Pac-Man World 2

🎮 PlayStation 2 ⏳ 6 hours ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)

Expanded World & Story #

This title expands on the ideas of its predecessor by fully embracing the structure of a classic 3D platformer, placing you in a vibrant, cartoon-styled world filled with enemies, collectibles, and environmental challenges. It now has a deeper story that revolves around Pac-Land being thrown into chaos after the Ghosts damage the Golden Fruit, giving the game a simple but effective narrative excuse to send you across forests, snowfields, lava zones, and pirate-themed areas. You even get a main villain now named Spooky, which serves as the final boss, after you beat all the other bosses, which are the colored ghosts riding mechas (quite a creative and unique approach if you ask me). Similar to other platformers, the story will not be the main focus, it is just good enough for it’s target audience, which is supposed to be children and also Pac-Man fans.

Classic Platforming Gameplay #

The gameplay focuses on traditional platforming mechanics such as jumping, hovering, and attacking, with Pac-Man’s rev-roll serving as the main combat and movement tool. If you played the first entry then this one will impose little to no challenge in adaptation, it really feels like you are just playing the first game, similar to Crash titles. This cannot be said when it comes to the unique “on-rails” levels which you ride a variety of things such as ski boots, a submarine and others. The level design frequently introduces new mechanics, like ice physics, swimming segments, and others, which keeps the pacing fresh and encourages players to adapt rather than rely on a single approach. While the game is generally accessible, some later stages demand more precise timing and spatial awareness.

Charming Visuals & Sound #

Visually, the game holds up well for its era, with expressive character animations and colorful environments that give each world a distinct personality. Its visuals still hold up pretty well, even though there was a recent remake of both Pac-Man World titles, the original ones still have a very charming style. The soundtrack complements the playful tone, leaning into upbeat and adventurous themes without becoming overwhelming, using classic themes from the arcades, and adapting for a modern platform. Sound effects and voice clips further reinforce the game’s lighthearted charm, even though they reused a lot of sounds from the previous title, I can’t really complain because they are very high quality anyway.

Technical Shortcomings #

However, the experience is occasionally undermined by technical issues. The camera can be unreliable in tight spaces or during precise jumps, and controls sometimes feel slightly slippery, which can lead to frustration in more demanding sections. And this is a especially bad flaw since at the of its release, other platformers of its era already managed to implement a way better camera system. Some levels also feel less inspired than others, resulting in uneven pacing across the adventure. Though since it is a very short title, it doesn’t have time to get repetitive and boring, making it a very pleasant first play, or even a replay one if you choose to go for the remake after finishing the original.

Frustrating Collectibles System #

My biggest complain about this title are the collect-a-ton mechanics, which are insanely poorly implemented. When you finish a level, your items are not carried over, which means that, if you want to 100% a level, you need to do a “perfect run”. This means that you can’t miss a single collectible, and while other titles also work like this, this title has way too many items to collect in comparison. And this will absolutely start to become frustrating if you miss even a single one out of the almost 400 that some levels have. Despite these flaws, it remains a memorable and enjoyable platformer from the early 2000s, it may not rival the genre’s biggest names, but it offers a fun, nostalgic experience with enough variety and personality to stand on its own. I recommend playing the remake instead (Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac) and not trying to 100% if due to it’s very flawed collect-a-ton mechanic implementation.