Pac-Man World 2

- Reviewed on GameCube -

Pac-Man World 2 released on February 24th, 2002. 

When Namco released Pac-Man World back in 1999, it was received with great, positive feedback. 

Pac-Man World made it to the Greatest Hits category, and it was a matter of time before Namco made the critically acclaimed sequel, three years later. 

I personally grew up on Pac-Man World 2, and after buying the game again for GameCube, I was ready to embark on a true nostalgia trip, full of ghosts, pellets, fruits, and more!

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

The story of Pac-Man World 2 revolves around the five golden fruits being stolen by the famous four ghosts of the Pac-Man universe, Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde. 

As shown in the opening intro, the four, not so sneaky ghosts, invade Pac-Village (at night) and pluck the five golden fruits off the center tree. 

This center tree (in Pac-Village) is called The Golden Fruit Tree. 

After the fruits are taken off, the main antagonist of Pac-Man World 2 is revealed, this being an enormous ghost called Spooky. 

The enemies, now making their presence known, travel all around the six worlds, and Pac-Man (you) must complete every level. 

This is where the fun truly shines, as all 25 levels in Pac-Man World 2 have various items, powerups, and enemies to see. 

Each level in this four to six-hour (average) game has a completion statistic available on the world menu screen. 

Here you can see all the fruits and pellets you've collected after beating each level. 

The fruits in (almost) every level are...

    - Cherries
    - Strawberries
    - Oranges
    - Apples
    - Melons

Along with these fruits, you can also find secret collectibles called Galaxians. 

The issue with these, is that they are hidden pretty cleverly, however, if you collect them, you can unlock special mazes.

These special mazes are played like the classic Pac-Man game style (formula), but in 3D format. 

If completed, you can replay them anytime at the Pac-Village. If you don't beat the mazes in the level, you unfortunately can't try again, and you have to restart the entire level completely. 

The level designs overall are very specifically designed in a way that fits the new controls / maneuvers Pac-Man can do. 

For example, the first couple levels in the game revolve around the basic movements like jumping and running. Then later in that world you will be shown how to accomplish certain (advanced) techniques like the dash mechanic and / or ground pound. 

These unspoken tutorials eventually help you with the boss battles of each world.

I really enjoyed the boss battles in Pac-Man World 2 as they summarize and test your skill(s) from the previous world's levels. 

These boss battles are actually the four famous Pac-Man ghosts (Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde) inside a dangerous robot. 

The biggest aspect to Pac-Man World 2 that I adore (as of writing this blog post), is the music!

As I played through this title, I realized that the music is actually more memorable than the levels (sometimes) themselves. 

Each world has their own unique music beat. What I noticed is that each level (in one world) remakes that beat into something new. Only when you get to another world, does the actual music change. 

The side enemies in Pac-Man World 2 are memorable, but I'm afraid that their only memorable because of my nostalgia for the game. I don't believe that they are truly defining to other (new) players of the game / series. 

I do appreciate the extra content Namco put in Pac-Man World 2 at the end of the day. All the extra content results in great replayability. 

For example, they (as mentioned earlier) put the hidden mazes and fruits in each level for you to come back to. 

Namco also added arcade tokens for you to collect in order to play certain (classic) retro cabinets like Pac-Attack and Pac-Mania. 

Lastly, they added a gallery for you to unlock (after collecting 150 tokens), in which you can view the behind-the-scenes art and such. 

At the end of the day, Pac-Man World 2 takes an easy-to-understand plot and truly does its best to give a fun, yet very challenging experience to all players. 

My nostalgia already makes me fond of this installment, but after completing the game and seeing all it truly offers, I feel like my enjoyment of the game could've been more than it was initially. 

Pros: 

    - A lot of Extra / Side Content 
    - Memorable Music
    - Smooth Controls
    - Collectibles
    - Fun / Understandable Plot
    - Replayability

Cons:

    - Dated Graphics
    - Bland Enemies
    - Short Game Overall

My Rating for Pac-Man World 2 (on GameCube):

3 / 5


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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.



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