Dave Giarusso’s fantabulous Pac-Land FAQ!
BASICS:
· You only have to keep tapping the run buttons until you reach your desired speed, and then just hold down the one you want to keep traveling the same speed in the corresponding direction. (i.e., hold right to keep running right, like cruise control). The only place that won't work is on the springboards.
· If the timer runs out, Sue will move as fast as your top speed, so watch out!
· Flowers: There seems to be at least 2 flowers per round on Trip 1 If you get killed, any that you found during that round will be back in the ground. Perhaps something will happen if you find all of them for a given round?
· Remember, you can jump on top of the ghosts (even the mini ones), including when they’re inside vehicles. A fun trick is to be on top of Sue when time runs out- she'll boost you right off the top of the screen! You can also walk on top of some buildings.
· Hats: Another way to reap the bonus is get a hat and on a level with Biplane Ghosts, keep going back and forth until you get every one of them on screen and try to time your jump so that you nab the pellet JUST AS THEY RELEASE MINI GHOSTS! If you got the moves, you can nail one or more Mini Ghosts IN ADDITION to the normal 5! This will net you a few 7650's and make the next life level easier to get.
· Timer power-up: For maximum points, you can "group" the ghosts (like in standard Pac-Man) somewhat by jumping on the cars. Stay on one car until another crosses the path, and it will match the previous car. Eating all 5 ghosts will net you 3,250 points. If you save Sue for last, you’ll get a floating Pac-Man with an “L” in its mouth. Picking it up replenishes the timer.
· Fruit: Don't ignore the fruit either; their point values increase with each consecutive one (up to the 4th). Their appearance is sometimes triggered by jumping on certain objects (Ex: the hydrants in town, or specific logs in the mountains). How many appear sometimes depends from which direction you approach the objects (Ex: on T1R1, jumping on the 1st hydrant will trigger one fruit, but if you jump over the hydrant and then jump on it from the right, 2 will appear). Also, if you keep jumping on the same hydrant, cherries will keep appearing (in windows further down).
· The springboard deals are like Track & Field. You should be able to land on the safe side with ease. Later in the game, there are stretches where there are 2 and 3 in a row, sort of like the islands in Bump & Jump.
· End bonus: At the end of each round (going left) is a church (going right, it’s your home). You’ll receive bonus points if you jump right before the game “takes over”. The closer you are to the ground before the music ends – without touching the ground - the more points you get (10, 100, 300, 1,000, or 7650).
TRIP 1, ROUND 1:
· If you approach the first hydrant from the right, 2 cherries will appear (instead of one). If you approach the first hydrant in the city from the right, only 1 cherry will appear.
·
There’s a
blue hard hat hidden behind the 4th fire hydrant. To get it, push
against the right side of it. Eventually it will appear on your head. After
getting the helmet, grab as many of the small ghosts as you can - they're worth
300 each. IIRC, they also count toward the ghost multiplier if you eat an
energizer first. I usually let time run out and max out the ghosts for scoring.
If the timer runs out, you’ll lose the hat. Also, you can’t carry it over to
the next Trip.
· 2 flowers are here. The 1st is right after the hydrant with the hat. The other is between the last 2 buildings.
TRIP 1, ROUND 2:
· Run to the third cactus, and push it to the left. You will now be
invulnerable for the entire level! -- DOESN’T WORK
· 2 more flowers can be found here. One is right after the 4th cactus; the other is after the 4th tree stump.
· The warp here takes you to the end of Trip 3, Round 8 and adds 80,000 points. You either have to push one of the cacti (to the left) or one of the tree stumps. It also looks like it will only appear if you have NOT died before reaching it; if you did, it won’t be there. And if you have the helmet when you warp, watch out! You start level 3 without it.
TRIP 1, ROUND 3:
· After getting your magic boots, push the third cactus on the way
back for a free life. Are there warps in the quicksand?
· A flower can be found on top of the mountain where the plane flies by. The other one is before the springboard.
· Getting the timer bonus icon in this section is tricky. After you clear the water, run full speed to the energizer, and then double-back to get all the ghosts, catching Sue right at the water’s edge (before she disappears).
TRIP 1, ROUND 4:
· Extra life: Jumping between the 3rd and 4th cactus in the spot shown in the picture triggers a floating Pac-Man with an “S” in its mouth. Grabbing it gives you an extra life!
· There’s a flower on the first mountain top on the way back, and one on top of a house.
· Pushing either the last cactus or hydrant to the right will release 6 different-colored balloons! One is worth 7,650 points (on T1R4, it’s the orange one); the others are worth 100 each. Although it’s possible to get all 6, you don’t get anything extra for doing it.
TRIP 2, ROUND 5
No flowers? No hat?
TRIP 3, ROUND 9
· There’s a hat behind the first cactus
TRIP 3, ROUND 10
· There’s an inviso power-up behind the 2nd tree stump.
IIRC, at some point (later rounds?) everything turns upside
down (maybe only on the return trip after you
get the shoes?)
