PAC-MAN returns with another 3D adventure in PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC, a highly-requested re-release of the original PAC-MAN WORLD 2 that I’m sure a lot of PlayStation 2 and GameCube owners were quite fond of 20 years ago. PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC not only improves upon the source material as a remake, but it also adds a lot of new content and features that set it apart from the original. In many cases, PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC is the most comprehensive PAC-MAN experience I’ve played that doesn’t entirely replicate the original arcade game.
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC isn’t the most story-driven game, since the focus is more on platforming fun and the collect-a-thon nature of it, but it does offer enough of a narrative to make it all make sense. The game begins with the Ghosts sneaking into Pac-Village, the game’s main hub, to steal the Golden Fruit. In the process, they free the powerful ghost king Spooky, who threatens all of PAC-LAND with his magic. As PAC-MAN, players are tasked with retrieving the Golden Fruit and putting an end to Spooky—the same premise of the original PAC-MAN WORLD 2. Fortunately, there’s more to this that makes PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC a really fun platformer, regardless of skill level.
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC Builds on Top of the Original’s Foundation
Right away, PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC is a substantial upgrade in the visual department. PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC is very vibrant and brings this game’s rendition of PAC-LAND to stunning clarity. Each area looks colorful and accurately detailed without losing the cartoonish charm of the original game. This was also undoubtedly true in the Nintendo Switch 2 version, which has Quality and Performance modes. For this playthrough, I stuck with Performance to get a locked 60 FPS experience. The image quality is extremely crisp in both handheld and docked modes, so it really comes down to personal preference.
Like most platformers, you will be progressing from one level to another to reach a boss and make crucial progress in the main story, and ultimately, face and defeat the final boss. You run, jump, roll, kick, butt-bounce, and climb as PAC-MAN through various themed levels in PAC-LAND, and the gameplay mechanics are very straightforward throughout the entire game. I really enjoyed the level variety, despite how predictable it can be for a platformer. The volcanic levels were a little frustrating, but the game still manages to be fun thanks to how powerful PAC-MAN feels. Some levels will even throw in ice-skating, in-line skating, and swimming, making it feel like an adventure through and through.
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC also retails the original game’s difficulty settings in the Adventure Mode difficulty, while Fairy Mode offers a child-friendly difficulty where fairies assist PAC-MAN from damage and game overs. If you’re reading or watching this review, you will more than likely pick Adventure Mode, and I think the difficulty mode does a good job offering a challenge in the late-game levels, for the most part. PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC is an easy game overall, but you will notice the difficulty spike near the fourth area or so.
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC Packs in the Content
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC offers a plethora of content that’s both from the original and all-new for the enhanced re-release. For example, Pac-Village’s Arcade retains top-down Maze levels, which are unlocked by getting Galaxian ships in the standard levels. There are tons of figures to collect by obtaining and using Pac Tokens on Gashapon machines, and there are missions that can be completed in each level to unlock new costumes and earn more Gashapon capsules.
You can also collect Pac-Dots to fire at enemies or regain some health, and there’s an assortment of fruit to collect to unlock fruit crates in each level. The remaster offers two-player local co-op and mouse controls in the Nintendo Switch 2 version, allowing players to control PAC-MAN and a Pac-Drone as they play together. It acts similarly to Super Mario Odyssey’s co-op, where one player controls Mario and the other controls Cappy.
In short, PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC has a lot of collect-a-thon elements, but even more so than the original game due to the sheer amount of new figures and levels. Those new levels aren’t available until Spooky is defeated, but there is plenty of new content to keep fans going for quite a while. In fact, the story doesn’t stop after Spooky is defeated in PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC, but that’s all I can say for this review.
With all the new additions, you can definitely expect to play the game for roughly 25 hours, give or take, if you want to 100% the game. There’s a lot of replay value, since you can play Time Trials on previously cleared stages to set a new record and unlock some more rewards. For a 3D platformer, this amount of content is definitely respectable, and it all feels easy to pick up and play.
What the Remaster Lacks
While I enjoy PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC, it still retains some of the original game’s flaws. Although the levels can be fun, some of the level designs leave something to be desired, and the in-game camera is not ideal in some areas, despite the full rotation the camera controls give you. PAC-MAN is an expressive character with moves and animations that I think would be perfect in an adventure game of a bigger scale, such as Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza, rather than a strictly level-based game.
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC has a good amount of content for a remaster, but I still yearned for something more here by the time I had finished the game. The game experiments with different types of gameplay, such as submarine battles and the aforementioned ice-skating, but you only get that for minutes out of the many hours you can potentially sink into this game. I can’t comment on the new Sonic the Hedgehog collaboration content either, as that’s set to release this winter.
The addition of voice acting in PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC is one I definitely commend, as it makes the world feel more believable in a game sense. Though I do wish there were voice lines for the characters back in Pac-Village, since there are quite a number of NPCs in town. I do enjoy the voiced cutscenes especially, and there are plenty of VAs you will recognize from other games here, too.
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC is a Solid Game for an Iconic Protagonist Meant to Do Even More
Despite what PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC lacks, it’s still a really fun and solid game that’s well worth the $29.99 launch price. There’s a lot of fun content to play through that has the charm that late 90s and early 2000s platformers were known for. I just think PAC-MAN is meant for much more now, and Bandai Namco has the opportunity to strike and create a really memorable platformer with PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC as a foundation or example for the future. That’s after a potential PAC-MAN WORLD 3 remake, of course.
Disclaimer: Bandai Namco provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC for review purposes.
