Pac-Land (World)

Arcade Video game published 35 years ago:

Pac-Land (c) 1984 Namco.

Pac-Land is a horizontally-scrolling platform game set in the cartoon world of the game's title. A fairy has lost her way and needs Pac-Man to help her get back to her home of Fairyland. Pac-Man, with the fairy safely hidden beneath his hat, must run and jump through the colourful world until he reaches and enters the magical door to Fairyland. Upon being rescued, the fairy gives Pac-Man a pair of magical shoes for his trip back home. These enable him to jump wherever he wants, without the need for a platform to jump from. This effectively means Pac-Man can 'sky-jump' back home if he so wishes.

Directional buttons make Pac-Man walk left and right and it's possible to make him run by tapping the desired directional button twice. Pac-Man is pursued by his ever-present enemies in the form of five ghosts - Pinky, Inky, Blinky, Clyde and Sue. Pac-Man must avoid the ghosts and other deadly objects that populate the levels. As with previous games in the series, a small number of 'Powerpills' appear. Eating a Powerpill makes Pac-Man temporarily invincible and turns the ghosts purple and vulnerable to being eaten. On some stages, Pac-Man must use a springboard to jump over large ponds by leaping from the springboard and rapidly moving left and right while in the air.

The game's stages are called 'trips', with players able to start on any one of the first five. Each trip made up of four rounds (three rounds to reach Fairyland and one round to return home) with a short interval between each one. The objective in all trips is to get the fairy safely back to Fairyland then return home to Pac-Man's family. The majority of the trip involves moving from left to right, avoiding various obstacles such as the enemy ghosts, water spurts and quicksand traps. The journey home, however, scrolls right to left.

Each stage must be completed within a set time limit and if the player runs out of time before finishing a round, Sue (the purple ghost) will speed up considerably and kill Pac-Man. At the end of each round, players are awarded bonus points based on how much of the time limit remains. On each stage, cherries and other items can be collected for extra points. There are a total of 8 different trips in the game, totalling 32 levels. After the 8th trip, the 9th trip is a repeat of the 5th trip, with level 33 effectively being level 17, with an increased difficulty level.

- TECHNICAL -

Game ID : PL

Main CPU : Motorola M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz), Hitachi HD63701 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Namco 8-channel WSG

Players : 2
Buttons : 3 (RUN LEFT, RUN RIGHT, JUMP)

- TRIVIA -

Pac-Land was released in August 1984 in Japan.

This game was influenced by Hanna-Barbera's Pac-Man cartoon, which ran from 1982-84. The character designs and music are taken directly from the show. The background music that plays during the levels is the same as the cartoon's theme song.

Mark Mendes holds the official record for this game with 4,150,400 points.

- UPDATES -

The Midway version allows the player to start on any one of the game's first five 'trips', whereas the Japanese version starts only on the first stage. Also, the gameplay in the Japanese set is much slower than that of the Midway set, making for an easier game.

The Japanese set also has some minor graphical differences to the Midway version. Pac-Man's nose is longer, and the hat he wears has a feather in it. Also, when Pac-Man completes a stage and returns home to his family, only Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man are waiting to greet him. Chomp-Chomp and Sour Puss, the pet dog and cat who appear in both the Midway sets and the cartoon on which the game is based, are both missing.

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

Round 1 - Jumping on the first three fire hydrants to generate five cherries is quite safe as you don't have any cars until after the third hydrant. Continuing, you can see another fire hydrant just after the Pac-Pill. Straight after getting this, you can push the fire hydrant backwards, getting a helmet. This enables you to collect the babies that the ghosts throw from their planes (you lose your hat if you run out of time or die).

Round 2 - The Forest : The first 'cheat' is achieved by pushing the second cactus back - giving you 80,000 points and transporting you to your house at the end of level two. If this doesn't work, then try the second, third, and fourth logs in the woods. The machine randomly chooses one of these (pushing the logs only works if you haven't died and you have 15,000 points). Get the cherry that appears as it turns into another three.

Round 3 - The mountains : These have no cheats, but watch out for the plane that always flies over the first mountain. (A flower sometimes grows here and in many other places, I am sure that this means nothing.) After completing the mountains, you pass two cacti. Pushing the first one back, on earlier versions, makes you invisible and invincible to everything except the water (which just happens to be the next obstacle!) To jump over the water, run at full speed over the spring board, and at the edge, press jump and keep on whacking the joystick to the right - you should glide over the pool! You have then reached Fairyland! Here the Queen gives you a gift of magic boots that enable you to fly. You then start Round 4 going back the opposite way.

Round 4 - Journey home : You first encounter cacti that you must jump over. If at any point you see the letter 'S' in a Pac bubble flying about, get it - it's an extra life. There is also another letter in a Pac bubble that flies around the screen - the letter 'L' - this can be achieved after getting a Pac-Pill, getting four ghosts and then Doris fifth (Doris is the one that chases you and the only one that has no hat after eating a Pac-Pill). The last cactus that you jump over is very tall. Try pushing the lower section of it backwards as this generates seven balloons, six of which are worth 100 points but one is worth 7,650 points. Get this and don't bother with the others. Continue going home once you reach the town, jump on all fire hydrants as this always generates cherries. If pushing the cactus back didn't do anything, then try pushing the second to last fire hydrant back - this will generate the balloons. When you arrive home, you can still jump to get 7,650 points.

Round 5 - The Town : Jump on the fire hydrants to generate cherries. Push the third hydrant back to give you the hat. If you pass two fire hydrants on top of each other, then jump on top of these. The blue things that push you along (water jets) can also push you on top of the houses. This is advisable as it keeps you away from any double decker buses! If the second fire hydrant didn't give the helmet then the fourth fire hydrant along will.

Round 6 - The water pool area : You have two short(ish) pools to clear, followed by more ghosts on pogo sticks (here appears another floating cherry). The last pool is the longest of these and must be judged carefully to clear.

Round 7 - The water jets : You have three different platforms to jump on. Always try to stay on the highest one. If a flying water jet happens to hit you then whack the joystick everywhere and press fire as it is possible to escape. Not much on this round, just collect loads of strawberries. After this you reach fairyland again, you receive the boots again, and have to return home.

Round 8 - The trip home : Firstly, you have to cross the long pool - backwards. Jump to the top of the screen straight away to get the cherries and clear the planes. There are stumps sticking out that you can land on and get cherries. After this there is the forest to complete. The first or second to last log will give the balloons.

Round 9 - The Water Pool Area : You leave your house and go straight into the water pool area. There are three cacti on this round. Pushing either the first (before the pool), second (before the skeleton) or third (before the Pac-pill) back will give you the helmet. The pool is slightly different as it has a stump sticking out of the water that has an extra spring board you can land on. After this there is a skeleton (that drags you down into the ground) and must be jumped over.

Round 10 - The forest : Pushing one of the logs back will make you invincible to the ghosts. This works even if you have died. When you start flashing, the invincibility is about to wear off.

Round 11 - The logs and clouds : Much like the one on Trip 1 except after jumping the logs, you have to jump onto clouds (although not essential as Pac can clear all the cloud jumps in one). After this you reach Fairyland yet again and you receive the boots.

Round 12 - The trip home : First collect the three cherries. Then you have to jump backwards over a large pool - with no stumps. After this you reach the town. One of the few fire hydrants gives the balloons.

Round 13 - The Town : This level has many double hydrants. Jump on these and wait for the water jet to push you up onto the houses. Walking along the houses gives you some cherries. On many versions there is no helmet on this round.

Round 14 - The cavern : You have to collect the keys to open the doors. The first key is on the top layer. Jump up there to get it. Keep going right and fall down the hole. Keep going right and fall down the next one, too (you should now be on the bottom layer). Keep going right (staying on this level) and open the door. Keep going right. Jump up through the next hole and get the apples. Continue right, fall down the hole and get the key. Use this immediately to open the door. Keep going right, do not jump through the first hole and stay on the lowest level. You can then get two apples, jump through the hole and get a key, and then fall through another hole to get another two apples. Continue right and after opening the door, jump through the holes to get from the bottom level to the top. Open the door you reach and go through. Fall through the next two holes (so that you are back on the lowest level). Open the door you reach and get the two apples. Return through the door you've just come through, jump to the middle layer and continue right. You will now be out of the cavern and have reached 'break time'. So long as you don't waste time and keys it is actually easy.

Round 15 - The water jets : I think that pushing one of these fire hydrants may give the helmet, but I'm not too sure. Watch out for the planes at the very end of the level. Try to jump on them.

Round 16 - The trip home : The first gives the balloons. Next it's the mountains. There is normally an extra life lurking around the second mountain so go backwards once for it if it doesn't come (an 'S' in a Pac). Then it's the forest. The first log encountered gives the balloons if the cactus didn't.

Round 17 - A forest level : On some versions of the machine the very first cactus will give the helmet. Just before the water is a Pac-Pill and it is quite easy to get the time bonus. After the pool, there is a short forest, following that is a spring board that must be used to clear a second pool that cannot be seen from that point.

Round 18 - The cavern : You only have limited sight. The first key is on the lower level. Go right, then jump up to the middle level, then jump up to the top layer. Keep going right and fall down a hole to the middle layer (you'll be in between two doors). Jump back up to the top level (making sure you don't open either of these). Once back on the top level, keep going right and you'll reach a door. Open it and get the key directly behind. Keep going right, fall down to the middle layer, get the key, fall down to the lower level, and collect the fruit. Open the door you come across. Don't jump through the next hole, but through the one after that. Jump to get the key (fall straight back down again). Keep going right. Jump up through the next hole, go right, and fall down the next. Open the next door (you're still on the bottom level) and jump through the next hole. Then jump up to the top level, open the door and get the fruit. Go through on the top and open the end door. Fall through the holes and go to the bottom level. Go right and collect the fruit there. Finally, go to the middle level and exit to 'Break Time'.

Round 19 - The mountains : Clear these and the clouds as usual, but watch out for the planes at the end (over the part with three sets of moving logs). Enter Fairyland.

Round 20 - The return home : This is very easy. Keep on going left, You first hit a forest. Watch out for the ghost near the end. This is followed by a pool, get all the cherries on the way, but DON'T stop for anything. Then you reach another forest, then another pool, then the last forest (watch out for another ghost here) and then the town. By the time you reach the town you will be out of time and must run full speed from Doris. Try to get the Pac-Pill but if you miss it, don't go back for it!

Round 21 - The town : This is hard as there are so many ghosts. It is pointless jumping onto the double hydrants as getting on top of the houses may involve hitting a plane. Try to stay on the top of the double-decker buses, jumping from one to another. This will stop you needing a run up. The Pac-Pill at the end can only be got by first jumping onto a ghost. Don't bother with it unless you are already on a ghost. Go straight for 'Break Time'.

Round 22 - The mountains : As well as the clouds, you meet a new section - four logs in water that must be jumped onto and crossed. Careful judgment is needed here. Get the Pac-Pill afterward as you'll need it. Time is short so don't stop for anything.

Round 23 - The water jets : This gets hard towards the end as there are many ghosts around. Try to stay on the planes. You then reach Fairyland.

Round 24 - The trip home : First are the water jets to cross. This is quite easy as there aren't many ghosts and enables you to collect a lot of fruit. Then you enter the town. The last part of this is very hard. Just jump for the Pac-Pill when you see it and hope you get it before you are killed! Don't wait around.

Round 25 - The woods : There are two woods split up by lots of skeletons. DON'T use the spring board or you will hit one of the planes. All of the skeletons are fake apart from the first and last. So don't worry about touching them. When you enter the first wood, look for the helmet at the fourth log. I think it is hidden in there.

Round 26 - The mountains - again! : This time you don't have many logs to jump on and there are very few clouds. Most of the mountains have to be jumped without any clouds. This level also contains the logs in water and is the furthest that I've ever got.

* The appearance of special items in Pac-Land is NOT random. The position in which they appear depends on the last two digits of the player's score when starting a round. The table below gives the position of the obstacle which needs to be pushed to reveal the secret. In the table, R stands for Round No., F for feature (H=Helmet, W=Warp, T=Transparency, B=Balloons). The relevant obstacle number is given in each column for each score. For example, when first starting a game, the last two digits will obviously be 00, so the helmet appears by pushing the 4th hydrant. If, on the second round, the player starts with e.g. 20,020 points, then the warp will be hidden in the 2nd tree stump and so on. Some rounds have no hidden items. Now, when running from left to right, the obstacles are counted as the player meets them, BUT for return journeys (right->left), the numbering is different, only the LAST four obstacles are relevant. For example, on Round 4, Obstacle 1 is the last large cactus the player meets, Obstacles 2, 3, and 4 are the three hydrants in the town (numbered from right to left). All obstacles must be pushed in the opposite direction that Pac-Man must run in to reach his goal.

R F 00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
1 H 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
2 W 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
3 T 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
4 B 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4
5 H 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
7 T 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1 1
8 B 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4
9 H 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1 1
11* T OK OK OK OK OK*
12* B OK OK OK OK OK*
13 H 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1 1
15 T 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
16 B 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
17 H 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
20 B 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4
23 T 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
24 B 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 4
25 H 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
27 T 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1
*There is only one obstacle on Rounds 11 and 12.

The helmet gives protection from falling monsters, and gives points for every one collected. The warp only appears on Round 2, and warps the player to Trip 3 and awards 70,000 points. Transparency makes Pac-Man invulnerable to ghosts, and balloons give points. Six balloons are released, and usually five of them are worth 100 points, and another 7,650 points, BUT if the last four digits of the player's score are 0000, then ALL 6 balloons will be worth 7,650 points.

There are no hidden items on any Round on Trip 8, and Trip 9 is the same as Trip 5, Trip 10 the same as Trip 6 and so on, repeatedly (can anyone confirm?).

* Easter Egg: Enter Service Mode, then press Left or Right to change the sound effect until it's 18. Press the service button to display the screen calibration test grid, then press Right (x4), Left, Right (x2), Left (x6), Jump.

- SERIES -

1. Pac-Man (1980, ARC)
2. Ms. Pac-Man (1981, ARC)
3. Super Pac-Man (1982, ARC)
4. Pac-Man Plus (1982, ARC)
5. Jr. Pac-Man (1983, ARC)
6. Professor Pac-Man (1983, ARC)
7. Pac-Land (1984, ARC)
8. Pac-Mania (1987, ARC)
9. Pac-Attack (1993, SNES, Genesis; 1994, Game Boy, Game Gear)
10. Pac-Man 2 - The New Adventures [Model SNS-25-USA] (1994, SNES, Genesis)
11. Pac-In-Time [Model SNS-APTE-USA] (1994, SNES, PC)
12. Pac-Man Arrangement (1996, ARC) : part of "Namco Classics Collection Vol.2"
13. Pac-Man VR (1996, ARC)
14. Pac-Man World [Model SLUS-00439] (1999, PS)
15. Pac-Man - Adventures in Time (2000, PC)
16. Ms. Pac-Man - Maze Madness [Model SLUS-01018] (2000, PS)
17. Ms. Pac-Man - Quest for the Golden Maze (2001, PC)
18. Pac-Man All-Stars (2002, PC)
19. Pac-Man Fever [Model SLUS-20197] (2002, PS)
20. Pac-Man World 2 [Model SLUS-20224] (2002, PS2, GC, XBOX)
21. Pac-Man Vs. [Model DOL-PRJE-USA] (2003, GC)
22. Pac-Pix [Model NTR-APCE-USA] (2005, DS)
23. Pac-Man Pinball Advance [Model AGB-BP8E-USA] (2005, GBA)
24. Pac-Man Arrangement (2005, PSP) : part of "Namco Museum Battle Collection [Model ULUS-10035]"
25. Pac'n Roll [Model NTR-APNE-USA] (2005, DS)
26. Pac-Man World 3 [Model SLUS-21219] (2005, PSP, PS2, GC, XBOX, PC, DS)
27. Pac-Man World Rally [Model SLUS-21328] (2006, GameCube, PS2, PSP, PC)
28. Pac-Man Championship Edition (2007, XBLA)
29. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (2010, XBLA, PSN)
30. Pac-Man Party [Model RVL-SP7E-USA] (2010, Wii)
31. Pac-Man Battle Royale (2011, ARC)
32. Pac-Man Tilt (2011, 3DS) : part of "Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions [Model CTR-APGE-USA]"
33. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ (2013, XBLA, PSN, Steam)
34. Pac-Man Dash! (2013, Android/iOS)
35. Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (2013, 3DS, XBOX 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
36. Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (2014, 3DS, XBOX 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)

- STAFF -

Programmer: Yoshihiro Kishimoto
Composer: Yuriko Keino
Game designer: Tsukasa Negoro
Artist: Hiroshi Ono

- PORTS -

NOTE : For ports released in North America, please see the Midway entry.

* CONSOLES:
[JP] Nintendo Famicom (nov.21, 1985) "Pac-Land [Model NPL-4500]"
[JP] NEC PC-Engine (june.1, 1989) "Pac-Land [Model NC64002]"
[JP] Sony PlayStation (nov.8, 1996) "Namco Museum Vol.4 [Model SLPS-00540]"
[AU] Sony PlayStation (1997) "Namco Museum Vol.4"
[EU] Sony PlayStation (aug.1997) "Namco Museum Vol.4 [Model SCES-00701]"
Microsoft XBOX 360 [XBLA] [KO] [EU] [AU] (feb.26, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum"
Sony PlayStation 3 [PSN] [EU] [AU] (feb.26, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum [Model NPEB-01892]"
Sony PlayStation 3 [PSN] [KO] (feb.26, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum"
Microsoft XBOX 360 [XBLA] [JP] (june.25, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum"
Sony PlayStation 3 [PSN] [JP] (june.25, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum"

* COMPUTERS:
[EU] Commodore C64 (1988) by Quicksilva
[EU] Amstrad CPC (1989) by Grandslam
[EU] Atari ST (1989) by Grandslam
[JP] Sharp X68000 (dec.16, 1994) "Pac-Land [Model DP-3205036]" by Dempa Shinbunsha
MSX [EU] (1988)
Steam [EU] (feb.25, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum"
PC [Online] [AU] (feb.25, 2014) "Pac-Man Museum"

* OTHERS:
LCD handheld game [JP] (1984) released by Namco.

- CONTRIBUTE -

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