Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I was a tyke playing on my friends’ Super Nintendo consoles, video games were still a comparatively new medium. Studios were developing and learning its unique language, often taking notes from film, television, and animation. Some game companies even bring in talent from those industries. Film buff Hideo Kojima cribbed from Hollywood for his Metal Gear series, eventually even hiring award-winning actor Kiefer Sutherland to portray one of its protagonists. A litany of full-motion video titles seek to advance the medium by delivering cinematic experiences. Games like Dragon’s Lair are similar, presenting players with a glorified cartoon whose story you subtly influence.
Despite what the title may suggest, Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures has nothing in common with the first Pac-Man beyond inheriting its headliner and essential iconography. Notably, it’s called Hello! Pac-Man in Japan. (Image: Bandai Namco)
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures, one of the strangest entries in its franchise, strives to be an interactive cartoon. Its opening cinematic spells that out: it introduces Pac-Man and his supporting cast in a manner reminiscent of old sitcoms, its portrayal of Super Pac-Man as his alter ego is evocative of superhero comics, and the scene’s literally framed by an analog television set. The first three of four missions even end with an eyecatch highlighting Pac-Man and his family. Now, Pac-Man did star in a mediocre Hanna-Barbera cartoon, and the original Pac-Man stood out amongst a sea of space shooters partially because of its more character-centric nature; Pac-Man 2‘s merely continuing down an avenue they sampled. And honestly, Pac-Man’s a franchise I harbor a lot of affection for, so I find the proposition of a well-animated adventure game set within its universe compelling.
On paper, Pac-Man 2 seems straightforward. You and Pac-Man are a team: you guide him, and he’ll interact with his surroundings. Your slingshot is how you direct the yellow fella; hold and release the B button to fire on something or someone that catches your eye, and Pac-Man will walk over to investigate. He’ll pick up and use items, chat with people, or manipulate the environment in various ways. Pressing the Y button and D-pad together makes Pac-Man look and then walk in the respective direction, potentially drawing his attention towards something he missed. An experimental game of this nature starring an internationally known icon probably should be approachable, and these mechanics sound simple enough, right?
Pac-Man 2 hit the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis. For the most part, the two versions are identical. Note: this review’s based on the former. (Image: Bandai Namco)
In practice, though, Pac-Man 2‘s title character doesn’t make things that simple—Pac-Man is a contentious, unreliable force you must delicately manage. When walking along, he’ll frequently get distracted by things. Unfortunately, he’s also a rather slow walker; moving between locations takes a while. It is possible for Pac-Man to die, and some of his deaths—getting sprayed with ketchup by an angry hot dog vendor, for example—feel pretty arbitrary. Still, the game’s plenty forgiving: should Pac-Man pass out, you’ll respawn in the same area, and you can take as many tries as you need.
The real problems arise from Pac-Man’s wild mood swings. Depending on what happens to and around him, the guy can remain calm or become happy, wacky, moody, smug, mad, or furious, and how cooperative he is—and how friendly he is to NPCs—fluctuates correspondingly. This is where the game’s challenge is largely derived from, since advancing through the game requires manipulating objects in specific ways, which may require Pac-Man to be in a specific mood. It’s puzzle solving, I guess, but it isn’t intuitive; it’s often more trial and error guesswork than anything else.
One part requires Pac-Man to smack this control panel, but messing with it when he’s angry isn’t sufficient—he has to punch it when he’s fuming. Backtracking to earlier locations while he’s mad is impossible, since water will drip on Pac-Man and calm him down. I guess that’s meant to suggest you direct his ire elsewhere…? (Image: Bandai Namco)
In fairness, the game does have some understanding of how obtuse it can get and does try guiding the player. The first mission places signs around the village that literally point out where Pac-Man must go. The New Adventures also blocks off access to the mountain and metropolis regions until the second and third missions, respectively, to prevent you from wasting time in areas the temperamental mascot needn’t visit yet. This… helps and is appreciated. Still, you’re likely to eventually find yourself lost, cycling through areas until you realize what you’re supposed to do.
Each corner of Pac-Land hides dangers. The most prominent are, of course, the Ghost Gang, who sporadically show up to terrorize Pac-Man. They’re easily dispatched with so long as you have Power Pellets: shoot one near Pac-Man with the X button and, assuming he notices, he’ll devour it, turn Super, and fly around in an effort to munch the ghouls (you may have to guide him, however). You can carry up to three Power Pellets, and inspecting random objects might replenish your stock by one. A tree growing near Pac-Man’s house grows an infinite supply, too, so you’re never in danger of running out completely (backtracking all the way there would get rather tedious, though).
The New Adventures employs a password system. If you want to obtain one hundred percent completion, however, you must do so in one sitting. (Image: Bandai Namco)
Pac-Man 2‘s attempts at faster, more action-heavy segments flounder. One mission forces Pac-Man through a mine cart ride, where hitting him with your slingshot makes him jump and pressing Y makes him go faster. If he hits the scenery or if a ghost pelts him with a boulder, it’s an instant game over (though hitting the ghouls causes them to momentarily flee). Another mandatory bit involves Pac-Man using a hang glider, where he soars forward automatically and gradually descends. Hitting him makes him descend faster, pressing the Y button makes him fly upwards, and mastering both to dodge hazards becomes a necessary skill. Neither section is fun or a welcome change of pace, since their hectic nature poorly meshes with the game’s lumbering controls and otherwise lax pacing.
Structurally, however, Pac-Man 2 is straightforward. After a quick tutorial, Pac-Man starts the first proper mission. The first three are “exciting” scenarios where he performs chores for his family: get his infant daughter a bottle of milk, get his son’s friend flowers for her birthday, and retrieve his son’s stolen guitar. The stakes are raised in the final mission, where the ghost quartet’s boss, the Ghost Witch of Netor, finally enacts her scheme: she’s stealing gum for some nefarious purpose and directly challenges Pac-Man to stop her! Then… the tension deflates very quickly. Although Pac-Man’s initially furious—rightfully so, for once—you then have to walk all the way over to the train station, which will cause Pac-Man to interact with stuff that’ll cheer him up. Starting this chapter with the seething celebrity automatically arriving at the city would’ve been more appropriate.
Beating the game requires finding three ID Cards. The final one is only obtainable during the final mission and is basically impossible to miss. (Image: Bandai Namco)
And there’s a final boss, who isn’t satisfying. It’s a monster made out of purple chewing gum that slowly rises out of its bath. You make Pac-Man go Super, he’ll fly around indefinitely (notably, the form only lasts a few seconds elsewhere), rapidly hit the titan with your slingshot, Pac-Man dies if he’s grabbed, and… that’s kinda it. All the fight really draws upon is your ability to aim and fire your tool, which does make enough sense; the slingshot is the game’s primary mechanic, Namco probably wanted a thrilling finale, and I doubt the game’s off-kilter puzzle solving would’ve suddenly grown more sophisticated by this late stage. Still, watching Super Pac-Man flail around lacks the spectacle of his contemporaries, and a decent scenario wherein we outsmart the ghosts and their bubbly beast would have been more fulfilling.
Aside from the campaign, which can be cleared in an hour or two, Pac-Man 2 offers a few side quests. Three hidden game cartridges dot the world. In the Super Nintendo version, the reward for collecting them is the ability to play Ms. Pac-Man; the SEGA Genesis offers an original game starring Pac-Man Jr. The first Pac-Man’s included in both. Tougher, thankfully optional versions of the mine cart and hang glider courses can be discovered. Additionally, triggering all of Pac-Man’s animations—which is a hefty task, requiring you to inspect virtually everything—yields one hundred percent competition. There’s even a time trial mode. Nothing here’s really enticing enough to justify a replay, but there is material to keep people busy.
…Also, I know the monitor says “Gum Monster,” but the font kinda makes it look like it says something else. (Image: Bandai Namco)
Now, I realize I haven’t been very positive towards the game, and I stand by my criticisms; Pac-Man 2 isn’t some unsung classic. But the game doesn’t deserve to be lost to time either, largely because of its stellar presentation. The New Adventures wants to be a cartoon, and to some extent it succeeds—the expressive Pac-Man is lovingly animated. The music even changes tempo to reflect his mood, which is a fantastic touch, even if the audio does get kinda grating. Pac-Man 2’s also a historical curio; it came long before later games standardized the look of Pac-Man and his world (he’s not mingling with mundane humans today outside of crossovers).
Nothing quite like Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures exists. It lacks the neon labyrinths its franchise is known for, expands upon its universe in ways that were mostly forgotten (though the Ghost Witch of Netor scored an encore in Pac-in-Time of the following year), and dabbles in a genre Pac-Man promptly abandoned. It’s a hard game to recommend—frankly, I’m inclined to say that watching a walkthrough would be probably the better, more entertaining way to experience The New Adventures—but I’m glad it exists. Experimentation doesn’t always yield winners, but this graphic adventure is novel and deserves a place within the broader Pac-Man canon.
Still, if you manage to clear Pac-Man 2 without ever getting impatient with its namesake, you are a saint. (Image: Bandai Namco)
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