Pac-Land/How to play

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< Pac-Land

Pac-Land | Table of Contents | Walkthrough

[edit] Controls

Left/Right: Press and hold once to make Pac-Man run in either direction. Double tap and hold either button to make Pac-Man run in that direction. Press the opposite direction from which Pac-Man is running to make him stop short and turn around. After Pac-Man takes off from a springboard, tap right continuously to keep Pac-Man in the air for as long as possible.
Jump: Press this button to make Pac-Man jump in the air. Pac-Man will jump higher the faster he is running, and the longer you hold down the jump button. When Pac-Man is wearing the magical flying boots granted to him by the Fairy Queen, tap the Jump button repeatedly to cause him to rise into the air.
1-2 Players: Press to start a one or two player game.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Pac-Man

Here he is, the hero of yet another adventure, this time through Pac-Land itself. You control Pac-Man in his attempts to rescue the fairy by returning her to her home. She rides underneath Pac-Man's cap throughout the duration of each round. Pac-Man can walk and run in either direction, and he can leap in the air. He will lose a life if he is touched by any of the ghosts, or the small ghost bombs that they drop. If he comes across a power pellet, he can jump in the air to grab it. He then becomes energized and can eat the ghosts for a small amount of time (until they begin to flash and return to their normal colors.)
To the left is Pac-Man as he is depicted in Japan. To the right is the American sprite, inspired by the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

[edit] Pac-Family

The very understanding Pac Family dutifully wait at home for Pac-Man to return from his mission to return the fairy. They welcome him home upon his successful return.
To the left is Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man as they are depicted in Japan. To the right are the American sprites, inspired by the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

[edit] Pac-Pets

These are the faithful Pac Pets, the dog Chomp-Chomp, and the cat Sour Puss. Chomp-Chomp is chasing Sour Puss around the front yard when Pac-Man returns home. They can only be seen in the American version of the game, and introduce the trips as opposed to the Japanese version which features a fairy instead.

[edit] Fairy and Queen

The Fairy that Pac-Man must rescue lost her way and needed help returning home. She heard about the greatest hero of Pac-Land and sought his assistance. Pac-Man happily accepted the mission. Throughout each trip, Pac-Man must pass through three stages in order to find the magical door that leads to the land of the fairies where the Fairy Queen presides. Once Pac-Man successfully returns the fairy to her home, the Fairy Queen grants Pac-Man a pair of magical flying boots which allows Pac-Man to rise high into the air, shortening his return trip home.

[edit] Blinky

Blinky is not the most confident of the ghostly gang. He's never quite sure that any of their plans are going to work out, and he's the first to take off during any sign that things are going wrong. He is seen here riding one of the four methods of transport that the ghosts employ: A pogo stick. The pogo sticks bounce fairly high and Pac-Man can just as safely run underneath them as he can jump over them. Ghosts riding pogo sticks don't always advance as they jump. They only present a big threat when several of them are bouncing Pac-Man's way at once. Since they rarely jump in unison, wait until an opening appears, then go for it.

[edit] Pinky

Pinky is a tough-guy. He likes being the muscle of the group, but as a consequence, he's not the brightest (although none of the ghosts really are.) Here, Pinky is riding in the specially crafted flying saucers. The flying saucers move somewhat similarly to the pogo sticks, but they move up and down a bit more smoothly and their motion is easier to predict. On the other hand, they are much bigger than pogo sticks, and therefore harder to evade. Since it's always safe to stand on the ghosts heads, you can use the ghosts to ride to the top of the screen before jumping off and continuing on.

[edit] Inky

Out of all the ghosts, Inky is the biggest goof-ball. His never ending pocket of tricks usually causes more harm them good for the ghosts, but he is never discouraged. Inky is riding one of the most dangerous of all the ghost vehicles, the airplane. The airplanes fly steadily across the air, at just the right height to cause Pac-Man a lot of problems if he jumps. To make matters worse, they airplanes are equipped with ghost bombs that the ghosts drop on Pac-Man as they fly by. Be extra careful when you see these flying overhead.

[edit] Clyde

Clyde is the self-proclaimed leader of the gang. He is only uncontested since none of the other ghosts want the job. Clyde is pretty sure of himself... and pretty sure that they other ghosts are to blame whenever anything goes wrong. Clyde is riding a motor vehicle that the ghosts like to ride throughout the towns. They are easy to avoid and jump over, but they can just as easily be ridden on top of. Jump on the roof and let them take you for a ride if they're going your way. Later on, the ghosts also drive by in what appears to be a double decker bus. You need to be running if you expect to have any chance of jumping over them.

[edit] Sue

Sue is the only independent thinker of the whole bunch. She opts never to ride a vehicle and chooses instead to follow close behind Pac-Man everywhere that he goes. She hovers behind at her own pace. Pac-Man can just as easily jump on her head and ride on top where ever she goes, but she's best left alone entirely. The reason being if time runs out completely, Sue stops following patiently at a safe distance, and begins to charge at Pac-Man mercilessly. Once time runs out, you have little hope of finishing the stage safely, but it can be done if you manage to out maneuver Sue. Try your best to avoid that situation all together by completing the stage in a timely fashion.

[edit] Items

[edit] Power Pellet

Pac-Man's one and only weapon against the ghosts is the energizing Power Pellet. One chomp on this glowing orb, and Pac-Man gains the strength to turn the tables on the ghosts and chase after them instead. If he manages to catch any of them, they will turn into a pair of floating eyes and be temporarily removed from the game. For each ghost that he eats, the point values increase in the following order; 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, and 7650 for every ghost thereafter. (It is possible to eat more than the five ghosts, due to the fact that the ghost bombs also turn blue and can be eaten.)

[edit] Helmet

Throughout the game, there are some fire hydrants, cacti, and tree stumps that can be pushed to reveal items and secrets. The most common (and useful) item found is the helmet. The helmet allows Pac-Man to survive collisions with ghost bombs. Not only that, but he gains a 300 point for every bomb he touches. He keeps the helmet until he completes an entire trip (a full set of four rounds) or until he loses a life.

[edit] Lucky Pac

The Lucky Pac item is lucky indeed. When you collect it, you will receive a time bonus for all of the time you have remaining, and your timer will be replenished with a complete stock. A best of all, there is a sure-fire way to make it appear. All that you need to do is eat a Power Pellet, and eat Sue as the fifth ghost (worth 3200 points). As long as Sue is the fifth ghost eaten, the Lucky Pac will appear.

[edit] Special Pac

The Special Pac only appears on the last round of the first Trip (round 4) and the fourth Trip (round 16). If you collect it, you are awarded one extra life. In order to make it appear, you must have Pac-Man hover over a particular location on your return trip home when you have the magic flying boots.

[edit] Ship

The Ship only appears on the Bridge stages. When you find it, certain levels of the bridge are extended to make it easier for you to progress through the stage without falling into the water below.

[edit] Galaxian

It's extremely rare, but every once in a while, a Galaxian flagship will drop instead of a ghost bomb. If you manage to pick it up, it's worth a cool 7650 points.

[edit] Balloon

On the fourth round of every trip, the return trip home, one fire hydrant, cactus, or tree stump, can be pushed aside to reveal a collection of balloons. Most of the balloons are worth 100 points, but one special balloon is worth 7650 points. Once you find that one, you might as well skip the rest.

[edit] Flower

This unusual item only appears during Trip 1 if you jump in the proper location. It's benefits, if any, are unknown. Flowers play a more prominent role in the Famicom version of the game.

[edit] Fruit

Fruits appear in various location for Pac-Man to pick up for bonus points. The value of each fruit increases until the fourth fruit is eaten, and then the point value resets to the original value. Refer to the chart below to determine how much each fruit eaten is worth.