refer to the one cliff surface you need to climb across to reach the goal.

1 6

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (11/16)

So Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac is an unequivocal improvement over the original, correct?
Well...There are a few things I think NowProd could've done better with (the continued existence of Pac-Mom notwithstanding).

I've been playing the Switch version of Re-Pac 2. While it is a competent way to play the game in its own right, it isn't ideal if you care for framerate. 30fps for a remake of a game that performed at 60fps on consoles 20+ years ago doesn't exactly impress me. And unlike Re-Pac 1, the performance mode doesn't really boost the framerate, even if you're playing this version on a Switch 2. No upgrade path, either; if you want the smoother experience on Switch 2, you have to buy the digital-only Switch 2 version (I am not at all counting Game Keys as physical).

1 6

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (10/16)

Also returning from Pac-Man Museum+ are the in-game Gashapon machines, which can be used to obtain figures to add some flavor to the scenery of the Pac-Village with. These are obtained by clearing Galaxian mazes and opening special boxes in the main levels. It’s small in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a cute feature and the figure selection is pretty nice once you’ve gathered enough at your disposal; it’s simply more stuff to play around with for the heck of it, on top of all the stuff that’s already there.

1 6

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (9/16)

In addition, there’s no shortage of extras beyond the main adventure. As per Pac-Man World tradition, collecting Galaxians unlocks classic-style maze stages that you can play in Sue-I mean Clie’s arcade. You can also unlock the original Pac-Man game, Pac-Mania, and Pac-Attack by completing certain missions along the campaign, adding some bang for your buck if you don’t already own Pac-Man Museum+ (Woulda been nice if you could continue after Game Overing in Pac-Mania, but eh). You also have unlockable music tracks for the in-game jukebox and costumes for Pac to wear by completing the rest of the missions, most of which involve collecting all the fruits and participating in…the time trials…

1 6

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (8/16)

Not even any of the boss battles are like they were in the old game. Clyde's Killer Frog is the closest you get to an encounter resembling the original, but they nevertheless spruced it up with support enemies and new attack patterns. The rest of the ghosts have their own animal mechs now, as well, adding much-needed variety to the fights. Special shout out goes to Blinky's fight for getting such a big glow-up it made me legitimately giddy no matter how many times I died to him during my first session.

1 6

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 20h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (7/16)

All of the things that bothered me about the levels in Pac-Man World 2 have been either nullified or obliterated in Re-Pac 2; there are very few of them I didn’t enjoy playing through this time around (albeit I could’ve done without stealth segments involving sharks). The volcano stages are delightfully freshened up, the scuba stages have depth beyond automatically going across a narrow path, slides are no longer janky to roll down, the submarine stage is at a reasonable length, the obstacles in Blade Mountain are properly choreographed, roller-blading on the haunted boardwalk is more thrilling, Wormwood doesn't half-heartedly throw in a "Kill everything in 20 seconds" prompt...
I could go on and on.

1 7

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (6/16)

The levels are redone in a way that accommodates for the slower Pac-Man, but that actually helps them incorporate more perilous scenarios and tightly-knit designs. The newly dense nature of the layouts keeps the action focused and stimulating, pretty much at all times. Pac-Man also has more abilities to take care of enemies, including the returning Pac-dot throw and a charged Butt Bounce that gets him more height; the flip kick has also been heavily promoted from being situational to being a core part of Pac’s moveset, making it super handy to use in a pinch. In turn, there are sequences that can and will test the players’ capabilities in whipping these moves out.

1 7

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (5/16)

Though the first Re-Pac took some creative liberties here and there, it was still Pac-Man World at the end of the day. Re-Pac 2, on the other hand, is so different from the original Pac-Man World 2 that it could practically be considered its own game. Everything, from the cutscenes to the levels to the core mechanics, has seen at least some form of change in a given area. This is especially the case with the latter half of the adventure, which completely redoes…a *lot* altogether in all but theming. I haven’t seen a remake change up so much about a game since the likes of DuckTales Remastered.

And for the most part, I found myself loving the changes.

1 8

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (4/16)

However, you have the other side of the coin. The side that comes with Re-Pac 1’s quality of life enhancements. The side where there’s a slew of charming new character interactions, headlined by a talented voice cast including the surprise return of Martin Sherman as Pac-Man. The side where they add a ton of new incentives to replay levels, including costume unlocks, figures, and leaderboards. The side where they’ve added numerous details in places where there were none before. The side that outright changes the game into something greater, to the point I have to keep myself from spoiling things for a *remake*.

This isn’t the Pac-Man World 2 we grew up with. This is the Pac-Man World 2 we’ve grown up to play. As such, it’s filled to the brim with surprises for longtime fans.

1 7

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (3/16)

To get this bit out of the way: If you are expecting Re-Pac 2 to play and feel like the original Pac-Man World 2, you’re probably going to be disappointed. The game may follow the beats of the original, but the execution is massively overhauled.

The basic gameplay is a lot more in line with what we’ve seen from the first Pac-Man World (well, Re-Pac 1, anyway). Pac-Man moves at a slower, more deliberate pace. The Butt Bounce has that delay to it and doesn’t speed up aggressively, so don’t expect brisk trips across the sky in the treetops levels. Pac himself is further away from the camera, so the action might look less dynamic. Pair that up with the original visual ambiance getting altered and music that almost sounds exactly like David Logan’s original OST - but is just barely re-arranged enough that you wonder why they did that in the first place - and Re-Pac 2 doesn’t quite have the strongest first impression for the og faithful.

1 7

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (2/16)

While messing about on Pac-Man’s home turf, the ghosts unwittingly unleash the spectral behemoth creatively known as “Spooky” by stealing the golden fruit from the tree that kept him imprisoned. Spooky proceeds to wreak havoc on Pac-Land, and it’s up to Pac-Man to do his hero thing and put a stop to that - because Sir Pac-a-lot isn’t around anymore.

1 7

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac review (1/16)

Though the Pac-Man World series may seem like a blip in the pie-eyed circle’s career to the general observer, it has always had a massive stranglehold on Pac-Man diehards (and even some otherwise Mario and Sonic fans) in Western regions. If you are an American following Daily Pac-Man, there is a 95% chance it’s because of Pac-Man World 2. For that lot of you, even if Pac-Man has never truly left the industry scene, he was never *back* until he started running and jumping in 3D like his gaming history peers again.

The first Pac-Man World: Re-Pac was a welcome throwback to this era of the yella fella, but let’s be real: You know why you are here. You know what you wanted to see again. Bamco have known it since way before they even commissioned Re-Pac 1. But guess what? It’s finally real. It’s out. It’s here. So let’s not beat around the bush any longer and get right to it.

2 7

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 21h

1 11 46

Reposted by Daily Pac-Man

Ryan Silberman (WISHLIST WINNIE-THE-POOH) @ryansilberman.bsky.social · 1d

New Pac-itorial tomorrow

2 21

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 1d

As part of the promotion between Pac-Man and Red Bull, press kits were sent to various publications and influencers.

Not only did it come with the limited edition Red Bull can, but the press kit also contained the original Game Boy and a copy of Pac-Man for the system!

2 7 48

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 2d

It has long been rumored that infamous video game publisher Phoenix Games had planned to release a Pac-Man clone in 2004 named Paccie.

There has never been any proof of the game's existence. Rather, the cover art was taken from a 1994 image created for a raytracing competition.

1 6 42

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 3d

The Metrocentre's Namco Funscape was once home to a video Pac-Man that children could interact with at certain times of the day.

Below is an excerpt for its unveiling in 2013.

3 8 48

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 4d

In 2004, two years after the game's console debut, Pac-Man World 2 made the leap to PC.

However, some copies of the USA release have a misprinted ESRB label on the jewel case. The rest of the packaging, including the back of the case and the CD itself, shows the E rating proper

2 21 75

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 5d

Pac-Xon is a fanmade fusion of Pac-Man and Qix released for internet browsers sometime in the 2010s.

While avoiding ghosts is still key to victory, the player's goal is to fill up as much of the playfield as possible by using their trail to build walls of tiles.

4 8 34

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 6d

A programming bug in the arcade version of Ms. Pac-Man can occur depending on when a coin is inserted into the cabinet.

Starting the game at the right moment gives the first maze a blue color inside the red outlines.

2 11 54

Daily Pac-Man @dailypacman.bsky.social · 7d

In 2006, a group of college kids at University of Michigan played a prank in which two of them dress up in Pac-Man costumes and run around the campus library enacting a comedic ghost chase.

The video was stored on umpatriots.com, and has since seen reuploads on YouTube.

3 15 48