Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac review — Wakka wakka wakka in 3D

When playing the first Pac-Man World – or should I say its remake in Pac-Man World Re-Pac – I was reminded of the burgeoning 3D platformer scene in the late 90’s, back when Super Mario 64 changed the rules and left the industry figuring out this newfangled 3D business. In braving these wild new frontiers came the task of juggling depth perception with translating classic mechanics into a whole other dimension, leaving us with Pac-Man World’s familiar assemblage of dot-munching and fruit-collecting in 3D. But what’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander, and so I found myself with a middling adventure indistinguishable from the pack of colorful mascot platformers.

Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac follows the same blueprint, albeit with some new tricks up Pac-Man’s non-existent sleeve. Having not played the original 2002 version, you’ll forgive the lack of any direct comparisons, but I’m told everything from level design to boss fights have been revamped – and that’s on top of a brand-spanking new postgame. Mighty generous on Namco’s part, but how does it stack up?

The game subscribes to a linear “reach the ending” platforming design in the vein of Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario 3D World, wherein Namco’s spheroid hero dodges obstacles and collects goodies as he runs down your typical host of platforming environments. He bounces on trampolines, rolls up and down slopes, and frequently runs into those nefarious ghosts that’ve haunted him since 1980. Nothing that a Power Pellet-fueled Mega Pac-Man can’t make quick lunch of, naturally, but an army of robotic monstrosities – namely one headlining a deadly rock concert – aren’t so easy to dispatch, leaving ol’ Pacster with some thrilling boss fights to tackle.  

Toss in some formula shake-ups in shmups and ice-skating, and it’s a good romp all around. As opposed to the sluggish original, Pac-Man World 2 takes some cues from Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil in highlighting spectacle: trails of Power Pellets have Pac-Man zipping through the air as he chomps down his latest snack binge, while trampolines can bounce him up, up and away into the stratosphere. Minding itself not to get carried away with camera tricks, Pac-Man’s arsenal of techniques provide a steady diet of stimuli, be it Rev-Rolling like he’s Sonic the Hedgehog or Butt-Bouncing from tree branch to tree branch, switch to switch, or whatever hapless enemies he deigns fit to be squashed under his tush. (Does Pac-Man even have a discernible rear? Actually, don’t answer that.)

The meat of Pac-Man World 2 lies in its density. Each level is host to all sorts of collectibles, namely those familiar fruits from the original arcade game. And with how the game cranks up the difficulty in its later stages, completionists will be spending quite some time revisiting and scavenging each level for every last fruit. Toss in some time trials and level-based missions, and there’s some serious replayability with all its unlockables, not the least with arcade games of 80’s yore. (Whether they solved the input lag issues from Pac-Man Museum+ is another story – I’d like to think they played fine, but might any Pac-Experts out there give a definitive breakdown?)

It's interesting I mention the difficulty because when Pac-Man World 2 gets tough, it gets tough. The later stages and bosses can challenge any seasoned platforming veteran, yet the brand-new postgame’s repackaged content takes direct pages from modern Kirby’s playbook in brutalizing players of all ages. From noodle-thin tightropes suspended above lethal poisonous swamps to dodging bloodthirsty attack patterns by a hair’s breadth, these white-knuckled exercises get brutal for what’s ostensibly aimed at youngins – enough that even I had to call it quits after a while.

And yet, I must ask: how long is too long? While Pac-Man World 2’s length is perfectly concise, the same courtesy cannot be extended to bosses: many are protracted affairs, with one shmup-based encounter lasting three acts before finally throwing in the towel. At least that one has the sense to provide a checkpoint, but that’s more than I can say for the others with their (thankfully skippable) cutscenes and drawn-out attack patterns. Speedrunners committed to shaving off time trial records may disagree, but I care little for how the post-game bosses meld projectile spam with bottomless pits. Cheap shots, if you ask me.

It’s the overall lack of polish – the little things -- that brings down Pac-Man World 2. The 8-bit sound effects charm; the ice-skating, which echoes the dying gasps of a giraffe, do not. Fending off sentient tree roots with well-timed flip-kicks is satisfying; the inexplicable deaths as seen below only frustrate. The jumping reticle displaying Pac-Man’s landing vicinity is a helpful example of quality-of-life; the Pac-Dot toss returning from the first game is clumsy, useless, and far too situational to be of any use. And boy, don’t get me started on those swimming controls.

More than anything, though, it’s just pleasant. Satisfactory. Pac-Man World 2 boasts impressive highs, yet too often they are flattened by uninspired locales playing host to “good enough” level design. Far be it from me to expect Super Mario Odyssey or Astro Bot from a remake of a 2002 platformer, yet whereas Pac-Man World 2 excels in density, its higher difficulty can scarcely mask how the moment-to-moment platforming rarely surprises or enthralls. And really, I have no use for the game’s Saturday morning cartoon plotline: the script features little of the irony and wit found in Pac-Man World 3’s left-field laughs, leaving us with flavorless do-gooders and cheesy villains acting out a children’s play.

I mentioned unlockable games earlier: one of these happens to be the Maze Mode – a returning feature from the first game, in itself 3-D replicas of the arcade Pac-Man – and it’s here I’m reminded that Pac-Man is best left without context. Here, the timeless gameplay of Pac-Man is left to its own devices, enduring simply with compelling twists on the formula in new layouts and obstacles. There’s no dumb story getting in the way; no unnecessary gimmicks bringing down my fun – just clean, classic Pac-Man. Always reliable for a good time.

This isn’t to dismiss the idea of a Pac-Man platformer. As opposed to the original, Pac-Man World 2 offers flashes of brilliance in an otherwise solid platformer, and Namco’s mascot certainly has the charm and versatility to bring new ideas to the genre. If nothing else, its commitment to reinventing itself is admirable, adding new spices to this classic dish palatable to one's nostalgic tastes.

Yet if I were to contrast my own childhood in 2002 with today’s gaming remaster landscape, it’s akin to something like a weekend rental, or spending a Saturday afternoon watching Cow and Chicken or Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? just waiting for the good stuff like Ed Edd n’ Eddy – or, in this case, the just-released Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2. Perhaps not the best analogy: Mario Galaxy’s $70 remaster is far pricier than Re-Pac’s $30 ground-up remake, but which will provide the most bang for your buck? In an economy long since past wasting quarters in arcades, I know what I’d pick, but you could certainly do worse.