Pac-Land/Walkthrough

Environments
There are seven major environments that every round is composed of. Some rounds are composed of a combination of two or more of these environments. As you progress through the game, new and more difficult elements are introduced into each of the environments, building upon and mixing with those elements that were previously introduced.

Town
This is the first environment that Pac-Man will encounter, and it will always be the first round of each trip if the trip contains a Town level. In each town, Pac-Man passes a collection of buildings, and a number of fire hydrants. The primary method of ghostly attack is with motor vehicles. In the first town you encounter, the fire hydrants are dormant. Jumping on fire hydrants makes fruit appear, typically in the windows of nearby buildings. The next time you visit a town, they will exhibit a common behavior for the rest of the game: gobs of water get shot out of the hydrant on a regular basis. These gobs will push Pac-Man along at top speed. The only way to escape from their force is to jump up and allow the water to pass underneath. They are extremely dangerous when ghosts are driving nearby in cars, or when Sue is close by. Later on in the game, the hydrants become stacked, one on top of the other. These stacked hydrants are more difficult to jump over, so get a running start. The rooftops of buildings can be jumped on and traversed if you can reach them. But ghosts also like to fly by in air planes, so running on the roofs is not always a good idea. In later levels, ghosts switch from the smaller motor vehicles to the higher double decker buses that require a running jump just to get on top of. One other ghost attack to watch out for comes exclusively from Inky. Inky likes to hide out in some second story windows and drop his own light blue ghost bombs as you pass by. Every town has one power pellet in it, so Lucky Pacs can be captured fairly easily if you time things just right.

Return Trips: When towns are part a return trip, they contain all of the features they had on your initial outing. Ghosts will be flying through the air in airplanes, and driving on the ground in cars, leaving only a narrow strip of guaranteed safety in the middle that can be hard to stay in. But it's not uncommon to find a power pellet in the middle of town on a return trip.

Forest
The forest environment is the only environment to feature a layer that scrolls in front of your view. Some trees pass by between Pac-Man and your view of him, but these obstructions are small and temporary. You should be more concerned with the ghosts whose positions are obscured by the trees (although you can usually see some small part of them through the trees, so they are never completely hidden). Throughout the forest, Pac-Man will encounter tree stumps that must be cleared with jumps. Some of the stumps can be pushed in the opposite direction to reveal secrets such as helmets, invincibility, or even a warp from trip 1 to trip 3. Ghosts will frequently come at you riding pogo sticks, and flying saucers, and less frequently in airplanes. Keeping good track of their location is a must. Fruit can appear in various locations, but one thing that Pac-Man will encounter is a floating fruit that bobs up and down as it flies by. Whenever Pac-Man catches one of these flying fruit, three other fruit will instantly appear at whatever height the original fruit was caught, so try your best to catch them when they are low. In much later levels, you will be forced to cross the forest in complete darkness, with only a limited space in front of you visible. It's not uncommon for a forest to contain a Power Pellet later in the stage.

Return Trips: Forests are more of a glorified obstacle course during return trips. Ghosts don't assault you as intensely as they do in towns, but you must still watch out for them. During Trip 5, and every fourth trip there after, the return trip consists of two incredibly long stretches of forest (with no tree stumps) along with two long ponds.

Mountains
Mountains can be one of the most difficult environments to clear later on in the game. They start out simply enough, with rolling log platforms that rise and fall. The logs roll in the opposite direction that Pac-Man needs to go, so you must constantly tap one of the run buttons to get Pac-Man moving again. Beneath these logs are bottomless pits that you must avoid falling into. Towards the end of each mountain stage, there is typically a crumbling log bridge that must be quickly jumped over or Pac-Man will be left with no means to cross the gap. Later on, clouds are introduced. Clouds in Pac-Land, ironically, can be jumped on and ridden. In many instances, they also summon fruit when they are landed on. Don't focus on the fruit, focus on keeping Pac-Man alive. These clouds are exactly the width that Pac-Man steps, so don't take two steps in the same direction, or Pac-Man will fall off. Eventually, the most difficult aspect of the mountains arrives in the form of a small lake with floating logs. The logs must be carefully navigated in order to reach the opposite side, and they are very easy to miss. You can't wait to long on them either since Sue is constantly tracking you down. If all that wasn't enough, ghost typically approach you in airplanes, dropping ghost bombs on you as they fly along. The mountains require the most patience, and probably the most practice, out of all of the environments.

Return Trips: Due to the fact that you possess the magic flying boots for the return journey, much of the challenge of the mountain environment is rendered moot, since you can hop through the air at will. The problem, however, is that you are forced to jump very high in order to clear certain cliffs, and ghosts are sure to fly over those positions in airplanes. So if you jump too high, you will get hit with a face full of propeller.

Desert
As can be expected, deserts don't have a lot of features. They have cacti that can occasionally be pushed to reveal a secret. For the most part, you will simply jump over them. One deadly feature of deserts are the quicksand area. Every quicksand area is indicated by a skull. As you are being drawn into quicksand, the skull's teeth begins to chatter with laughter. Touching the skull is deadly. You are best off jumping continuously, or better yet, jumping over the area from the top of a cactus. Sometimes a springboard (see the Ponds below) will be present to help you avoid the deadlier sections, but their use is not always required. Ghosts come at you with the usual variety; pogo-sticks, flying saucers, and airplanes are all employed against Pac-Man in the desert sections. Deserts are commonly interrupted by ponds, and even by sections of forests. They also contain power pellets.

Return Trips: Return trips through the desert are uncommon after the beginning of the game, and feature extremely tall cacti. It's a simple matter to jump over them with the flying boots, but time your jumps carefully so that you don't hit any ghosts flying overhead.

Ponds
Ponds are frequently mixed into other environments, although they can compose an entire environment on their own. The trick to crossing ponds is mastering the use of the spring board. The spring board can be surprisingly difficult to for beginners to master. As Pac-Man runs along, he reaches the spring board and begins to run across it. As he reaches the end of the board, the board darkens, indicating that you are ready to jump. The farther along the board you jump, the higher in the air you will rise. If you time your jump to late, you will run off the board and perform a regular jump (usually into the pond). Once you are in the air, you need to furiously tap the direction you were running in to maintain your height in the air. If you do not do this, you will drop like a stone. Many ponds that you encounter later in the game will extend to the very limit of how far Pac-Man can jump, so if you do not execute the jump perfectly, you will just miss the edge and fall in the water. Often, you will see fruit lined up in a descending pattern. If you are collecting them as you fall, then you are perfectly lined up for the landing. If you are not picking them up, you might still make it if you are just beneath them, so don't give up. Later levels feature an island in the middle of the pond that you must land on before continuing your trip from another springboard. These islands can contain power pellets in a few instances. In Trip 8, and every fourth trip thereafter, there is no spring board prior to the pond. In this case, you must hitch a ride from one of the ghosts going your way in an airplane.

Return Trips: Ponds must simply be floated over in order to return home. Fruit may be tantalizingly displayed to lure you to a bad location, but always observe the position of the ghosts before dropping or rising for the point bonuses. Don't waste time collecting them either since you lose the flying boots if you manage to run out of time.

Bridge
The bridge environment is not a difficult as the mountains, but it can be nearly as frustrating. The bridge may have at one time been whole and useful, but now it's a mess. Gaps in the floor and walls do little to protect you from the water beneath. Your jumps are constrained here, and you need to plan ahead if you want to reach certain levels of the crumbling bridge. To make matters worse, there are geysers that form at the bottom of the screen, bursting to the ceiling and falling back down. If Pac-Man happens to get caught in their wake, it is difficult, but not impossible, to escape from its grasp. Jumping rapidly is the only hope you have of keeping Pac-Man alive. The bridge also features fire hydrants that fire the usual gobs of water at you, but these are typically only found on the highest platforms. They can contain secrets, but those secrets can cost you your life if you don't pay attention to the water blasts, both from the hydrant and the geysers.

Return Trips: Like most environments, a lot of the sting is taken from the area thanks to your flying boots. Don't be fooled however. The geysers are still dangerous and the ghosts will try to prevent you from making it back to your home and family.

Castle
The castle is deceptively challenging. The first time you encounter one (round 14), you will be able to see everywhere that you go. The remaining trips through the castle will be in complete darkness, making it a lot more difficult to navigate. The castle has three levels of height, with many gaps in the floor and a number of locked doors. In addition, you will find keys that you can use to unlock the doors. There is always a way to make it through the castle, but finding the keys and opening the right doors will substantially reduce the amount of time it takes for you to clear the stage. In fact, with no ghosts other than Sue to bother you, time is your only real enemy. But you will find time frequently running out on you the first few times you attempt to clear the stage, causing Sue to rush you, and assuredly kill you the moment you need to double back and find another path. The layout for the castle in Trip 5 and every fourth trip thereafter remains constant, as does the castle in Trip 8 and fourth trip after that. So if you can become familiar enough with the placement of the keys and the doors, you can reduce your likelihood of running out of time.

Return Trips: This is the one environment that you will never return through.

Break Time
At the end of the first two rounds of every trip, and at your arrival home, you will have an opportunity to jump in the air just before the game play freezes and your remaining time is applied to your score. You will earn a bonus if you freeze in mid-air, and your progress through the jump determines that bonus. If you only just begun to jump, your bonus will be rather small, 10 or 100 points. If you are at the height of your jump, you might earn 300 or 1000 points. If you manage to jump so that you freeze only a moment before landing, you can earn a whopping 7650 points.

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 difficult (e.g. Trip 9 is the same as a slightly harder Trip 5). They are denoted by the color that is applied to the boarder on 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 the 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 can use to hop through the air in order to make it home during the final round of the trip.

Trip 1

 * Round 1: Town: The first stage starts out serenely. For a while all you must focus on is jumping over the fire hydrants and the occasional ghost-mobile.  Sue is ever present behind you, so don't dawdle.  Remember to jump on top of the hydrants in order to make the cherries appear in the window.  Eventually you will come to a 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 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 don't pass it up.
 * 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 fruit that appear as a result are easier to collect.  The power pellet towards the end of the forest is another good Lucky Pac opportunity.
 * Round 3: Mountains: This is your introduction to the highly skill dependent mountain environments. This is by far the easiest mountain stage since it only contains rolling log platforms and one falling bridge (that starts out nearly in tact, 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 might contain an invincibility 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.  Even though you're at the end of the stage, you can easily attempt to earn a 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 can not be pushed to the right to reveal balloons, one of the fire hydrants in the city 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 from round 1, then you have little to fear from the airplanes above.  If not, proceed with caution.

Trip 2

 * Round 5: Town: This town is a little more dangerous than the first one. The fire hydrants begin shooting water and the ghosts occasionally appear in 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 the roof.  A fire hydrant in the middle of town can offer you a helmet if pushed, but Clyde is frequently driving about, 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 hitting the fruit, you have nothing to worry about.  If you are just missing them, you might just make it, so don't give up.  The power pellet in this round can be used to collect a rather easy Lucky Pac.
 * Round 7: Bridge: Your first bridge stage 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 ships along the highest route of the bridge, which extend the length of certain platforms when collected, making it easier to clear the stage safely.  One of the hydrants can be pushed for an invincibility power-up.
 * Round 8: Return Trip: Your 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 do not attempt to find this if time is running low.

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 the island, get a good running start, and take off from the second spring board to clear the pond.  On the other side, you will encounter a cactus with a skull to the right.  That skull indicates the presence of quicksand, so try to get a good running jump off of the top of the cactus to clear the danger.  Just watch out for the ghost on pogo-sticks.  When you reach the power pellet, you can try for a lucky pac by eating one of the ghost bombs instead of a real ghost and eating Sue fifth.  It will still count as long as Sue is worth 3200 points.
 * Round 10: Forest: This stage can be completed fairly quickly as there isn't a whole lot to pay attention to. Of course you must time your movements under or over the attacking ghosts carefully.  One of the tree stumps can be pushed left to reveal an invincibility power-up, making the amount of time you need to spend in this stage even shorter.  A power pellet can be found towards the end of the stage.
 * 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 really aren't difficult to deal with as long as you're 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 town.  Ghosts will fly above you and drive below you, so try to take the safe path down the middle of the screen.  A power pellet shows up at the very end of the stage, so 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 water, double decker buses, and Inky in nearly every window.  If that wasn't enough, much of the fruit in this stage appears on the roof tops.  A quick and easy way to access to roofs is to stand on top of a fire hydrant and wait for a gob of water to fire upwards.  There is a helmet to be found, but it doesn't help you that much for this 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 is shrouded in darkness with only a limited view of the action ahead of you.  There will be no ghosts unless you run out of time and Sue chases after you.  Use this round to learn the features of Castles; the keys, the doors, the gaps in the floor, and the misguiding appearances of fruit.
 * 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 ships are very difficult to reach, so don't count on getting them.  Occasionally, you can hitch a ride on a ghost's plane if it's 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.
 * Round 16: Return Trip: You will have to pass back through mountains first. 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 run into the airplanes 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.

Trip 5 (Purple)

 * Round 17: Pond/Forest: Trip 5 starts 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 right at the very end.  A good leap from the cactus ahead will help you reach Break Time safely.
 * Round 18: Mountains: This mountain stage 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 are trickier to time than before, and the collapsing log bridge is more sparsely populated, but neither should present a 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.  To help get you started, there is a key right at the beginning of the Castle on the lowest floor.  Always try your best to have one key on hand at all times.
 * Round 20: Return Trip: It is nearly impossible to make it all the way past the two ponds and two forests and reach the city before time runs out on this trip. Fortunately, you only have to worry about Sue charging you when time runs out, and a very rare appearance from Clyde.  When time does run out, jump continuously to keep Sue off your back for as long as possible.  When you reach the city, you must time your jumps with the double fire hydrants and avoid the water gobs at all cost.  The ones moving right will just push you into Sue.

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 Pac-Man could have the flying boots before he reaches Fairy Land. It starts out like many mountain rounds do, but at some point, you will reach a mid-stage lake.  Collect the power pellet inside 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 the logs floating in the water.  In round 22, some are oriented horizontally, make your approach a little easier, but when you revisit this stage in much later rounds, they are all eventually 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 get the ships now.  Either rely on that method, or become more confident with your jumping skills to clear this round and reach Fairy Land.
 * 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 you find can help you thin the herd a little bit, but it comes so close to the end, it's almost of no help to you.

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, and you lose the helmet if time runs out.  In the middle of the forest is a succession of quicksand traps.  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 at the cactus at full speed, and jump after you hit them.  Your speed should send you hurdling over the cactus and past the deadly portion of the ground.
 * Round 26: Mountains: This mountain stage incorporates many of the more difficult aspects of the previous ones. However, the stage is a little shorter, 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.
 * Round 27: Dark Forest: This is the only forest that you must run through in total darkness. Like the Castles, only the space immediately in front of you can be seen cleary.  However, as usual, the ghost's 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 have the reprieve than to run back for any extra points.
 * Round 28: Return Trip: The end of this round poses a little more of a threat to Pac-Man than the beginning does, but overall, it shouldn't give you too much trouble. You start by passing through the desert/forest area.  Every ghost you encounter will be jumping on pogo-sticks, so flying over all of their heads should be relatively safe.  When you reach the mountain environment, you must proceed a lot more carefully, as the lake beneath you doesn't give you a lot of wiggle room between the water and wherever 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 is one long pond with a few islands in the middle.  But there are no spring boards!  So how do 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, or get knocked off by an oncoming plane, 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'll 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 complete this, congratulations, you are a true Pac-Land hero.

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