Pac-Land (LCD game)

The Pac-Land LCD game is an electronic handheld game that is loosely based on the original Pac-Land arcade game. The console was released in Japan by Varie in 1992, and published in Europe by Systema.
An alternate version of the game was released in Italy for the Giocatraduci translation machine, which features different rules than the original version.
== Gameplay ==
The game uses a similar layout to the Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch. The player guides Pac-Man across a series of platforms in order to reach "Pac Girl" (Ms. Pac-Man) on the other end of the screen. All the while, Pac-Man must avoid the oncoming Ghosts, which can be defeated using a Power Pellet; after eating a Power Pellet, the ghosts will be vulnerable for 7 seconds. "Little Demons" also appear as enemies, which take one of Pac-Man's lives upon contact; however, running into a Fairy will restore a life (or grant Pac-Man 500 points if he already has maximum lives). Cherries can be collected for bonus points.
The game plays with Pac-Man moving from right to left, similar to the final level in each world of the Pac-Land arcade game. Each screen (of which there are multiple per round) consists of a 5-by-3 layout of logs. Pressing the up/down directions will move Pac-Man to the log above/below him; Pac-Man will jump if the up direction is pressed while there is no log above him.
The game features 5 levels, with each stage having different functions surrounding the logs and enemies:
*Level 1 features static logs that are laid out horizontally.
*Level 2 features horizontal logs that move up and down, similar to the arcade original.
*Level 3 adds vertical logs that can block Pac-Man's movement; additionally, the horizontal logs move left and right.
*Level 4 uses the same rules as the third level, but spawns more Ghosts.
*Level 5 has the top two rows of logs move up and down, and the bottom row of logs move left and right; alongside having vertical logs across all rows.
After level 5 is completed, the game appears to loop levels 4 and 5 endlessly until the player loses all of their lives.
== Giocatraduci version ==
The Giocatraduci (lit. "Play and Translate") is an Italian console released in the early-to-mid 1990s by Sanyo. The device is predominantly a translation machine, supporting four languages (Italian, English, Spanish, and French), and has a handheld game portion on the side of the console. In 1995, the console was offered via a coupon reward program for Mulino Bianco, a brand of Italian cookies.http://videogamekraken.com/sanyo-giocatraduci The console would be followed by the Agenda-Game in 1996, which featured PDA-like functionality instead of a translator.http://videogamekraken.com/sanyo-agenda-gamehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JKx5R948dM
The Giocatraduci uses interchangable screens as "cartridges". When initially released in stores, the Giocatraduci came with an 8-in-1 "brick game" cartridge; however, the Mulino Bianco version included an additional Pac-Land cartridge. It does not appear the Pac-Land game was released outside of the Mulino Bianco offer.
While virtually all graphics of the Giocatraduci Pac-Land game are reused from the original Varie handheld, the Giocatraduci version features numerous alterations in gameplay rules. These diffferences include the following:
*There are only two rows of horizontal logs instead of three; vertical logs do not appear.
*The levels feature autoscrolling, with Pac-Man moving from left to right; whereas the original handheld has hard-cut, non-scrolling screens and moves from right to left.
*The game does not seem to feature any of the original handheld's altered rules in levels 2 through 5; presumably due to the added scrolling and smaller playfield. The Giocatraduci version features 9 levels, which likely only differ in difficulty/speed.
*The background music is removed, with most other music/sound effects being slightly different in tone.
*"Little Demons" are removed entirely.
*The Fairies appear to grant some sort of invincibility feature rather than granting Pac-Man an extra life.
*Cherries now grant extra lives instead of being collected for points, presumably due to the aforementioned function change of the Fairies.
*The Power Pellet effect lasts for 5 seconds instead of 7 seconds.
== Trivia ==
*The Pac-Land handheld was released as part of a series of Namco-licensed LCD games. Other titles in the series include Dragon Spirit, Famista '91, Final Lap, Galaga '91, and Splatterhouse.
**The Systema-published set did not include Famista '91. Galaga '91 was renamed to Galaga 2000 on some Systema reprints.
*The console's artwork uses assets originating from the TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine version of Pac-Land, including its box art and instruction manual.
*For unknown reasons, Ms. Pac-Man is referred to as "Pac-Girl" in the instruction manual.
**While this could be tied to the legal issues surrounding Ms. Pac-Man, the Pac-Land handheld was released during a period where such restrictions seemingly did not apply. However, the European manual is written in rather poor English, which may be a further factor behind the "Pac-Girl" name.
*The Giocatraduci version's instruction manual refers to Pac-Man and Pac-Girl as "separated lovers", and describes the game's plot as having Pac-Man rescue her from the Ghosts. The English version (in poor grammar) merely states that Pac-Man will "find out Pac-Girl", not indicating any form of rescue mission.
*While some sources state that the Agenda-Game is backwards-compatible with the Giocatraduci cartridges (i.e. the "brick game" and Pac-Land), others report that they cannot run well on the Agenda-Game hardware (i.e. the Jump button doesn't work for Pac-Land).
== Gallery ==
Merch-EU-1990s-systema-pacland-lcd-0.jpg|Systema version, boxed
Merch-UK-1990s-systema-pacland-lcd-0.jpg|Systema version (U.K.), boxed
Merch-UK-1990s-systema-pacland-lcd-1.jpg|Systema version (U.K.), box back
Merch-IT-1990s-barilla-sanyo-giocatraduci-1.jpg|Giocatraduci cartridge
== References ==
Category:Games
Category:Pac-Man Games
Category:Consoles
Category:Merchandise