Pac 'n Roll (パックンロール Pakku n Rōru) is a Nintendo DS game released by Namco in 2005. It is an action-platforming game that serves as a prequel to the Pac-Man series. The game was released as part of Pac-Man's 25th anniversary.
Gameplay[]
The objective of Pac 'n Roll is to maneuver Pac-Man to the Goal at the end of the stage. The player can roll Pac-Man in any direction, including guiding him up slopes and other slanted geometry. He will also have to collect Pac-Dots to open Golvis Gates, which act as tollgates blocking parts of the levels. The player also has a "Burst" charge attack, which can guide Pac-Man up steeper slopes and can break through large crates that occasionally get in Pac-Man's way (the crates are made of either wood or metal; the latter is only breakable via the Knight power-up). While eating all Pac-Dots isn't strictly required (save for the total demanded by the Golvis Gates), the total eaten Pac-Dots per level is tallied.
The player must also avoid running into the Ghosts. If a ghost hits Pac-Man, it will have to be shooed off on the touchscreen; if the player fails to do so, a life will be lost. Ghosts can be defeated using a Power Pellet, which allows Pac-Man to eat the ghosts. If two or more ghosts are eaten before a Power Pellet wears off, it will restore some of Pac-Man's health; eating five ghosts in a row will grant Pac-Man an extra life.
At the end of every world (save for Castle Pac) is a boss battle with Golvis. In these stages, Pac-Man must eat three Power Pellets in succession, which will turn Golvis blue (as hinted by Golvis stating that "One or two measly Power Pellets" wouldn't effect him). Pac-Man must eat Golvis three times to defeat him, through multiple, increasingly difficult waves.
Every level has two additional, unlockable modes: a "Time Attack" mode and a "Challenge" mode. Time Attack stages act as time trials; Pac-Man must run through a set of checkpoints in order to pass. The Challenge stages are extra versions of the levels with numerous alterations; these stages are generally very challenging, often requiring precision-perfect movement and careful timing. Both modes will generally use the same layout as their "normal" stage form, but change the obstacles within them (e.g. removing Ghosts in Time Attack levels).
Controls[]
In the original Nintendo DS release, the player controls Pac-Man via the touchscreen. The bottom screen has a giant Pac-Man, which can be "rolled" in any direction by swiping the stylus across him; the stylus strokes will correspond to Pac-Man on the top screen. The longer the strokes with the stylus are, the faster Pac-Man will move. To perform the charge attack, the player quickly slides the stylus to the white border surrounding Pac-Man, then stops upon reaching the border. An alternate method for the attack is to swipe Pac-Man in the opposite direction, then rapidly swipe in the intended direction (within one stylus stroke). The player can adjust the camera using left and right on the d-pad, or the Y and A buttons.
Power-ups and bonus items[]
Scattered throughout the levels in Pac 'n Roll are Chocolate Bars, which grant Pac-Man special abilities when eaten; they are required to pass specific parts of the game. The chocolate bars are often placed on the ground near a spot that necessitates them; though sometimes, chocolate bars are carried by the Ghosts, who must be eaten to obtain the power-up. The different kinds of chocolate bars are:
- Knight Chocolate - Turns Pac-Man into a knight; this allows him to break metal crates and roll underwater. Pac-Man also becomes invincible to arrow attacks and Golvis' guitar slams. The armor that Pac-Man wears makes him heavier and a bit more difficult to control.
- Wing Chocolate - Gains Pac-Man a winged cap; he can now fly short distances and becomes "as light as a feather," as Krystal says in the game. Pac-Man will be blown away more easily by the wind.
- Pac Chocolate - Reverts Pac-Man back to normal.
Fruits, as well as ice cream sundaes, can also appear on the ground, which will restore Pac-Man's health. In rare instances, pizzas will appear, which grant Pac-Man an extra hit point on his health bar; the hit point lasts until/unless the player gets a game over. A Special Flag item acts as an extra life.
The player can also collect Diamonds hidden throughout the stages. There are 128 diamonds total, with diamonds also being awarded for completing a level with all Pac-Dots collected.
Worlds[]
Story[]
Note: some parts of this section may be considered spoilers.
Pac-Master trains Pac-Man.
Pac-Man is staying at Pac-Master's during the school holidays to train in fighting against Ghosts. He hopes to be able to defend Pac-Land from the mischievous Ghosts himself one day. Pac-Master continuously defeats Pac-Man in combat, telling him that he needs to train harder to become a true Pac-Warrior.
Pac-Man, exhausted from training, sleeps like a log every night, but has the same dream that involves a large dark Ghost. He is woken up one day by Pac-Master's Wife, who invites him to the Harvest Festival. There, Pac-Master comments that they won't have to worry about Ghosts for a while, as they have a great harvest of Power Pellets.
Meanwhile, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde are watching Pac-Man on the television. They begin to panic, realizing that they don't stand a chance against the Pac-People. Pinky comes up with the idea to resurrect the "Legendary Ghost," who was sealed away by Ghosts in the past because he was so dangerous.
Golvis kidnaps the Pac-People.
At the Harvest Festival, Pac-Man meets up with Pac-Girl, Pac-Master's daughter. They walk around the Harvest Festival together until they spot a UFO in the sky. A mysterious figure laughs and reveals itself to be Golvis, the self-proclaimed king of Rock 'n Roll. Pac-Man recognizes him as the Ghost from his dreams. Pac-Master prepares to attack Golvis, eating a Power Pellet. The Ghosts turn blue, but Golvis is unaffected. Golvis begins playing his guitar, Jack, turning all the Pac-People into balls. Golvis gloats, telling Pac-Master to watch as he takes over Pac-Land. He then uses Jack to suck up Pac-Master and his family.
Suddenly, a fairy named Krystal appears. Golvis tries to use Jack against her, but ends up getting sucked in himself. Krystal finds Pac-Man, who hadn't been captured by Golvis, and tells him he has to defeat the evil ghost. Pac-Man is unsure of himself, as Pac-Master couldn't even beat Golvis. Krystal guides Pac-Man through Castle Pac in order to find Golvis and restore peace to Pac-Land.
After rescuing all of the Pac-People, Pac-Man arrives at Golvis' lair. Golvis is shocked that Pac-Man and Krystal made it to his hideout, but attacks them regardless. After several battles, Golvis is finally defeated.
Golvis begins crying, asking why Pac-Man always has to take advantage of his clumsiness. Krystal scolds Golvis, then realizes the UFO is plummeting to the ground. The heroes make it out and reunite with Pac-Master and his family. With the UFO destroyed, Pac-Man and the rest of the Pac-People return to their original forms. Pac-Man then appears on television for his heroic deeds and soon after becomes a celebrity. Pac-Master congratulates Pac-Man for his excellent work, and Pac-Man realizes he no longer needs training from him.
Meanwhile, the Ghosts watch television on a scrap from the UFO in the ocean. Golvis asks if he can watch the television with him, but the other Ghosts yell at him. Jack then reveals that he was sent away in the past because he was so clumsy and only caused problems. Golvis starts crying again, while the other Ghosts scream that they should have known that earlier.
Characters[]
- Pac-Man
- Krystal
- Golvis
- Jack
- Blinky
- Pinky
- Inky
- Clyde
- Pac-Girl (Ms. Pac-Man)
- Pac-Master
- Pac-Master's Wife (Ms. Pac-Master)
- Pac-Dog (Chomp-Chomp)
- Pac-Baby
Pac 'n Roll Remix[]
Pac 'n Roll Remix in Namco Museum Remix
An alternate version of Pac 'n Roll, titled Pac 'n Roll Remix, appears in Namco Museum Remix for the Wii (and subsequently, Namco Museum Megamix). It changes the controls to use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, and adds a new world titled Golvis' Hideout. This version would later be included in Pac-Man Museum +, slightly reworked to feature more conventional controls.
Despite seeming like an enhanced version of the original, it is lacking much of the original DS game's contents. Most noticeably, there is no story whatsoever, no extra versions of the levels, and is missing three game worlds from the original (Ghost Land, Golvis' UFO, and Pac-Moon). It is unclear why this content was excluded; though in the case of its story, it was possibly removed due to the legal issues regarding Ms. Pac-Man, who had a major role in the plot.
Differences from the original[]
The following notable differences are present in Pac 'n Roll Remix compared to the original Pac 'n Roll:
- The entirety of the game's story is removed, including tutorial sections and Pac-Man's dream sequence. This also results in the removal of many characters who were only present via dialogue (such as Krystal and Ms. Pac-Man/Pac-Girl).
- The player now maneuvers Pac-Man using the joystick on the Nunchuck, and performs the charge attack by shaking the Wii Remote.
- Ghosts no longer have to be shooed away when they make contact with Pac-Man; the ghosts just take one hit of health instead.
- The Ghost Land, Golvis' UFO, and Pac-Moon worlds are removed.
- Every stage's Time Attack and Challenge mode is removed.
- A new world titled Golvis' Hideout is added; this world also includes a new final boss in place of Golvis' UFO.
- Diamonds are removed, with the spots they were originally located in merely being empty.
- The HUD in Remix, in addition to tallying the Pac-Dots eaten per level, also tallies the amount of Ghosts eaten. There is also an added countdown timer, which effectively serves as a substitute for time trials. Elements of the HUD are also redrawn, with the icons bouncing around.
- In the DS version, the levels often fade out (and in) upon reaching a checkpoint area, likely as a technical limitation; Remix does not feature the fade-outs.
- The DS version changes the music in Sweet Land when Pac-Man rides the rollercoaster or a carousel; Remix leaves the music unaltered.
Trivia[]
- In Korea, the game was released under the name Pac 'n Ball (팩큰볼) for both the original and Remix releases.
- Despite this, Pac-Man still screams "Pac 'n Roll!" on the DS version's title screen.
- This was the final Pac-Man game to be developed by Namco before the company's merge to become Bandai Namco Holdings.
The tech demo version of Pac 'n Roll shown at E3.
- A tech demo of Pac 'n Roll was shown at E3 2004 (alongside Pac-Pix), over a year before the game's release. It notably features a completely different Pac-Man design, resembling his look from Pac-Mania (lacking the nose and eyebrows, larger mouth).[1] A polished version of the demo is featured as the second level of Pac-Moon in the final game.
- The game is a prequel to the Pac-Man series, as it takes place during Pac-Man's childhood. However, it can be assumed that it does not take place before the original arcade game, as evidenced by the Pac-Moon world (which features the original Pac-Man game as its first level).
- Additionally, the events of Ms. Pac-Man arguably begin in Pac 'n Roll, as Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man have already met within the game.
- The Pac-Man 25th Anniversary logo appears when booting up the DS version. For unclear reasons, the Japanese release removes the text reading "Pac-Man" and "Namco" (while retaining the part reading "25th Anniversary"); the Korean version, being released in 2008, removes the logo entirely.
- A mobile version of the game was released exclusively in Japan in 2010; the port was developed by Windream.[2] Little further information is known about the mobile port; it is notably closer to the original DS version mechanically, including retaining the ghost-shooing mechanic (which is seemingly controlled using the number pad), and seemingly all extra modes and story content.[2][3]
- The Windream website romanizes the mobile port's name as "Pac 'n Roll Kun" (while labeling it as just Pac 'n Roll in Japanese); it is unknown if this is an alternate title for the port or just a mistake.
- Pac 'n Roll Remix redraws the Pac-Man life meter graphic to have both of his eyes facing the same direction, which is rather nontraditional compared to general Pac-Man art assets.
- Much of the game's soundtrack was reused in Pac-Man Monsters.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
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Artwork (2D)[]
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Artwork (3D)[]
