Finally playing this game so many years after growing up fondly playing Pac-Man World 2 has really made me appreciate the monumental improvement of quality found in the sequel. While the sequel is superior in nearly every way, one point I have to give to PW1 would definitely be in the theming of their worlds, opting for more classic fantasy themes (Pirates, Space, Circus, etc.) over PW2 less inspired nature-themed worlds (Snow, Forest.... Deeper Forest?). The game still has its fair share of drawbacks however, more obviously some of the frustrating camera angles which are fixed and can lead to some awkward and frustrating jumps and more personally, the lack of any in-game tracker of all the collectibles in order to aid on a 100% completion quest. This game gets some extra meme points however, because the infamous Tommy Tallarico worked on the soundtrack.
a great plataform game
Possibly the most "standard"-feeling 3D platformer I've ever played, right down to one of the bosses being a ridiculous difficulty spike.
I really didn't like this game before, and I got annoyed at some levels and found some of them very long and boring, but after playing a few questionable SNES games that I got bored with and didn't find all that fun, I decided to beat this one outright. for all. everything, and also because I was tired of playing shit and I wanted to play something relatively good and a little relaxing, and my God, the feeling of playing a good game after playing some bad and mediocre games is so satisfying because everything you pointed out was "bad" that game makes you appreciate it more, and even the most difficult parts almost become a Lego game, without stressing you out too much, but of course if you're used to new games you'll suffer a little here.
The game has nothing special, it's a 3D platform game with a 2D camera, not exactly 2.5D, something a little close to a beat em up but rather a platform game, different from other games where you kill enemies by jumping on them . If you press the jump button twice, Pac-Man will make the jump which is used both to destroy some normal enemies and to jump higher and is better to control than the common jump which is a little slippery, some enemies are not defeated by the towed jump, but rather, throwing a "pac-dot" as if it were a bomb and which honestly isn't used much, but in the last stages and Toc-Man and other enemies that are ghosts can only be defeated by "power pallets" (or something similar) that just like in the original game you can eat the ghosts, the game has a somewhat exploratory feel, as to access the doors you will need fruit, some bells and the Galaga icon, the fruits and the bells open doors that can have buttons that can activate hidden platforms, things to progress or give ghosts where you have an original Pac-Man session (which I actually don't see much use for unless you want to get a high score or recover energy) or letters with "P-A-C-M-A-N" which if you put them all together you will get pro bonuses and the Galaga icons release a "bonus" where you play the original game but with a specific theme and danger, what you will need most in these doors are blue keys that free the Pac family who are trapped in a cage (which strangely enough a Dig Dug enemy is also there), and if you don't free them you won't be able to get into the final world or the final boss (I don't care, I remember which one), which can be a little interesting, but it gets tiring later and you just want to move on.
The bosses kind of exist, like there's the boat in the first phase that seems a little difficult to defeat, but it's just spam jumping on the button and a target plate bounces off the shot and even if the shot misses a little it counts as if the boss took it damage, there is the second one which is the "most difficult" which was supposed to be a dinosaur that chases you in a Crash Chase vibe, but then when you go to face it it is a statue that you need to turn on the switches to hit its heart using a dash which makes Pac roll and with each damage the fight becomes more difficult and unfair because hurricane, meteor and some projectiles that are difficult to dodge come, he was the boss that gave me the most problems before, today I know how to deal with him a little, he has the third, which is a good reference to galaga where the gameplay changes from platform to shoot em up, the problem is that you don't need to hold down the shoot button, tiring your fingers very quickly, the fourth is a race against the "joker" and his henchmen with the strangest control I've ever seen, it's not difficult, but it's strange, then there's the fifth one which is "Frankie the Chicken Puller" which throws you some metal boxes and every now and then a wooden box that you use a power steel and you need to press the buttons that heat up, but you have to be careful with the magnets that hold you when you are like this and finally Toc-Man who has the same powers as you and will have to use the same skills as you can to defeat him. it. I think the most memorable are Rex for being the hardest boss, Pac-Nave for the reference to Galaga and Toc-Man for being the last boss, being a kind of Wario and defeating him with the same attacks as him. he does.
There's also a power-up that, when Pac picks it up, destroys all enemies on the screen, but it's not that useful so I didn't mention it before.
Anyway, it's not a great game, but it's a relatively good platformer and if you learn to master the bouncy jump it becomes easier to play. But be prepared for certain phases.
The game has nothing special, it's a 3D platform game with a 2D camera, not exactly 2.5D, something a little close to a beat em up but rather a platform game, different from other games where you kill enemies by jumping on them . If you press the jump button twice, Pac-Man will make the jump which is used both to destroy some normal enemies and to jump higher and is better to control than the common jump which is a little slippery, some enemies are not defeated by the towed jump, but rather, throwing a "pac-dot" as if it were a bomb and which honestly isn't used much, but in the last stages and Toc-Man and other enemies that are ghosts can only be defeated by "power pallets" (or something similar) that just like in the original game you can eat the ghosts, the game has a somewhat exploratory feel, as to access the doors you will need fruit, some bells and the Galaga icon, the fruits and the bells open doors that can have buttons that can activate hidden platforms, things to progress or give ghosts where you have an original Pac-Man session (which I actually don't see much use for unless you want to get a high score or recover energy) or letters with "P-A-C-M-A-N" which if you put them all together you will get pro bonuses and the Galaga icons release a "bonus" where you play the original game but with a specific theme and danger, what you will need most in these doors are blue keys that free the Pac family who are trapped in a cage (which strangely enough a Dig Dug enemy is also there), and if you don't free them you won't be able to get into the final world or the final boss (I don't care, I remember which one), which can be a little interesting, but it gets tiring later and you just want to move on.
The bosses kind of exist, like there's the boat in the first phase that seems a little difficult to defeat, but it's just spam jumping on the button and a target plate bounces off the shot and even if the shot misses a little it counts as if the boss took it damage, there is the second one which is the "most difficult" which was supposed to be a dinosaur that chases you in a Crash Chase vibe, but then when you go to face it it is a statue that you need to turn on the switches to hit its heart using a dash which makes Pac roll and with each damage the fight becomes more difficult and unfair because hurricane, meteor and some projectiles that are difficult to dodge come, he was the boss that gave me the most problems before, today I know how to deal with him a little, he has the third, which is a good reference to galaga where the gameplay changes from platform to shoot em up, the problem is that you don't need to hold down the shoot button, tiring your fingers very quickly, the fourth is a race against the "joker" and his henchmen with the strangest control I've ever seen, it's not difficult, but it's strange, then there's the fifth one which is "Frankie the Chicken Puller" which throws you some metal boxes and every now and then a wooden box that you use a power steel and you need to press the buttons that heat up, but you have to be careful with the magnets that hold you when you are like this and finally Toc-Man who has the same powers as you and will have to use the same skills as you can to defeat him. it. I think the most memorable are Rex for being the hardest boss, Pac-Nave for the reference to Galaga and Toc-Man for being the last boss, being a kind of Wario and defeating him with the same attacks as him. he does.
There's also a power-up that, when Pac picks it up, destroys all enemies on the screen, but it's not that useful so I didn't mention it before.
Anyway, it's not a great game, but it's a relatively good platformer and if you learn to master the bouncy jump it becomes easier to play. But be prepared for certain phases.