Pac-Land

Pac-Land (パックランド Pakku-Rando) is an arcade game developed and manufactured by Namco in 1984. It is the first platformer in the Pac-Man series.
==Gameplay==
Pac-Land is a side-scrolling platformer, where the objective is to get from one side of the screen to the other. The player controls Pac-Man, who must travel through Pac-Land to return a Fairy (who is underneath Pac-Man's hat) to Fairyland, while avoiding Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde and Sue as well as the various dangers in Pac-Land.
Each trip has four rounds - the first three to get to Fairyland, and the fourth to head back. Starting at his house, Pac-Man will travel through towns, forests, mountains, deserts, ponds, bridges and castles as he delivers the lost fairy back to the Mother Fairy. Generally these are fairly straightforward paths, going from left to right (right to left on each fourth round), aside from the many obstacles in Pac-Man's way.
The first two rounds are completed by reaching the "BREAK TIME" sign at the end of said rounds; Pac-Man can jump in these segments in-time to the music, and he will get a certain number of points depending on his jump's distance from the ground, ranging from 100 to 7650 point bonuses.
Pac-Man reaches Fairyland at the end of the third round; he is greeted by the Mother Fairy, who gives him magical boots that allow him to fly. He travels back home in the fourth round, to which he is greeted by Ms. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man, Chomp-Chomp and Sour Puss (the latter two only in the American version). Directly after this, the next set of rounds known as "Trips" start, and the process repeats with more difficult layouts. There are 8 unique trips in total, giving the game a total of 32 unique rounds. Following the end of the 32nd round, the game will repeat at the start of the 5th trip at a higher difficulty. The player loses a life if Pac-Man comes in contact with a Ghost, one of their micro-ghosts, falls into a bottomless pit or falls into a pool of water. The game ends when Pac-Man loses a life with no remaining extra lives.
=== Enemies and Obstacles ===
Along the way on his journey, the Ghost Gang do their best to stop Pac-Man. Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde now ride in different machines in attempt to ambush Pac-Man, including cars, buses, UFOs, planes, and pogo-sticks. Plane ghosts are particularly dangerous, as they throw micro-ghosts down at Pac-Man which are hard to avoid. Ghosts can appear in building windows as well, serving the same function as plane ghosts. Sue does not chase Pac-Man in a vehicle and slowly moves towards him from behind. If the timer runs out, Sue will charge towards Pac-Man at dangerously high speeds, making it very difficult to avoid getting caught by her. The ghosts can be eaten if Pac-Man eats a Power Pellet.
Pac-Man will encounter many non-Ghost obstacles as well, including:
* Fire Hydrants, Tree Stumps, Cacti - All serve the same purposes. Easily jumped over, and some can provide power-ups when pushed. In later levels, fire hydrants may shoot water at Pac-Man, which propels him forward.
* Log Platforms - Platforms that go up and down. Must be jumped on carefully to avoid falling in a pit.
* Log Bridges - Platforms that fall down slowly. The player must move quickly or else he will fall below into a bottomless pit.
* Clouds - Very tiny platforms that are easy to fall off of.
* Antlion - Skulls that indicate where quicksand is located, which Pac-Man will sink into if he stands for too long or lands in a certain location, costing him a life.
* Ponds - One of the most challenging parts of the game. Pac-Man jumps on a spring-loaded diving board directly in front of a pond, and must rapidly press the Move button to pass over the entire body of water. If the button is not pressed enough times to keep Pac-Man afloat, or the player jumped too early/too late, Pac-Man will fall into the pool of water, costing a life.
Later in the game, two entirely different kinds of levels appear - Sunken Ships and Castles - which are loaded with obstacles of their own. Sunken ships require the player to make precision-perfect jumps over thin planks; to make some jumps, Pac-Man will need to collect ship symbols, which make the planks longer. Castle levels feature three paths, and many locked doors, which require keys to be opened.
=== Items ===
Many items appear throughout the game. Some items appear as part of the levels, while some are uncovered by performing certain actions, such as moving stage objects.
*Power Pellet - Pac-Man temporarily gains the ability to eat the ghosts and micro-ghosts. For each ghost eaten, the score bonus increases from 200 to 400, 800, 1,600, 3,200 and eventually 7,650 for every ghost thereafter. Power Pellets naturally spawn throughout the rounds.
*Helmet - Pac-Man is protected from harm from the falling micro-ghosts from above. The Helmet is uncovered by pushing certain fire hydrants, cacti or tree stumps in certain rounds, and lasts until Pac-Man completes a trip or loses a life.
*Lucky Pac - The player receives a time bonus for the current amount of remaining time, and replenishes the remaining time to its fullest. The item spawns when Pac-Man eats four of any ghost, and eats Sue as the fifth ghost.
*Special Pac - Pac-Man gets an extra life. This item spawns when Pac-Man hovers around certain locations in Round 4 and 16.
*Ship - Extends the length of the planks in the Sunken Ship levels.
*Key - Required to open doors in the Castle levels.
*Galaxian - Awards 7,650 points.
*Balloons - A bunch of balloons pop out, which can be collected for bonus points. Balloons are uncovered by pushing certain fire hydrants, cacti or tree stumps in certain rounds.
*Flower - If Pac-Man jumps in a certain location, flowers may sprout from the ground. Flowers do not affect gameplay. 
*Invisibility - Pac-Man temporarily becomes invisible, and cannot be harmed by the ghosts' attacks. Invisibility is uncovered by pushing certain fire hydrants, cacti or tree stumps in certain rounds.
Fruits also make a return, which appear throughout the stage(s). As more are collected, their point value increases (until four have been eaten, in which it resets the same pattern). These are the fruits that appear, next to their sequential point value:
*Cherry - 100, 300, 500, 1,000 points
*Strawberry - 300, 500, 1000, 1,500 points
*Orange - 500, 1000, 1,500, 2,000 points
*Apple - 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500 points
*Melon - 1,500, 2,000, 2,500, 3,000 points
=== TV Series connections ===
Pac-Land was heavily inspired by the Pac-Man TV series, with many references to it. The most notable connection is the music, which is an 8-bit rendition of the cartoon's theme song. Some of the game's other tracks, like the one that plays in the Castle levels, is background music lifted the show as well. Pac-Man and the ghosts also dawn hats like their Hanna-Barbera counterparts.
In the Bally Midway U.S. release, the sprites of Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man were modified to match their designs in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon (all of the Pac-People have white sclera around their eyes, Pac-Man's hat looked more like a fedora, Ms. Pac-Man was given brown hair and Baby Pac-Man's bow was colored blue) and saw the addition of Chomp-Chomp and Sour Puss to the trip starting and ending screens, both of whom are completely absent in the Japanese version.
== Home Ports ==
Most ports of the game (both custom and emulated) are based on the Japanese version.
* Amiga
** There are two versions: a properly released port from Grandslam, and a unique prototype port of unknown origin.
** In the Grandslam release, the "rounds" are split up in a strange way; reaching Fairyland counts as one round in the counter, while the trips back to Pac-Man's house are split into two separate sections.
** The prototype version, while dumped, is in an unfinished state - though it is arguably a more faithful port gameplay-wise than the Grandslam release. It has rather unique graphics compared to other Pac-Land ports.https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2021/03/pac-land-v1/
* Amstrad CPC
* Arcade1UP Machines
** Many Arcade1UPs featuring Pac-Land have been released (see this page for full list). The game has only been included as an extra on other Pac-Man cabinets, with no directly Pac-Land-themed machine released so far.
** All Arcade1UP models featuring Pac-Land use the Bally Midway version of the game, making them the only home releases based on that version.
* Atari Lynx
* Atari ST
* Commodore 64
* Famicom/NES
** Developed and released in Japan by Namcot. The game is somewhat faithful to the arcade version, though due to hardware restraints, some gameplay mechanics are simplified or removed entirely.
** The game features two control layouts: if the player uses the Player 1 controller, the A and B buttons will move Pac-Man, while the directional pad will make him jump. If the player uses the Player 2 controller, the controls perform vice-versa (and are more "traditional" as a result).
** Neither Mother Fairy or Pac-Man's family are featured in this port of the game.
* Giocatraduci
** A very obscure device, released exclusively in Italy. It is a translation machine with a gaming portion on the side.
** The Pac-Land cartridge/screen was only distributed through a rewards program from Mulino Bianco, a brand of Italian cookies. In retail stores, the console came with a generic 8-in-1 "brick game" cartridge instead.http://videogamekraken.com/sanyo-giocatraduci
** It plays similarly to the handheld LCD game version (see below), with the exact same graphics. However, the Giocatraduci version features various alterations in actual gameplay (a notable difference being it scrolls from left-to-right, rather than right-to-left).
* Handheld LCD Game
** A proprietary console in a similar form factor to a Game & Watch. It was released in several countries, but seemingly not anywhere in North America.
** The game itself is a fairly loose adaption - somewhat a clone of the Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch - and does not have many of the arcade game's features. The objective is to walk across platforms, going from right to left, in order to reach Ms. Pac-Man.
* iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.) - now defunct
** It was included in the Namco Arcade compilation app.
** Several "cheats" for the game could be purchased, such as invincibility and permanent flight abilities.
** Though based on the Japanese version, the iOS version of the game featured sprites from the American version.
* MSX
* Nintendo Switch
** Several versions were released. The Famicom version of the game is included in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2; in Japan, it was released as DLC for Namcot Collection. The arcade version was included in Pac-Man Museum +, as well as being released stand-alone as part of the Arcade Archives series.
* PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
* PlayStation
** Included in Namco Museum Vol. 4.
* PlayStation 3
**Two versions were released. The game was included in Pac-Man Museum, and was featured in the PS one Classics release of Namco Museum Vol. 4.
* PlayStation Portable
** Featured in the PS one Classics release of Namco Museum Vol. 4.
* PlayStation Vita
** Featured in the PS one Classics release of Namco Museum Vol. 4.
* PlayStation 4
** Two versions were released. The game was featured in Pac-Man Museum +, as well as being released standalone as part of the Arcade Archives series.
* Project EGG
** A Japan-only subscription service compatible with Windows. Based on the PC-Engine version. It was removed from the service in September 2021.
* Sharp X68000
** A special edition (?) release of this version came with a special three-button controller matching the layout of the arcade machine.http://thumb3.zeppy.io/d/l400/pict/222931211786/pac-man-pac-land-x68000-3-button-pad-controller-computer-vintage
* Wii U
** The Famicom version was released through the Virtual Console.
* Windows PC
** A standalone disc release was published in Japan as part of the Super 1500 Series.
** Two additional versions were released; the game being featured in both Pac-Man Museum and Pac-Man Museum +.
* Xbox 360
**Included in Pac-Man Museum.
*Xbox One
**Included in Pac-Man Museum and Pac-Man Museum +.
A release of Pac-Land was planned for the Atari 8-bit computer series (400, 800, XL and XE), but never got passed conceptual stages. A prototype was built, but it only featured minimal coding with mock-up screenshots.https://web.archive.org/web/20030408165426/http://www.jetbootjack.com/Pacland.htm
The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 port features a special, more challenging game mode called Pac-Land Pro. It is unlocked by beating the game and viewing the ending. Alternatively, it can be started via the cheat code below:
* Enter the Options menu by holding down I and II while pressing Start;
* Enable the "SKIP" option;
* Press Start at the title screen, then press Up ten times.
Console releases of Pac-Land are less common than the other (Namco-owned) Pac-Man games, which is speculated to be due to Hanna-Barbera (now technically Warner Bros.) owning the music tracks.
== Trivia ==
*Several regional revisions of the game, including the United States release, the game speed was increased to be nearly as twice as fast than the Japanese original. 
**The exact opposite happened when localizing Super Pac-Man, whose overseas versions ran slower after eating a Super Pellet.
*In the port of Pac-Land featured in Namco Museum Vol. 4, Pac-Man's appearance was modified to have a smaller nose, like later promotional art of the character.
*Later Bally Midway revisions of Pac-Land removed the cross on top of the church (seen in the Break Time areas). The removal of the cross would later happen again in the Pac-Land stage that appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well as the Arcade Archives and Pac-Man Museum + versions of the game.
*The Japanese manual for the TurboGrafx-16 port of Pac-Land corrects Blinky and Clyde, with Blinky being the angry one wearing the bowler hat, and Clyde being the sad one wearing the tall hat. However, in gameplay, the port retains their personalities from the arcade game.
*A stage based on Pac-Land appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, it doesn't feature a track based on the original background music, possibly due to Warner Bros. Entertainment holding the rights to the songs.
*Pac-Man Monsters features an event quest based off of Pac-Land, known as "Welcome to Pac-Land". The quest takes place in the game's first area, Pac-Town, which is based off of the town area from Pac-Land. The Ghost Gang are encountered as enemies, driving in vehicles like in the original game. The final boss of the quest, King of Ant Lion, is based off the skulls encountered in the desert areas.
*Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, has stated that Pac-Land was an inspiration for the original Super Mario Bros. However, Miyamoto claims that the main source of inspiration was merely the color of the sky being blue. Most prior games had only used black backgrounds, and Pac-Land's detailed colors were incorporated into Mario's world. Miyamoto adds that he had already formed a concept for a side-scrolling Mario game much earlier than Pac-Land's release, but was intentionally saving it for when tough competition against Donkey Kong arrived - which Pac-Land, in Miyamoto's eyes, was the first of."Super Hit Game Science" (スーパーヒットゲーム学) interview, 1998; http://hamatsu.hatenablog.com/entry/2015/11/30/113438
*In the instruction manuals of several Pac-Land releases, Ms. Pac-Man is referred to as "Pac-Girl" for unknown reasons.
*Pooka, Mappy and Goro can be seen on the game's promotional flyer.
*According to Toru Iwatani, Pac-Land is one of his favorite games.
*The Arcade Archives re-release of Pac-Land, as well as the version included in Pac-Man Museum +, alters the graphics of Ms. Pac-Man and Baby Pac-Man; in place of them are "Pac-Mom" and "Pac-Sis". This change was presumably tied to the ongoing legal disputes regarding Ms. Pac-Man.
**The Arcade Archives release is the first official instance of Ms. Pac-Man's previous appearances being replaced by a new or pre-existing character.
*The version of Pac-Land in Pac-Man Museum + revises the sprites of the cars the ghosts drive to have the car rotating tires' appearance more consistent.
== Gallery ==
=== Screenshots ===
Pacland.png|Arcade
Amigapacland.png|Amiga
Pacland xe.gif|Atari 400/800/XL/XE (early prototype)
Lynxpacland.png|Atari Lynx
Famipacland.png|Famicom/NES
Msxpacland.png|MSX
Tg16pacland.png|PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
=== Machine and Box Art ===
paclandlogo.png|Game logo
Pacland.jpg|Large fold-out flyer advertising Pac-Land.
Paclandus.jpg|U.S. arcade machine.
Paclandeurope.jpg|European arcade machine (watermarked).
Lynxpaclandbox.jpg|Atari Lynx box art.
Famicompaclandbox.jpg|Famicom box art.
Pac-Land PCE HuCard JP Manual-01.png|TurboGrafx-16 box art.
===Character Artwork===
Pac land artwork 1 by ringostarr39-d9pxa01.png|Pac-Man
Tg16pac1.png|Pac-Man (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
File:Pachydrant.png|Pac-Man and Fire Hydrant (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
File:LandFamily.png|Pac-Man's family (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
Tg16pac2.png|Pac-Man and Vulnerable Ghosts (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
File:PacInk.png|Inky and Pac-Man (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
File:PacFairy.png|Fairy and Pac-Man (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
Pacland-blinky.png|Blinky
File:Blinkycar.png|Blinky (TurboGrafx-16 Version)
Pacland-pinky.png|Pinky
Pacland-inky.png|Inky
Pacland-clyde.png|Clyde
File:Clydepogostick.png|Clyde (TurboGrafx-16 manual)
Tg16sue.png|Sue (TurboGrafx-16 version)
Pacland-fairy1.png|Fairy
Pacland-fairy2.png|Fairy
Ssbu-spirit-2.png|Mother Fairy
==References==
Category:Games
Category:Pac-Man Games
Category:Namco Games
Category:Bally/Midway Games
Category:Arcade Games
Category:Platformers