Pac-Mania
System: NES
Release Date: December 1990
Developer: Tengen
Publisher: Tengen
Genre: Maze
The insatiable little puck is back in Pac-Mania! The world has added another half dimension and is the dreaded 2.5D! Pac-Man continues to do what he does best and that is eat pellets. All the pellets on each level. This time, however, there are more perils in his way. Do you have what it takes to clear all the levels you encounter?
This is Pac-Man, but there are a couple new wrinkles. The first is the view. It is indeed an isometric view. This wouldn’t be an issue on its own, but you only see a very small portion of the overall board. This makes keeping track of the ghosts a much bigger chore. They all have their patterns and I believe they are the same from the original game, but Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde are joined by even more ghosts with tricks up their non-existent sleeves. Sue is the purple ghost and moves much faster than everyone else, forcing you to stay on your toes.
The other wrinkle is that Pac-Man has the ability to jump by pressing the A or B Buttons. This gives you an advantage, because you can jump over oncoming enemies or reverse course if you find yourself in trouble. Sometimes you just can’t get away even if you really try, though. You get to enjoy this advantage for the first few levels, until Funky and Spunky show up. These ghosts will jump in the air whenever you do. I was able to get lucky and jump them a couple times, but more often than not, they would match my trajectory and kill me.
Power Pellets return, but I hate that they last for such a short time after the first couple levels. As you eat the normal dots, you are alerted to the appearance of bonus fruit near the ghost house. You may also learn of a special item. Sometimes these are foods for bonus points, other times they are special colored power pellets. The green ones significantly increase your speed. The red ones act as a really short power pellet that doubles points.
The goal of each level is eating all the pellets, so don’t dilly-dally. The instant you finish the last one, the level ends and you move onto the next. Just like the original, the ghosts will reset their directions every once in awhile. When you finish the main worlds, you’re sent back to the beginning, but at a much higher speed of play. Watch out for Sue!
Graphics: 2.0
It looks fine and the sense of speed is there, but the limited view is less than stellar.
Sound: 2.0
The music is pleasant enough, but I wouldn’t say it’s good.
Gameplay: 2.5
The jump mechanic adds an extra bit of flavor, but the short-lived power pellets are really lame.
Difficulty: 2.5
It’s not easy to breeze through this Pac-Man, because the new ghosts really have it out for you. If you mistime your power pellet, you’ll be dead.
Fun Factor: 2.5
It’s an interesting twist on the original, but it loses its luster quickly.
Overall Rating: 2.3
Pac-Mania earns a C+. I think I can say I like it better than Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, but I don’t know if that’s saying a whole lot. Give it a shot. Couldn’t hurt.