Pac-Land/Walkthrough

Pac-Land is composed of eight distinct trips. The first four trips serve as an introduction, to the second four trips. The second four trips repeat in a cycle with a slight increase in difficulty (eg. Trip 9 is the same as a slightly harder Trip 5). They are denoted by the color that is applied to the border at the top and bottom of the screen. Every trip is composed of four rounds. The first three rounds have Pac-Man running to the right in order to find the door to Fairy Land. Once Pac-Man finds and jumps through the door, the Fairy is returned to her home, and the Fairy Queen grants you a pair of magic flying boots that you have to use to hop through the air in order to make it back home to Pac-Land during the fourth and final round of the trip.

Trip 1

 * Round 1: Town: The first round starts out serenely. For a while all you must focus on is jumping over the fire hydrants and the occasional car-driving ghost.  Sue is ever present behind you, so don't dawdle.  Remember to jump on top of the hydrants in order to make cherries appear in the windows.  Eventually you will come to the game's first power pellet, after a long stretch with no hydrants.  Try to get all five ghosts around you before you eat it, and remember to eat Sue last so you'll earn a Lucky Pac.  The hydrant immediately following the power pellet can be pushed left for a helmet.  This is probably the easiest helmet to earn in the whole game, so do not pass it up. Every miniaturized ghost that lands on Pac-Man while he's wearing it is worth 300 extra points.
 * Round 2: Forest: This stage starts out a little more like a desert until you reach the entrance to the forest. One of the cacti or tree stumps can be pushed left for a warp that immediately sends you to the end of Trip 2 (so the next round you begin with is round 9).  Only attempt this if you are an expert player.  Catch the floating fruit when it's at a low point so the fruits that appear as a result are easier to collect.  The power pellet towards the end of the forest can also be a good opportunity to earn a second Lucky Pac.
 * Round 3: Mountains: This is the introduction to the highly skill-dependent mountain environments. This one is by far the easiest mountain round given that it only contains rolling log platforms and one falling log bridge (that starts out nearly intact, unlike the subsequent bridges).  Learn how to maintain Pac-Man's speed on the logs.  One of the cacti at the end of the stage may contain an invisibility power-up that turns Pac-Man transparent.  This stage also features your first pond jump, and it's a fairly simple one.  Your timing does not have to be absolutely perfect to clear it.  On the other side of the pond is a power pellet.  You can now easily attempt to earn a third Lucky Pac here for even more points.  Walk up to the floating door to enter Fairy Land.
 * Round 4: Return Trip: Return trips always feature a sampling of some of the environments that you encountered on your way to Fairy Land. You will start out in a desert environment with increasingly tall cacti to clear.  If you hover around the cactus that is three units high, you may reveal the Special Pac extra life.  If the bottom of the last cactus cannot be pushed to the right to reveal balloons, one of the fire hydrants in the town can, but make sure the coast is clear before you try, and don't waste too much time looking for it.  If you're still wearing your helmet that you earned on the first round, then you have little to fear from the airplane-flying ghosts above.  If not, proceed with caution, as those miniaturized ghosts can kill you.

Trip 2

 * Round 5: Town: This town is a little more dangerous than the first one. The fire hydrants will begin to shoot jets of water at you and the ghosts occasionally appear driving double-decker buses.  You need a running start to clear these buses, but they can also serve as a platform from which you can reach a roof.  A fire hydrant in the middle of town can offer you a helmet if pushed, but Clyde will frequently be driving around in a regular car, and making it difficult to push the hydrant all the way in one attempt.
 * Round 6: Pond: This is the first stage to focus exclusively on using jump boards to clear several ponds. The first two ponds aren't difficult to clear, but the last pond can be incredibly difficult if you do not have the timing down yet.  You must be running, you must jump as late as possible without missing the spring board, and you must tap right as rapidly as possible to stay in the air.  If you are collecting the fruits, you'll have nothing to worry about.  If you are just missing them, you might still make it, so do not give up.  The power pellet on the other side of the third pond can be used to collect a rather easy Lucky Pac.
 * Round 7: Bridge: Your first bridge round isn't too difficult. Learn to recognize when a geyser is about to shoot out of the water, and steer clear of it.  You will find galleons along the highest route of the bridge, which will extend the length of certain platforms when collected, making it easier to clear the round safely.  One of the fire hydrants here can be pushed for another invisibility power-up.
 * Round 8: Return Trip: Your second return trip home will have you largely floating over a pond. You can collect the strawberries that appear, but make sure the level they occupy is safe from ghost attacks.  Once you clear the pond, you will be running through a forest.  Don't be tempted to jump up in the trees to collect fruit if ghosts are flying by.  One of the stumps can be pushed to reveal balloons, but you should not attempt to find this if you are running low on time, as it could cost you a life.

Trip 3

 * Round 9: Pond: Jump over the cacti until you reach the pond. This pond has an island in the middle that you must land on before continuing over the rest of the water.  Land on that island, get a good running start, then take off from the second spring board to clear the pond.  On the other side, you will encounter a cactus which has a skull to the right of it.  This skull indicates the presence of quicksand, so try to get a good running jump off the top of the cactus to clear the danger.  Just watch out for the ghosts on pogo sticks.  When you reach the power pellet, you can try for a Lucky Pac by eating one of the miniaturized ghosts instead of a regular ghost and eating Sue fifth.  It will still count as long as Sue is worth 3200 points.
 * Round 10: Forest: This round can be completed fairly quickly as there isn't a whole lot to pay attention to here. Of course, you will have to time your movements under or over the attacking ghosts carefully.  One of the tree stumps can be pushed left to reveal an invisibility power-up, making the amount of time that you'll have to spend in this round even shorter.  A power pellet can be found towards the end of the round.  You can try for another Lucky Pac by eating one of the miniaturized ghosts here.
 * Round 11: Mountains: Welcome back to the mountains. This time the logs roll faster, so you have to increase Pac-Man's speed more often to keep him going in the direction that you want him to.  In addition to this added difficulty, you will now encounter the clouds.  The clouds aren't really difficult to deal with as long as you are patient.  But be aware that their size does not allow you to correct Pac-Man's position easily, since he insists on taking one full step forward every time you turn around, and the clouds don't have much room for maneuvering.
 * Round 12: Return Trip: The return trip takes you over a pond once more. Use your judgement when deciding which fruit are safe to go for, and which you should avoid.  Once you clear the pond, you will be passing through a town.  Ghosts will fly above you in airplanes while dropping miniaturized ghosts on you, and drive below you in both regular cars and double-decker buses, so try to take the safe path through the middle of the screen.  A power pellet shows up at the very end of the round, so you should grab it only if you want the extra points.

Trip 4

 * Round 13: Town: The kid gloves are off, and the true nature of the Town will be revealed. Double fire hydrants shooting jets of water, double-decker buses, and Inky in nearly every window.  If that wasn't enough, much of the fruits on this round appear on the roof tops.  A quick and easy way to reach the roof tops is to stand on top of a double fire hydrant and wait for a jet of water to fire upwards.  There is a helmet to be found on this round, but it will not help you that much for this particular trip.
 * Round 14: Castle: Welcome to the first instance of a Castle round. This is also the only Castle round that allows you to see the entire screen as you run through it.  Every castle after this one will be shrouded in darkness, with only a limited view of the action ahead of you.  There are no ghosts on this round unless you run out of time and Sue decides to charge after you.  Use this round to learn the features of other Castle rounds; the keys, the doors, the gaps in the floor, and the misguiding appearances of fruits.
 * Round 15: Bridge: This is a much more difficult version of the previous Bridge round. There are many more gaps to jump over, and the galleons are very difficult to reach, so do not count on collecting them.  Occasionally, you can hitch a ride on the ghosts' planes if they're traveling your way.  One fact that you can take advantage of is that you can use the geysers to boost you up to the highest platform if you jump at the last minute.  However, if you don't jump, it will drag Pac-Man down into the water below and cost him a life.
 * Round 16: Return Trip: You will have to pass back through the mountains first here. Hover around the first tall and slender cliff to make the only other Special Pac extra life appear.  It is important to remember to time your passage over the cliff tops carefully so that you don't get hit by the airplane-flying ghosts that fly through the only available space that you can pass.  Later on in the forest, one of the stumps can be pushed right to reveal balloons, but do not attempt to find it if time is running low.

Trip 5 (Purple)

 * Round 17: Pond/Forest: Trip 5 will start out almost immediately with a fairly difficult pond jump. This is another pond where you must stop on an island in the middle before continuing the rest of the jump.  When you reach the forest, you might think that your troubles are over, but on the contrary, there is one more spring board that you must leap from, and it starts from within the forest.  Once you land, the only issue left is a quicksand trap (which is indicated by another skull) right at the very end of the round.  One good leap from the cactus ahead will help you reach Break Time safely, where your remaining time will be added to your score.
 * Round 18: Mountains: This mountain round doesn't throw anything at you that you haven't seen already. If you take your time and proceed with enough caution, you should be OK.  Some of the log platform jumps on this round are trickier to time than they were in the last mountain round, and the collapsing bridge is more sparsely populated, but neither should present any real challenge.
 * Round 19: Castle: This Castle is the first one that you must complete in total darkness.  Without a map to guide you, you must use your wit to pass through it in time.  Varying floors frequently is a good tactic to employ here.  To help get you started, there is a key right at the beginning of this Castle on the lowest floor.  Always try your best to have one key on hand at all times in this round.
 * Round 20: Return Trip: It is nearly impossible to make it all the way past both of the forests and both of the ponds and reach the town before time runs out on this trip. Fortunately, you'll only have to worry about Sue charging you when time runs out, and two very rare appearances from Clyde on a pogo stick.  When time does run out, jump continuously to keep Sue off your back for as long as possible.  When you reach the town, you must time your jumps with the double fire hydrants and avoid the water jets that they are firing at all costs.  The ones that are moving right will just push Pac-Man into Sue and cost him a life.

Trip 6 (Blue)

 * Round 21: Town: As far as towns go, this one is relatively straightforward. You will now be greeted exclusively with double-decker buses, so make sure that you have the clearance to jump on their roofs, or wait on a fire hydrant until you can leap over them.
 * Round 22: Mountains: This round, on the other hand, is the kind of round that makes you wish that Pac-Man had the flying boots before he has reached Fairy Land. It starts out like many mountain rounds do, but at some point, you will reach a mid-round lake.  Collect the power pellet inside the lake to keep the ghosts away from you while you tackle the next jump.  You must time the jump at the very height of the left log platform if you wish to land on the right one.  After that, there is another lake where there are four logs floating in the water.  In this round, two of them are oriented horizontally, making your approach a little easier, but when you revisit this mountainous environment in much later rounds of the game, all four of them will eventually be oriented vertically.
 * Round 23: Bridge: After that last round, this round will seem quite easy by comparison. No real surprises here.  Using the geyser to reach the top of the screen is typically the only way to collect those platform-extending galleons now.  You must either rely on that method, or become more confident with your jumping skills to clear this round and reach Fairy Land for the sixth time.
 * Round 24: Return Trip: The Bridge portion of the return trip offers little by way of a threat, and should be easy enough to clear if you stick to the top of the screen. The Town portion on the other hand, can be a lot trickier, especially once the screen becomes congested with ghosts.  The power pellet that appears in the Town portion can help you thin out the herd a little bit, but it comes so close to the end of the round, it is almost of no help.

Trip 7 (Green)

 * Round 25: Forest: One of the first four stumps contains a helmet power-up, but don't take too long to find it. You don't have a lot of time to spare here, and you'll lose the helmet if time runs out.  In the middle of the forest is a succession of quicksand traps, all of which are fake except the very first and very last.  You can use the springboard to help you clear them, but it's really not necessary.  You should have no problem staying out of danger if you run towards the cacti at full speed, and jump up after you run into them.  Your speed should send you hurdling over the cactus and past the deadly portion of the ground.
 * Round 26: Mountains: This mountains round incorporates many of the more difficult aspects of the previous ones. However, it is a little shorter than the previous ones, so there are fewer tricky parts to deal with.  The only advice there is to give is to proceed patiently and cautiously, and time your jumps very carefully so that you do not fall into a pit or a lake.
 * Round 27: Dark Forest: This is the only forest in the game that you must run through in total darkness. Like the Castle rounds, only the space immediately in front of you can be seen clearly.  However, as usual, the ghosts' eyes at the very least are always visible, so you shouldn't have too much trouble determining the best way to avoid them.  Slow down if you are about to run into a cluster of ghosts and wait for an opening.  The forest becomes a desert, but the darkness remains.  However, a power pellet can be collected to ease your troubles.  It is better to continue running forward while you still can than to run back for any extra points.
 * Round 28: Return Trip: The end of this round will pose a little more of a threat to Pac-Man than the beginning will, but overall, it shouldn't give you too much trouble. You start by passing through a desert/forest area.  All four ghosts will be jumping on pogo sticks here, so flying over their heads is relatively safe.  When you reach the mountains, you must proceed more carefully, as the lake beneath you doesn't allow a lot of jumping room between the water and where the ghosts choose to fly.

Trip 8 (Orange)

 * Round 29: Pond: If you've made it this far, you might be an excellent player and this round will be the true test. The entire round one long pond with a few islands in the middle.  But there are no spring boards!  So how can you get to the first island, let alone cross the pond?  You'll need to hitch a ride with one of the ghosts performing a fly by in one of their airplanes.  Clyde and Pinky both appear to be likely choices (and you may need to use Sue just to get on top of them), but Pinky is a little safer since he's a tad slower, which gives you a little more reaction time.  The trick to this stage, however, is this: forget the power pellet.  Don't get distracted by power-ups or fruit.  If you really want to clear this round, keep riding on the ghosts!  If you jump off them, or get hit by another oncoming airplane-flying ghost in the opposite direction, or even a cloud, it's a long hike to the end, and jumping from cloud to cloud isn't as easy as it seems.  So commit yourself for a round-long flight, and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble.
 * Round 30: Castle: Other than a different floor layout, this round is pretty much identical to Round 19. Keep on moving, and back track as little as possible.  In this round, the top floor is a good way to start off with.
 * Round 31: Bridge: This bridge is as torn-down as any bridge round you will ever encounter. Only the bare minimum of platforms are present.  If that wasn't bad enough, Clyde and Pinky perform near-constant fly-overs, making it difficult to time your jumps properly if you're in a hurry.  You're generally safe from airplane attack on the lowest level.  Just watch out for the geysers.
 * Round 32: Return Trip: The return trip home is back along the round-long lake, but it's a much more difficult experience here. Ghosts are going to be flying towards you constantly and mercilessly.  Your best defense is to hover as low and close to the water surface as possible, floating beneath all of the airplanes, and hoping that one doesn't decide to dive down low enough to kill you.  Another tactic to employ would be to turn around and move to the right for a little while so that you get a few planes flying to the left.  Then turn around and keep them on the screen for as long as you can so that's one or two fewer planes to deal with going against you.  If you manage to complete this, congratulations - you are a true Pac-Land hero.

After this point, the game continues from Trip 5 again at a higher level of difficulty.