Pros:
- Retains all the charm of the original game.
- Visual upgrade makes levels livelier and more filled with character.
- Controls are miles ahead of the original game, and actually make this way more enjoyable.
- Balances out the difficulty to make this a much smoother experience.
- Plenty of that sweet "Pac-Man" and Namco nostalgia here.
- Level design is plenty fun, and I think the changes in difficulty help make that more noticeable.
- Platforming itself is varied and nicely balanced.
- Boss fights are enticing, and the changes to gameplay in some of them are extremely clever.
- Even if the music is the same as the original's, that's alright because "Pac-Man World" has amazing music.
Cons:
- I guess I wished the bosses had a few more checkpoints for different phases? Otherwise, I really couldn't find much to complain about here. Trust that I looked, but I found nothing.
Consensus: I'm well aware that my opinion and rating for "Pac-Man World Re-Pac" will be MUCH more positive than most are giving it (not that the reviews have been bad, just not fantastic). And I promise this isn't nostalgia goggles talking; I do have some memories with "Pac-Man World" from my childhood (since I owned the PlayStation version), but revisiting it at an older age made me enjoy it a bit less. "Re-Pac," though, is exactly what a remake should be, and it pretty much turns "Pac-Man World" into the game I was hoping the nostalgia lenses would turn it into. It retains all the spirit and charm that the original game had, while fixing all of the issues that I had with the original game. And this is a case where I'm happy to report that fixing the issues helped me see this as an extremely fun 2.5D platformer that's better now than it's ever been. Games like this are why I say it's a good idea to remake "not as good" games more; you can actually make them good. And in this case, "Pac-Man World Re-Pac" makes "Pac-Man World" amazing. If you're looking for a fun collect-a-thon 2.5D platformer, check this out. I'd love to see what Bandai Namco can do with further "Pac-Man World" remakes, or...maybe a new entry? I'd certainly welcome it if it can maintain the quality of this one.
Final rating: 10 out of 10 "Fantastic"