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Pac-Land

Developer / Publisher: Namco
August 1984
Pac-Land - cover art
Glitchwave rating
2.52 / 5.0
0.5
5.0
 
 
59 Ratings / 1 Reviews
#4,953 All-time
#26 for 1984
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1984 Namco  
JP
1985 Namcot  
Cartridge
JP 4 907892 000100
Show all 10 releases
1989 Namco Grandslam  
Cassette
GB
1989 Grandslam Namco  
Cassette
GB FR DE 5 013248 000782
1989 Namco  
JP 4 907892 031074
1990 Namco NEC  
XNA 0 92218 00056 9
2014 Namco Bandai Namco  
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2014 Namco Bandai Namco  
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JP
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Title
It's scrolling! It's a platformer! Oh my god!

Incredibly prophetic how much of the elements Super Mario Bros. would later incorporate, from the eight-world, four-stage structure, to the lakitu bombers present in the form of the Ghosts flying in airplanes and throwing miniature versions of themselves. You control Pac-Man with only three controls: Left, right, and jump, while double-tapping on a button would make him run, and in that sense jump higher. You can find occasional power pellets which, like in the classic arcade game, lets you munch ghosts for a limited time, and some parts of the stage even include secret power-ups such as a helmet that protects you from mini-ghosts.

The jumping is the most responsive and controlable that has been than in any other platformer, and each of the stages bring a new environment: Whether it's a straightforward path, a mountainside with many pits, deserts with quick sand, maze-like castles where you need to find keys and it gets dark, or (the much dreaded) ponds, where you have to use springboards and later button-mash on the right-side button to stay afloat(which is NOT COOL).

Barring the awful choice of the pond stages, this game is truly a silent masterpiece, and had it done something much more than recycling its initial stages into the 70% of the rest of the game, many people would place a firm paperweight questioning if SMB1 is really the whole inovator it's cracked up to be or not.

But no seriously, screw the ponds.

One final thing: Play the Japanese version! The graphics in the US version was slightly altered to give Pac-Man a look more reminiscent of his US cartoon, but the Japanese version is also slower-paced, which is very helpful and makes the game that much more comfortable to play. The US version is so sped-up that the faster gravity just does not sit right.

NES: The NES port came out too little, too late, in a post-SMB era when this type of handling platformers was already outdated(and it still relies on button-mashing A and B to move), and on a graphical level it is laughably reduced, although its general structure is competent. If you have the arcade version, there's no use bothering.
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Clownboss 2016-08-07T10:58:45Z
2016-08-07T10:58:45Z
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Catalog

maidenutah Pac-Land 2024-03-10T19:37:58Z
2024-03-10T19:37:58Z
2.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Giann96 Pac-Land 2024-02-06T02:37:04Z
Arcade • JP
2024-02-06T02:37:04Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
MemezN0va Pac-Land 2024-02-05T17:41:01Z
2024-02-05T17:41:01Z
3.0
3
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
PrayforSake Pac-Land 2024-01-14T03:21:09Z
2024-01-14T03:21:09Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
willwokbir Pac-Land 2024-01-10T16:08:50Z
2024-01-10T16:08:50Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
LocoJake Pac-Land 2024-01-03T16:55:41Z
2024-01-03T16:55:41Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
angerwolf Pac-Land 2023-12-29T10:14:21Z
2023-12-29T10:14:21Z
2.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
hazardintherain Pac-Land 2023-11-01T07:18:15Z
Arcade • XNA
2023-11-01T07:18:15Z
2.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Antcruz パックランド 2023-08-05T23:44:23Z
NES • JP
2023-08-05T23:44:23Z
1.0
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Antcruz Pac-Land 2023-08-05T23:44:02Z
2023-08-05T23:44:02Z
3.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
nbatman Pac-Land 2023-07-05T23:49:10Z
2023-07-05T23:49:10Z
2.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
lashdaddy32 Pac-Land 2023-06-27T18:50:48Z
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine • XNA
2023-06-27T18:50:48Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Player modes
1-2 players
Multiplayer options
Hotseat
Franchises
Also known as
  • パックランド
  • View all [1] Hide

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  • MisTurHappy 2022-04-22 06:33:39.655571+00
    The earlier levels are frantic fun in kind of a Wonder Boy/Adventure Island kind of way, where you try to keep your speed as high as possible while trying to dodge obstacles. Later on it shifts to more precision platforming, which handles a little funky since the time limits are so tight and Pac-man moves on this weird pseudo-tile-based system; taking one step in any direction moves you a fixed distance, but platforms and in-air movement aren't locked to discrete positions, so you actually have more fine control over your x-y position in midair than you do on the ground. It's not impossible to get used to, but it sure is a weird setup. Honestly I probably like this more than the first Wonder Boy though, despite coming out more than a year and a half earlier.
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  • bodgahermosa 2022-07-15 22:43:41.760552+00
    the jumping sections really suck on most emulated versions in collections, for some reason it feels like the speed is capped
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  • hazardintherain 2023-11-01 07:16:17.46623+00
    ghosts on pogo sticks!
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