I love the dialogue so much in this game, it really captures what Pac-Man's personality has to be. Forget everything else in this game, just keep that personality and give Pac-Man his down game or tv show with that same vibe. It's really fun and unique enough to set him apart from Sonic and Mario, Namco could totally blow up Pac-Man's mascot popularity. I also really love the vibe of the ghosts because they seem to be bad guys who are begrudgingly afraid of Pac-Man and that's a pretty unique dynamic. It's almost the dynamic we see in Sonic Boom (the cartoon) except Pac-Man is less cocky, smug, and sarcastic. It's enough to set him apart. Focus in on how he's a good dude with a family who's been fighting these ghosts (all of whom have unique personalities) for forever and you've got a great tv show on your hands!
While the updated graphics and fixing some of the progression issues in World 1 and World 2 might be a fun thing to toy with, World 3 is just too far gone. They'd have to completely rebuild the combat system, something I highly doubt they're willing to do. Also, apparently PMW1 got a remake on the GBA.
I think World 3 is still salvageable. Fix combat by making the Butt Bounce and Punch unlimited and let the Butt Bounce bounce you higher. Maybe even introduce combos that combine the Butt Bounce and Punch. Fix the annoying enemies by drastically lowering both the amount of enemies that spawn and the amount of hits needed to defeat the enemies. Fix the timing for the power pellets and lower the amount of ghosts you need to defeat. Also brush up the enemy AI's. Finally, give the player rewards for collectibles and fix the level select interface. All of these changes would be extremely easy to implement and would make the game at least passable.
I first got this game in 2005 when it came out, and I now realize that my intelligence, wisdom, and understanding have tremendously evolved over the past decade. I did have all of the frustrations as mentioned in this video, but I believe the reason as to why I like Pac-Man World 3 so much is because of the immense and mysterious journey. When I first played this game, I thought it was the most cutting edge game I've ever played. A long story, deep dialogue, huge environments, and added features. However, now I realize that the game is clunky, a bit corny, dragged out gameplay, and gimmicks that take away from it. I appreciate this game because Pac-Man finally got a game that was the most serious in the entire series and tried to be relatively ambitious, even though it falls short in basically every department. What I don't like about this game is that it didn't innovate gaming in any area that it attempted. The fact that out of the 15 levels there were only 2 bosses that were pretty much the same is tremendously the most upsetting part of the experience for me. I am willing to play this game over and over again because I have so much patience and understanding with it, just like how I don't mind playing Sonic 06 here and there. If I could get my hands on a development team just to fix this game then I would...not because I hate the game, but because I actually like it a lot. Pac-Man needs care and attention just like any other gaming franchise, and I don't like to just bash a game but truly find out where it needs to be repaired.
It’s comments like these, that I try to not bash things for the sake of it, but to improve upon what potential was missed and trying to put myself in the devs perspective.
Yeah, for starters, they could work on the level variety in this game. The player revisits the Spectral Realm 3 times. The Spectral Realm actually looks pretty cool with the pinks, purples, and reds. It's very groovy. I also like Erwin's fortress; it reminds me of the technological wastelands in Sonic CD's Bad Futures somewhat. But, why revisit the Spectral Realm and the desert so often? Some level diversity would really boost this game's quality. What about: -An abandoned space station? -A lush cloud forest or jungle that Erwin destroyed? -A dark fortress in the middle of a windy icecap? -A series of underwater weapons bases that Erwin built deep in the ocean depths? -A surrealist, dreamlike level where you go inside one of those swirly vortexes that those annoying vortex ghosts exit out of? Adding more things to interact with and see in these levels would do wonders for this game, too. The levels are so big and sprawling, but they feel rather empty. Any side objectives or alternative routes that will help the player progress through the level faster? What about puzzles that utilize Pinky and Clyde to create something unexpected like an anti-gravity machine or a massive slide or, even better, a puzzle that requires the player to use the horribly underused giant Toc-Man robot? How about some sub-boss or level boss fights where you use the giant robot? How about, in Erwin's fortress, we encounter a prison that holds all the inhabitants of Pac-Land so that we can raise the game's stakes a little? He's an aspiring dictator and conqueror who's threatening Pac-Land's very existence, so they might as well emphasize that in the game. Anyway, it's possible that the Blitz Games folks wanted to implement more exciting things in this game. This game's concept art shows a lot of ambition. But, it seems that they couldn't add everything that they wanted due to time and budget constraints.
Oh god I remember playing this a decade or so ago during a phase where I felt I had to beat every single game I owned at the time (for... some reason). I'm pretty sure it was actually the one that made me realize that was stupid. And we're talking about a time in my life when I had just beat The Incredibles tie-in game.
Yeah, despite the fact that I hate World 3 so much that even watching gameplay in this video stressed me out, I can say that I didn't understand why KingK said that the graphics looked bad. I think they looked fine, more detailed than in 2 even Although.. I do prefer the art of 2 anyway. Maybe that's because my brain is conditioned to hate 3 and everything about it.
Game Master 1 I see what he means, tbh. The game looks quite drab, with it's blurry textures and mediocre lighting. The level themes are pretty unique, but the game comes with a really murky look to it that makes the worlds a lot less appealing than they should.
The world is detailed, but not as colorful or vibrant, and the pallette in each stage may be a bit too, idk, uniform? Like, there's not much variation in color. While in any other 'edgy' game that would be fine, it doesn't really it Pac-Man's style.
@@Mike14264 I argue that anything can looks good so as long it has "style". Regardless of edgyness. Just take a look at Persona 5 and Whiplash. Looking back, this game looks pretty on level with Legend of Spyro Eternal darkness and Author and the Invisibles in terms of graphical quality. The problem I have is that the lack of music and sound design just further highlights the levels' flaws since that is what you are focusing on most of the time when playing. The games I just mentioned, Spyro and Author, also had musicless ambiance areas, but the difference is that it's sound design and puzzles helped supoerted it's atmosphere and made up for the lack of enrgised music all the time. Musical peices are reserved for more action moments. Pacman world 3 on the other hand doesn't seem to use it's lack of music to it's advantage, and just have it for both puzles and fights and for anywhere that needed music.
Honestly, as inferior as this game is to World 1 and 2, I have too much nostalgia for it to ever hate it. One thing I’ll give the game is that despite it’s oddly dark tone for a Pac-Man game, the atmosphere actually got to me as a kid. The somber menu theme, the quiet other-worldliness of the spectral realm, the calm yet tense music of the mountain level, it gave 6 year old me a weird almost existential feeling.
Maybe it's just my childhood talking, but I honestly like this game. For me, the graphics look a bit improved, especially on Pac-Man. And also the story and dialogue was also fun to watch. But I do agree some of the combat was way too long, especially with those robot scorpion things. Also besides Pac-Man, his family, and the ghosts, the characters look very ugly and out of place in the Pac-Man world. For me some combat can be fun, but only when it's not too repetitive. My MAIN issue in the game was that it's way too long. Each level can literally take up 30 minutes or even an hour! This game does have potential, but I wish Namco had more part in this game
What about Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness? It was made by the same developers as World 1 & 2. It's actually really great. I recommend the Dreamcast version, but the PS1 version is also good.
While it would be cool to have ms. Pacman maze madness, I highly doubt its going to be possible, mainly because ever since I believe pacman world rally (or pacman arrangement 2005 version) she has made no appearances. Heck, her latest appearance wasn't even in a pacman or namco game. But I honestly feel they if they do make the game a remake, then at least they remember the character... Well besides trying to win her back from @games. But I personally feel that pacman world 3 really needs the remake.
KingK I actually having fond memories playing this game nerby the mcdonalds i use live nerby at , mostly do to the fact every time i play it. it would always be the begining so i didnt fully play the game to know how it actually was.
Damn, I used to play this game as a kid. Loved the enviroments from the first level to the last, with my favorite aethetically being the Gogekka series and Dungeon Gungeon.
For those curious, there's a DS version. It is even worse than the others. No explanation as to where to go, no dialogue, everything that made the console versions at least feasible are GONE.
I had my fair share of the same issues you had with this game but there was something about it that made me completely forgive the issues I had with it. And that was story. This game had in my opinion the strongest story of all of them. I loved the dialogue.
There was gonna be more stuff in the game but couldn’t be in the game due to it having to release around 2005, an example is holding power pellets and using it at anytime, more levels, a shop, and a fruit smoothie thing.
You know, thinking about it this game and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric have a lot in common with each other: - -bland looking environments- environments that clash with the character's design - brain dead puzzle design - -unnecessary and poor combat- combat that doesn't flow well, or can be exploited - collecting... because all the popular games do it - -an edgy story because darkness should be everyone's friend- a story that feels out of place - enemies that feel like their from another canceled project - shoe horned nostalgia really the only things that's different about these two are their development history, the amount of glitches, and the story execution.
I will also admit I haven't played World 3 or RoL (unless you count the RoL demo as playing the game), but it's just... every time I look at this game I keep seeing RoL. Now I'm not trying to bash this game because it look too similar to another game that did worse (that's kind of stupid), and I might be too hyperbolic when it comes to describing things (and I'll edit a couple things after this to dumb it down a bit), but just to clarify my opinions: 1. Yes the environments in World 3 are a tad more colourful than RoL, but not by much... Though thinking about it, it's probably because the world around Pac-Man doesn't fit Pac-Man's looks. Like for example: taking Kratos and putting him in say Mario Sunshine; it looks weird and out of place. 2. The combat doesn't look too good, but it's not because the moves themselves aren't good it's more that you can't combine or flow through certain moves. I guess one way to put it is like playing Smash, but you can only use specials (B button) to attack. Though if some enemies are weak to certain attacks, that's a bit of a plus in my books. 3. I never said World 3 was glitchier than RoL. I only said that they differ in terms of glitches. 4. I don't know what I was thinking when I said the story was edgy... I think what I meant to say was that the story felt out of place for Pac-man, or at least the villain looks out of place.
¯\_(U_U)_/¯ ehh... Well if you like it that doesn't really bother me. I just think a Pac-Man game should be a happy-go-lucky fun-time adventure with as many bright colours as we can humanly see. Sure you could dive into some dark territory to get some plot, but carrying any more than a cup full will make things look awkward, and it won't mix well with the visuals. (Shadow the Hedgehog showed us the hard way) I also don't think the story is bad. I just think it's a bit too complicated for something as simple as Pac-Man.
What is your knowledge of Sonic Boom based of? Is it based off that Let's Play series from Game Grumps? Yeah, well, then no wonder why you gotta be so harsh to the game... I personally like when a game have a few glitches here and there that you can abuse, it's entirely up to you if you're going to use that ability or not, it lets the choice in the hands of the player (rather than patching the hell out of it and make it sterile)
Besides, I gotta love how these "3D Sonic haters" never mention the AMAZING boss fights the entire Sonic 3D games catalogue have. If there's one thing that Sonic games do right, besides the soundtrack (and the colorful graphics you could say) it's the boss fights. Not the easiest thing in the world, not trivial, but also not punishing and annoying like other games that claim to be "hardcore" (nickname for annoying these days)
The reason why this game. It was because it was supposed to be done by none other than Don bluth, for those of you who don't remember he was the guy that brought the secret of nimh, an American tail, etc to fruitiongorgeous animation and wonderful and memorable characters and scenery. He worked as the main designer on this game, and what he had was a much darker version of the pac man world. Things like a severely depressed main protagonist from dig dug, crazier enemies, etc. for some reason didn't like it, so they fired him and took what he had and tried to mish mash it into a game, WITH a short time limit. I'm not sure if he could have saved this game if he had got the a-okay, but honestly the stuff looks way more interesting than the end product.
This is one of the games I played growing up in my childhood. I loved this game so much and considered buying a copy (I lost the original). But after seeing this i think i would like to let the nostalgia talk and not ruin my experience by playing it again now that I'm older. Great video and i liked how u still respected those who enjoyed the game
While I have a differing opinion (enjoying the game) I am glad to see we host agree with the voice acting/dialogue was arguably the best part honestly. What's sad is the final game was essentially "gutted" as early footage showed off mechanics and levels that didn't even make it into the final product - Limitations or a tight deadline, Why it ended up not as they intended is unknown. As bad as I think the Ghostly Adventures UNIVERSE is (especially for hurting the reputation of the franchise to the point of "irrelevancy" as a whole.), I still am interested in knowing if the games are good at all. Even I doubt they are truly "bad". But that depends if you even decide to look at them.
I know right this guy sucks does he even know I still got the game pacman world 3 and orson is my favorite character in the game and he's my imagery friend 😡
Love your reviews. I do find it jarring though how say "fuck" as much as an 8th grader playing Call Of Duty, while simultaneously articulating your thoughts with the clarity and vocabulary of a college professor.
Yeah... i liked this as a kid. It was hard to finally replay and actually finish it, years ago. But the game is still special to me for being my favorite game... At 7 years old. Maybe 6. I don't remember.
I really like Pac-Man World 3, mostly because of nostalgia, but I think that the game really nails atmosphere. I don't know what it is about it, the sound of wind breezing by while looking out from Zephyr Heights, the gross popping of bubbles from Bot Boneyard, or the fire crackling in Gogekka Heights. Obviously the music cutting out isn't intended. But the sounds of the game when it's at it's quietest have always stuck with me.
Dude, Pac-Man World 3 was one of the best games ever. The new moves and enemies introduced are incredible. Plus, there are new worlds as well. The puzzles are interesting. In addition to that, you're talking about the Gamecube version. You should be talking about the PC version, which is even better.
I was very little when I played this game for the first time. During that time, I was already a huge fan of Pacman World 1 and 2. But even as a small kid, I could realize how much I didn't like Pacman World 3. It felt so out of place in comparison to the other 2 predecessors. I'm glad someone made a video about it.
I was thinking about that these days, while watching someone try one of these games made out of a popular movie/series Videogames is one of the very few (if not the only) kinds of products where simply pouring money or "big names" into it will be a guarantee of a succesful product. And I think that's a testament to how videogames are one of the very last medias that represent true artistic vision and self expression. (when done correctly)
You know, this game's existence makes a lot more sense when you consider its development. It wasn't even envisioned as a Pac-Man World sequel, instead an original action adventure Pac-Man game with world and character design concepts by Don Bluth (of "The Land Before Time" and "Dragon's Lair" fame). So once the game was falling behind schedule and completely failing to realize its initial scope, they probably retrofitted Pac-Man World mechanics to the already combat-focused game they were developing, resulting in something that tries to be two different things (a Pac-Man action adventure and a Pac-Man World platformer) and fails at both.
I have vague memories of renting Pac-Man world 1. I owned Pac-Man world 2 on PS2 when I was around 5-7 and I loved it to death. The music was soooo memorable on that one. They pop into my head all the time. Using the flip kick for the final boss was so weird but I liked it because you could use the square button (I grew up knowing it as the attack button in most PS1 and PS2 games, so barely using it in PW2 was weird). Then in 2005, 8 years old, I finally got a GameCube. This was my first game... This game was odd. Well I remember liking most games and the only game I ever really hated it was like Disney's Dinosaur for the PS1. So I remember that this was the age where I could like instinctively notice what a quality game is. I realize that this game was weird, it was sort of lackluster, it was fun it was pretty, had cool settings, cool power ups, and I like that you know, you could punch monsters cuz I was like "yeah punching stuff is cool using b button to attack, and it's red and it's cool"... But man was the combat repetitive, I know... I laughed out loud seeing you fight the damn scorpions for like 1 minute. The music was weird really softly forgettable however it was calming... A few months ago I looked up the OST particularly the main menu which is memorable and relaxing. So I feel like I passed it almost fully but some of those levels I couldn't get the collectibles. And I know those years like 2005-2008 felt like 9 years. I tried to revisit it I guess around 2013 and last night was around 2017 I guess of the game was really bugging the first-level sort of walked out on me and I had lost my memory card so I couldnt play it again. Now I'm 25 and I'm hoping to replay them all again... If I could only find the time... And my GameCube controllers. I'm also hoping for the remaster trilogy to come out!
I love your extensive and deep retrospectives. You made me remember I had the Demo for Pac man world 2, and I alway wished I could find it so I could buy it. Never did.
"anything that reminds me of the mundanity or frustration of every day life wins an award from me for being one of the worst video games of all time" And then the 358/2 days review happened and its the only review I've seen that agrees that it's mundanity is an incredibly strong suit to it's experience.
This isn't a like... diss at this video or that one though. I pretty much agree with both. Like, Pac-Man World 3 is one of my favorite games but I can't say it's a good game. It's got a boring gameplay loop, mediocre platforming, and an incredibly apparent lack of polish from the font in many places being just default comic sans, to cutscenes playing out incredibly awkwardly to the point where I'm convinced that the game was left unfinished. I really wish it was far better than it is, but I can still love the good that this unfortunate mess offers.
Zapper was actually pretty good, it's like a distant cousin of the PS1/2-era Frogger games, in fact Blitz had previously made Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge.
I used to like this game when I played it as a kid but after revisiting it a couple years ago i couldn't STAND it. it was absolutely atrocious to the point where it made me genuinely mad that it exists to taint a series i love so much. about a year ago i gave my copy away to a friend who wanted it just for his collection but warned him not to waste his time playing it. it's really sad to see the follow up to two of my favorite games of all time fall so short of my expectations.
This game reminds me more of sonic adventure 1 and 2 rather than 06 personally. It has its fans that love what it does right despite its flaws, while 06 is so bad it became for bad games what dark souls has become for hard games.
What pisses me off the most about this game is that they mixed up blinky and clydes names, in the original, blinkey is red and Clyde is orange but they managed to screw that one little thing up.
Personally, this game is my favorite of the trio and stands with me as a personal favorite in platformer. From the environments to the new methods of combat and puzzles with the ghosts, I found a lot to love here. It was tough at times without ever feeling insurmountable or brutal. But World 2 left me mostly without a reason to care and frustrated by the intense difficulty of some segments. I got through both of them, but I preferred 3 by a lot. However.... I didn’t actually finish World 1... ....on the PS1. But I am surprisingly fond of it on the GBA?
I had a lot of fond memories of this game as a kid and I recently started replaying it, yeah I can definitely see that it’s boring lol. But I loved it as a kid! I think the simplicity is a big reason I had so much fun, it was easy lol! But I also really loved the aesthetic and environments, that’s what really jumped out to me as a kid, although I guess now being much older there wasn’t anything really novel about it, but it did really capture my fascination.
I've been making LPs on a regular basis since 2011, over 60 complete series, well over 1,000 videos, but despite that the only series I ever made to get any kind of notoriety was my 2012 LP of Pac-Man World 3. It's better than just about any other LP of the game you'll find, I'm good at the game, have things to say, throw in a few funny lines, but it was also only my 8th series and I hadn't even been making videos for a full year yet. Ultimately, it meets the bare minimum requirements of what I'd consider a Let's Play needs to qualify as "good." The fact that my LP is essentially the best this game gets is pretty darn fitting I'd say. Like you, I greatly enjoy the dialogue, cutscenes, and story. They're perfectly fitting for a Pac-Man title and the personalities and voices given to the characters are absolutely fantastic. That said, the generic gameplay and platforming is pretty dull, but seeing as how there's only really one jump that I find annoying and I always look forward to seeing what funny thing a character will say next, this mainly drops my view of the game from "mediocre" rather than "terrible." The combat is basically just filler, especially given how much health the Ancient Guardians have, the worlds, while nicely designed, don't mesh well with Pac-Man himself or the world previously established in 1 and 2, and of course the music is entirely bland and uninteresting except for perhaps the final boss theme. I was never that big a fan of Pac-Man World 3. Heck, one of the better moments of my LP is me comparing the game to Sonic 06 due to the game's greater emphasis on realistic settings, combat, story, and the unusually high number of glitches I ended up encountering throughout my recorded adventure. Still, it is a game that I go back to once every couple years, if for no other reason than to relive the dialogue again.
Ok Pac-Man’s model is graphically the best especially the way light reflects off him, but the visual model is way too short and fat, at least he’s more polished than the original.
Me and my brother grew up playing pac man world 2 on our gamecube and completed the game countless times. Eventually we convinced our parents to buy us world 3. Even though we were kids we still noticed the huge change in atmosphere and graphics compared to the originals. I don't think either of us made it that far in before leaving the game for much more interesting things (like Mario DDR).
Wow to think that pmw3 was the only I grew up with is pretty sad, I had 3 on the psp when I was younger but I never really got into it that much although I was always interested in the previous two, might be something to look out for after watching this series, got into the channel through the recent Zelda retrospectives, keep it up man!
I remember playing this one as a kid and mildly enjoying it for what it was. I really hated the first Pac-Man World for some reason (don't know why, I wanna give it another shot) and loved the second one. I completely agree with you, though. I don't ever want to play this game again. From a gameplay perspective, it's a total bore, and the story and dialogue isn't compelling enough to justify the time required to get through it all.
I have to disagree with one of the statements you made in the video at 26:05. You say that anything that reminds you of the bore of everyday life is necessarily a bad game. I get what you are trying to say, but that is a pretty broad statement. Think of a game like "Papers please", in which the monotony of working at a border checkpoint is one of the central narrative mechanics. Also, earlier in the video (25:04) you state that you state something along the lines of "If it's not fun, why bother". I remember (at least I think so) in one of your videos you said that fun is only one of the many different feelings a game can evoke in the player. Horror games for instance are not particularly "fun", yet people still like playing the games because they can offer an experience like none other. As another counterexample, look at ABZÛ, which offers a meditative experience through an amazing soundtrack and killer visuals, with some of the most boring gameplay one could imagine (spoiler alert: it's one big water level). The game doesn't need to be fun or have good gameplay in order for it to be a meaningful experience. I honestly think this is also one of the strongest parts of games like BoTW and I feel people don't give this aspect of games nearly enough credit. That being said this game does indeed look like a dumpster fire. It wants to do nothing more meaningful than offer some nice platforming and fun gameplay, yet completely fails in this regard, so your general thesis still stands. Just thought I'd point out the misconception that games are JUST fun, and nothing more than that.
I didn't think this game was that bad. I might say it's my second favorite in the trilogy behind the first game. It had this charm to it I don't think other games had. I liked the story and it had the most threatening main bad guy of the trilogy. We are talking about a guy who supposedly threatened the universe with what is known as Spectral Paradox. Despite this though the game still had it's funny moments. Despite how threatening he is Erwin is still comical at times and I got a few laughs from him as well as the exchange between him and Pac after defeating the first actual boss of the game. I do agree with some of your points though like the ghost encounters being very forced. The game isn't perfect but I enjoyed it for some reason.
For me, the game reminds me of the Legend of Spyro. That's not really a bad thing mind you. What really killed it for me was the lack of music. You might call it ambience, I call it the one thing that makes the experience boring. More music would definably make this game better. Besides from that, the game pays the bill. The game is okay, but it's a play every once in a while type of game.
Im 18 now and i had this game in a 3 pack from walmart was 14 dollars back in the day i begged my mom for this game because it just looked cool i was maybe 5 at the time so around 2008 maybe when i got home the first game i tried was world 2 I IMMEDIATLEY FELL IN LOVVE like changed my childhood for a long while i was obsessed with pac-man just because of world 2 and rally but world 3 well uhh yeaaaa i avoided that game when i was little because i couldbt grasp the concept it was wayyy different than world 2 and from a 5yr olds perspective back then the game was hard like really hard and it looked very dark aswell but since im grown up and i went back to this game it actually isnt to bad. Yea its one of the longest world games but i enjoyed it when i got older i just re beated it tn due to the upcoming pac-man world re pac which i pre ordered but yup not much i can say for this game 🤷🏻♂️
I grew up with this game I loved watching my brother play. at that time I never knew what pac-man world 2 or world 1 was but I will always love this game its my favorite pac-man game.
@Artavis Wright Yo mama's so ugly that when she looked in the mirror it said "Viewer Discretion Advised." Shut yo mouth up and accept the fact that World 3 is the best in the series, loser.
I've never heard of a bad game with a great story or script. Of course, I never paid attention to this when I was six or seven when I had this game. Interesting observations here.
Honestly, I'll jump back into Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures - a point and click game during an age where Point and click adventures were PC exclusives. And maybe even Pac-Man and the new Adventures or whatever those tv tie-in games were...
I loved pacman world 2 as a kid, that I wanted to get the 3rd one. I could never find it for my platform, the xbox, so I never got around to playing it. Thanks to this review I know I'm not missing much.
This was the very first video game I EVER played. So I had nothing to compare it to. I had fun with it and didn't know what was bad cuz again, it was my first experience with a video game. Looking back I definitely had nostalgia for it, but man yeah the mashing and mechanics of it sucked.
I will say, I have heard before Pacman World 3 really sucks from one review I have seen on UA-cam. And from what I have seen it looks dreadfully boring to me. The "combat" shall we put it sucks. There's not enough variety,layers,or even complexity to it. One thing I can say about any excellent combat system is that it has to have a lot of variety,layers,and even in general encourages you to try out different styles. Case in point, why Devil May Cry 1 to this day is praised for it's excellent combat system. Hell, even God of War the series that's called a "button masher" has a lot of layers to it even if it's no Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. And at least the Warehog has more layers to it. Sure, like you said it's not the best but compared to World 3 it's Devil May Cry in comparison. I think the main core problem with the combat is that it get easily repetitive due to enemies taking forever to die. It's the same problem Sonic 06 with the Shadow Stages suffered from. You end up mashing the button waiting for the enemy to die. And then as for the platforming for this entry, it is the most boring platforming I have seen from any 3D platformer. Like you said, any good-excellent platformer should have a clean difficulty curve. And should always introduce new things but also add new challenges with old things. And besides that one example you used it's super basic. Now if this was the N64 era where it was the early days of 3D platformers I would understand it being basic due to limitations. But by 2005 there's no excuse for this "platformer" shall we put it being basic and boring with the platforming challenges. As a platformer, it fails to re-capture what made Pacman World 1 and 2 very excellent platformers. And as a 3D action beat m up it is so basic that it gets boring quick. Frankly, am I even that surprised this ended up so mediocre? Blitz games outside of maybe Glover and one Spongebob licensed game is a very average shovelware developer that at best can do mildly interesting games at least imo. Ya know, it's funny... History tends to repeat itself with how like this game some AAA developers let mediocre developers work on their big franchises. (*Cough cough Capcom*) And honestly, I wish Namco just let their core team from 1 & 2 make 3. Idk what made them think letting a mediocre developer like Blitz games should work on a Pacman World title. It's baffling honestly it really is for me. Though yeah, overall excellent review Dan.:) I definitely loved this retrospective as this trilogy doesn't often get talked about as in-depth. So I am thankful you talked about this series. And whenever you do your next retrospective i'll be there to watch it man for sure.
Hey KingK!! I know this video is kind of old now, but do you think you could make Retrospectives on the other 2 pacman-world themed games? Ms. Pacman Maze Madness, and Pacman World Rally? I would be very interested in seeing what you have to say about those titles. Thank you!
Also for as padded and underbaked as Pac-Man World 3 is, I'll take a game that's mindless over one that pisses me the fuck off and stonewalls the player with impossibly difficult, unfinished shit like the 1st game.
I actually like this game (I played 2 religiously as a kid). Don't like it as much as World 2, and haven't played the first one enough to be a fair judge of it (the arcade-style game over system turned me off to it), but I always found it passable. Very repetitive, though, yeesh, much of this game is a straight up beat-em-up. Admittedly, this is probably nostalgia coupled with the fact that I haven't played in probably 10 years. I am a lot more picky and critical when playing games now. Edit: After watching your review...yeahhhh, this game isn't what I remember. I do disagree about Pac-Man's model, though, I prefer it in this game.
I liked the video but I was disappointed in your opinion of Pac-Man World 3. I really enjoyed it as well as Pac-Man world 2. I got this game for my gamecube Christmas 2005 and Pac-Man World 2 my 30th birthday in 2002 before Star Wars episode II came out.
@@KittSpiken Fun is subjective. Just because you've played the game and don't like it doesn't mean that it's wrong for others to like it in spite of its flaws. Disclaimer: I have yet to play the game myself.
This may be a nitpick but theres something specif that bothers me about this game as somneone who grew up loving PMW 1 and 2. Every level is that unnatural radiation green. If there was any color I wouldnt associate with pacman (level design or otherwise) its green. It doesnt feel like a pac man game in world to me. It feels like a bad generic 3d platformer that had pacman added to it. It sucks because PMW2 was maybe my favorite game as a kid, and that along with Spongebob battle for bikini bottom fostered my deep love for platformers.
I kind of liked this game actually, but I never finished it. Now I see why. I wouldn't say calling it one of the worst platformers ever made is really justified, but I would agree it's not very good. Still love 2 though. Never really got very far in 1.
I had really high hopes for this game back then, considering how much I enjoyed the originals. Its sucks that they didn't end up following through and probably killed the chance of another Pac-Man World type game with this one, but my memories with the first two will stick with me for a long time.
@@Kuzamer and people say SEGA started this trend lol, unfortunately this game could’ve been better, there was a whole inventory system that YOU GUESSED IT! Was cut because of time restraints!
@@Nic_2751 Would have liked to see how they would have worked in some of the scrapped concepts, like having Power Pellets in an inventory and a shop to buy stuff. Sounding like it was gonna be like a platformer/RPG hybrid. Would have been interesting.
I love the dialogue so much in this game, it really captures what Pac-Man's personality has to be. Forget everything else in this game, just keep that personality and give Pac-Man his down game or tv show with that same vibe. It's really fun and unique enough to set him apart from Sonic and Mario, Namco could totally blow up Pac-Man's mascot popularity.
I also really love the vibe of the ghosts because they seem to be bad guys who are begrudgingly afraid of Pac-Man and that's a pretty unique dynamic. It's almost the dynamic we see in Sonic Boom (the cartoon) except Pac-Man is less cocky, smug, and sarcastic. It's enough to set him apart. Focus in on how he's a good dude with a family who's been fighting these ghosts (all of whom have unique personalities) for forever and you've got a great tv show on your hands!
The Hanna Barbara cartoon kinda does this but not exactly how you’d wish
I hate that ghostly adventures did his character so wrong
Thank you master Obi-Wan for once again treating us with your knowledge🙏
Imagine the possibilities for the Spectral Realm being different from each character’s point of view
Anyone else want a remaster of the Pac man trilogy?
While the updated graphics and fixing some of the progression issues in World 1 and World 2 might be a fun thing to toy with, World 3 is just too far gone. They'd have to completely rebuild the combat system, something I highly doubt they're willing to do. Also, apparently PMW1 got a remake on the GBA.
I think World 3 is still salvageable. Fix combat by making the Butt Bounce and Punch unlimited and let the Butt Bounce bounce you higher. Maybe even introduce combos that combine the Butt Bounce and Punch.
Fix the annoying enemies by drastically lowering both the amount of enemies that spawn and the amount of hits needed to defeat the enemies. Fix the timing for the power pellets and lower the amount of ghosts you need to defeat. Also brush up the enemy AI's.
Finally, give the player rewards for collectibles and fix the level select interface.
All of these changes would be extremely easy to implement and would make the game at least passable.
2 and 3 yes
yessss
Remake World 1, World 2, and Maze Madness.
You haven't played the ds version, you're lucky. Makes this look like a masterpiece.
I first got this game in 2005 when it came out, and I now realize that my intelligence, wisdom, and understanding have tremendously evolved over the past decade. I did have all of the frustrations as mentioned in this video, but I believe the reason as to why I like Pac-Man World 3 so much is because of the immense and mysterious journey.
When I first played this game, I thought it was the most cutting edge game I've ever played. A long story, deep dialogue, huge environments, and added features. However, now I realize that the game is clunky, a bit corny, dragged out gameplay, and gimmicks that take away from it. I appreciate this game because Pac-Man finally got a game that was the most serious in the entire series and tried to be relatively ambitious, even though it falls short in basically every department.
What I don't like about this game is that it didn't innovate gaming in any area that it attempted. The fact that out of the 15 levels there were only 2 bosses that were pretty much the same is tremendously the most upsetting part of the experience for me. I am willing to play this game over and over again because I have so much patience and understanding with it, just like how I don't mind playing Sonic 06 here and there.
If I could get my hands on a development team just to fix this game then I would...not because I hate the game, but because I actually like it a lot. Pac-Man needs care and attention just like any other gaming franchise, and I don't like to just bash a game but truly find out where it needs to be repaired.
Well, yeah... They even used this Pac-Man's model for Smash! So they could perfectly work on the Pac-Man World series!
It’s comments like these, that I try to not bash things for the sake of it, but to improve upon what potential was missed and trying to put myself in the devs perspective.
I identify with many of the things you said
Yeah, for starters, they could work on the level variety in this game. The player revisits the Spectral Realm 3 times. The Spectral Realm actually looks pretty cool with the pinks, purples, and reds. It's very groovy. I also like Erwin's fortress; it reminds me of the technological wastelands in Sonic CD's Bad Futures somewhat. But, why revisit the Spectral Realm and the desert so often? Some level diversity would really boost this game's quality. What about:
-An abandoned space station?
-A lush cloud forest or jungle that Erwin destroyed?
-A dark fortress in the middle of a windy icecap?
-A series of underwater weapons bases that Erwin built deep in the ocean depths?
-A surrealist, dreamlike level where you go inside one of those swirly vortexes that those annoying vortex ghosts exit out of?
Adding more things to interact with and see in these levels would do wonders for this game, too. The levels are so big and sprawling, but they feel rather empty. Any side objectives or alternative routes that will help the player progress through the level faster? What about puzzles that utilize Pinky and Clyde to create something unexpected like an anti-gravity machine or a massive slide or, even better, a puzzle that requires the player to use the horribly underused giant Toc-Man robot? How about some sub-boss or level boss fights where you use the giant robot? How about, in Erwin's fortress, we encounter a prison that holds all the inhabitants of Pac-Land so that we can raise the game's stakes a little? He's an aspiring dictator and conqueror who's threatening Pac-Land's very existence, so they might as well emphasize that in the game.
Anyway, it's possible that the Blitz Games folks wanted to implement more exciting things in this game. This game's concept art shows a lot of ambition. But, it seems that they couldn't add everything that they wanted due to time and budget constraints.
Oh god I remember playing this a decade or so ago during a phase where I felt I had to beat every single game I owned at the time (for... some reason).
I'm pretty sure it was actually the one that made me realize that was stupid. And we're talking about a time in my life when I had just beat The Incredibles tie-in game.
Novacanoo Oh man. I remember playing an Incredibles game when I was younger. I'm just glad I didn't have this game when I was younger lol
Yo was it the Incredibles game for PS2/Gamecube? I loved that game as a kid and then revisited it and realized it was not very good
That's the one.
Novacanoo If you actually did a series on the pac man world games that would be awesome, i fuck with ur shit
Eh, I remember Incredibles being ok initially then getting worse throughout the game. Now Cars2, that's some hidden gold.
I don't think the graphics are worse then Pac Man World 2. It's definitely more detailed if nothing else.
the graphics in this game are atcually really good not as colorful as 2 but they're still really good
Yeah, despite the fact that I hate World 3 so much that even watching gameplay in this video stressed me out, I can say that I didn't understand why KingK said that the graphics looked bad. I think they looked fine, more detailed than in 2 even
Although.. I do prefer the art of 2 anyway. Maybe that's because my brain is conditioned to hate 3 and everything about it.
Game Master 1
I see what he means, tbh. The game looks quite drab, with it's blurry textures and mediocre lighting. The level themes are pretty unique, but the game comes with a really murky look to it that makes the worlds a lot less appealing than they should.
The world is detailed, but not as colorful or vibrant, and the pallette in each stage may be a bit too, idk, uniform? Like, there's not much variation in color. While in any other 'edgy' game that would be fine, it doesn't really it Pac-Man's style.
@@Mike14264 I argue that anything can looks good so as long it has "style". Regardless of edgyness. Just take a look at Persona 5 and Whiplash.
Looking back, this game looks pretty on level with Legend of Spyro Eternal darkness and Author and the Invisibles in terms of graphical quality.
The problem I have is that the lack of music and sound design just further highlights the levels' flaws since that is what you are focusing on most of the time when playing.
The games I just mentioned, Spyro and Author, also had musicless ambiance areas, but the difference is that it's sound design and puzzles helped supoerted it's atmosphere and made up for the lack of enrgised music all the time. Musical peices are reserved for more action moments. Pacman world 3 on the other hand doesn't seem to use it's lack of music to it's advantage, and just have it for both puzles and fights and for anywhere that needed music.
Honestly, as inferior as this game is to World 1 and 2, I have too much nostalgia for it to ever hate it. One thing I’ll give the game is that despite it’s oddly dark tone for a Pac-Man game, the atmosphere actually got to me as a kid. The somber menu theme, the quiet other-worldliness of the spectral realm, the calm yet tense music of the mountain level, it gave 6 year old me a weird almost existential feeling.
Honestly it’s amazing how it kinda ties back to the monkey feel of being in an enclosed dark maze
Maybe it's just my childhood talking, but I honestly like this game. For me, the graphics look a bit improved, especially on Pac-Man. And also the story and dialogue was also fun to watch. But I do agree some of the combat was way too long, especially with those robot scorpion things. Also besides Pac-Man, his family, and the ghosts, the characters look very ugly and out of place in the Pac-Man world. For me some combat can be fun, but only when it's not too repetitive. My MAIN issue in the game was that it's way too long. Each level can literally take up 30 minutes or even an hour! This game does have potential, but I wish Namco had more part in this game
Improving on the graphics of Pac-Man doesn't really say much.
@@thebiggestnut217 well, he's still pretty expressive. I think his smile and mouth are actually 3D now.
Unfortunately Namco rushed Blitz and they had no say in the matter and had to meet a deadline, sound familiar?
@RainbowStrike20 Oh hey a furry uwu
What about Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness? It was made by the same developers as World 1 & 2. It's actually really great. I recommend the Dreamcast version, but the PS1 version is also good.
Maybe someday, but I don't have plans to right now. Looks interesting
If you do condier, look at the Dreamcast version. N64 has little, PS1 has a decent amount, Dreamcast has all the stuff you need!
While it would be cool to have ms. Pacman maze madness, I highly doubt its going to be possible, mainly because ever since I believe pacman world rally (or pacman arrangement 2005 version) she has made no appearances. Heck, her latest appearance wasn't even in a pacman or namco game. But I honestly feel they if they do make the game a remake, then at least they remember the character... Well besides trying to win her back from @games. But I personally feel that pacman world 3 really needs the remake.
Why are you everywhere Jackie? You’re like Justin Y’s lost sister.
I got the DS version :( The Gamecube version looks magical in comparison.
I felt that
At least the DS version had a much better framerate than the PSP port.
A retrospective on ty the tasmanian tiguer would be great
Seconded
Dang... I feel sorry for you after this, having to slog through a game that seems made to make your remaining lifespan feel shorter.
NickonAquaMagna I'm sure there are even worse games out there, but I'm pretty good at avoiding them.
KingK I actually having fond memories playing this game nerby the mcdonalds i use live nerby at , mostly do to the fact every time i play it. it would always be the begining so i didnt fully play the game to know how it actually was.
The fact that the description lists this game as PacMan World 2 says a lot.
Damn, I used to play this game as a kid. Loved the enviroments from the first level to the last, with my favorite aethetically being the Gogekka series and Dungeon Gungeon.
For those curious, there's a DS version.
It is even worse than the others. No explanation as to where to go, no dialogue, everything that made the console versions at least feasible are GONE.
I had my fair share of the same issues you had with this game but there was something about it that made me completely forgive the issues I had with it. And that was story. This game had in my opinion the strongest story of all of them. I loved the dialogue.
There was gonna be more stuff in the game but couldn’t be in the game due to it having to release around 2005, an example is holding power pellets and using it at anytime, more levels, a shop, and a fruit smoothie thing.
@@veryoddnaw and it’s a damn shame.....
This whole game looks like HeroPants got screwed by the worst parts of Sonic Adventure and then got adopted by Namco. Holy poopoo
SA1 is awesome.
@DeweyDews Sorry.
You know, thinking about it this game and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric have a lot in common with each other:
- -bland looking environments- environments that clash with the character's design
- brain dead puzzle design
- -unnecessary and poor combat- combat that doesn't flow well, or can be exploited
- collecting... because all the popular games do it
- -an edgy story because darkness should be everyone's friend- a story that feels out of place
- enemies that feel like their from another canceled project
- shoe horned nostalgia
really the only things that's different about these two are their development history, the amount of glitches, and the story execution.
You know I couldn't help but feel this game reminds me of Sonic Boom for all the wrong reasons
I will also admit I haven't played World 3 or RoL (unless you count the RoL demo as playing the game), but it's just... every time I look at this game I keep seeing RoL. Now I'm not trying to bash this game because it look too similar to another game that did worse (that's kind of stupid), and I might be too hyperbolic when it comes to describing things (and I'll edit a couple things after this to dumb it down a bit), but just to clarify my opinions:
1. Yes the environments in World 3 are a tad more colourful than RoL, but not by much... Though thinking about it, it's probably because the world around Pac-Man doesn't fit Pac-Man's looks. Like for example: taking Kratos and putting him in say Mario Sunshine; it looks weird and out of place.
2. The combat doesn't look too good, but it's not because the moves themselves aren't good it's more that you can't combine or flow through certain moves. I guess one way to put it is like playing Smash, but you can only use specials (B button) to attack. Though if some enemies are weak to certain attacks, that's a bit of a plus in my books.
3. I never said World 3 was glitchier than RoL. I only said that they differ in terms of glitches.
4. I don't know what I was thinking when I said the story was edgy... I think what I meant to say was that the story felt out of place for Pac-man, or at least the villain looks out of place.
¯\_(U_U)_/¯ ehh... Well if you like it that doesn't really bother me. I just think a Pac-Man game should be a happy-go-lucky fun-time adventure with as many bright colours as we can humanly see. Sure you could dive into some dark territory to get some plot, but carrying any more than a cup full will make things look awkward, and it won't mix well with the visuals. (Shadow the Hedgehog showed us the hard way)
I also don't think the story is bad. I just think it's a bit too complicated for something as simple as Pac-Man.
What is your knowledge of Sonic Boom based of? Is it based off that Let's Play series from Game Grumps? Yeah, well, then no wonder why you gotta be so harsh to the game... I personally like when a game have a few glitches here and there that you can abuse, it's entirely up to you if you're going to use that ability or not, it lets the choice in the hands of the player (rather than patching the hell out of it and make it sterile)
Besides, I gotta love how these "3D Sonic haters" never mention the AMAZING boss fights the entire Sonic 3D games catalogue have. If there's one thing that Sonic games do right, besides the soundtrack (and the colorful graphics you could say) it's the boss fights. Not the easiest thing in the world, not trivial, but also not punishing and annoying like other games that claim to be "hardcore" (nickname for annoying these days)
The reason why this game. It was because it was supposed to be done by none other than Don bluth, for those of you who don't remember he was the guy that brought the secret of nimh, an American tail, etc to fruitiongorgeous animation and wonderful and memorable characters and scenery.
He worked as the main designer on this game, and what he had was a much darker version of the pac man world. Things like a severely depressed main protagonist from dig dug, crazier enemies, etc.
for some reason didn't like it, so they fired him and took what he had and tried to mish mash it into a game, WITH a short time limit.
I'm not sure if he could have saved this game if he had got the a-okay, but honestly the stuff looks way more interesting than the end product.
your thorough retrospectives are engrossing, thank you for making this content.
"there is so much god damn waiting in this game" sounds like someone is a fan of sequelitis
Yeah but he doesn't agree with him about Ocarina of Time
You know it's funny to me because that is one of my favorite online vedoes ever, yet I adore Ocarina of Time. Also I love your profile pic.
GUESS GOOFY'S WEIGHT! WIN A PRIZE!
I am a patient man.
This is one of the games I played growing up in my childhood. I loved this game so much and considered buying a copy (I lost the original). But after seeing this i think i would like to let the nostalgia talk and not ruin my experience by playing it again now that I'm older. Great video and i liked how u still respected those who enjoyed the game
Nah man, go ahead and try, I don’t let negative reviews cloud my opinion, that’s the pussy way out
"oh not it's a huge immense bonus! Good thing you didn't warn me, I almost panicked" best lime in the gsme
When can we expect the Pac-Man World Rally Retrospective because that’s the true finale to the series.
Great Video to start off the New Year Good Shit
While I have a differing opinion (enjoying the game) I am glad to see we host agree with the voice acting/dialogue was arguably the best part honestly. What's sad is the final game was essentially "gutted" as early footage showed off mechanics and levels that didn't even make it into the final product - Limitations or a tight deadline, Why it ended up not as they intended is unknown.
As bad as I think the Ghostly Adventures UNIVERSE is (especially for hurting the reputation of the franchise to the point of "irrelevancy" as a whole.), I still am interested in knowing if the games are good at all. Even I doubt they are truly "bad". But that depends if you even decide to look at them.
That metal scorpion fight footage made me want to do the pencil trick on myself.
I love pacman world 3 :( I've beat it like 5 times
That makes me sad.
Well... i liked this game...it's the reason why i played the 1st and 2nd
I know right this guy sucks does he even know I still got the game pacman world 3 and orson is my favorite character in the game and he's my imagery friend 😡
Pac-man is my favorite hero
You know what I think this guy has gone to far he sucks I hope he doesn't get any subscribers or likes he deserves get knock the heck out 😡😤
Macayla Duncan Wow you're going to far!
Macayla Duncan So a video game character is your imaginary friend? Um, how old are you again?
Love your reviews.
I do find it jarring though how say "fuck" as much as an 8th grader playing Call Of Duty, while simultaneously articulating your thoughts with the clarity and vocabulary of a college professor.
*6th grader
8th graders by then would be more understanding of the world.
YES. When I played Unleashed, I immediately thought of World 3 because of the music and combat.
Are you talking about sonic unleashed? I recently beat that one and I am not very fond of it.
Yeah... i liked this as a kid. It was hard to finally replay and actually finish it, years ago. But the game is still special to me for being my favorite game... At 7 years old. Maybe 6. I don't remember.
I really like Pac-Man World 3, mostly because of nostalgia, but I think that the game really nails atmosphere. I don't know what it is about it, the sound of wind breezing by while looking out from Zephyr Heights, the gross popping of bubbles from Bot Boneyard, or the fire crackling in Gogekka Heights.
Obviously the music cutting out isn't intended. But the sounds of the game when it's at it's quietest have always stuck with me.
Dude, Pac-Man World 3 was one of the best games ever. The new moves and enemies introduced are incredible. Plus, there are new worlds as well. The puzzles are interesting. In addition to that, you're talking about the Gamecube version. You should be talking about the PC version, which is even better.
@Artavis Wright Oh shut up. Pac-Man World 3 WAS a good game. Your language is awful. Go fix it.
Besides, this is the only game which doesn't have any GBA shovelware, unlike Pac-Man World and World 2.
@Artavis Wright Okay, you don't have good language, moron. You go fix it.
Pac-Man World 3 is the best game in the trilogy. Period. The conversation is over.
@Artavis Wright What? What'd you say? I didn't hear anything.
I was very little when I played this game for the first time. During that time, I was already a huge fan of Pacman World 1 and 2. But even as a small kid, I could realize how much I didn't like Pacman World 3. It felt so out of place in comparison to the other 2 predecessors. I'm glad someone made a video about it.
The cutscenes and visuals carried this game honestly
Hard to believe Don Bluth actually had a hand in this game
Those "spiders" only have 4 legs, spiders have 8 legs, genius!
I was thinking about that these days, while watching someone try one of these games made out of a popular movie/series
Videogames is one of the very few (if not the only) kinds of products where simply pouring money or "big names" into it will be a guarantee of a succesful product. And I think that's a testament to how videogames are one of the very last medias that represent true artistic vision and self expression. (when done correctly)
They're mechanical SCORPIONS not SPIDERS
I remember really enjoying this game as a kid, it's absolutely surreal remembering about it and... Even that it exists.
You know, this game's existence makes a lot more sense when you consider its development. It wasn't even envisioned as a Pac-Man World sequel, instead an original action adventure Pac-Man game with world and character design concepts by Don Bluth (of "The Land Before Time" and "Dragon's Lair" fame).
So once the game was falling behind schedule and completely failing to realize its initial scope, they probably retrofitted Pac-Man World mechanics to the already combat-focused game they were developing, resulting in something that tries to be two different things (a Pac-Man action adventure and a Pac-Man World platformer) and fails at both.
I have vague memories of renting Pac-Man world 1.
I owned Pac-Man world 2 on PS2 when I was around 5-7 and I loved it to death. The music was soooo memorable on that one. They pop into my head all the time. Using the flip kick for the final boss was so weird but I liked it because you could use the square button (I grew up knowing it as the attack button in most PS1 and PS2 games, so barely using it in PW2 was weird).
Then in 2005, 8 years old, I finally got a GameCube. This was my first game... This game was odd. Well I remember liking most games and the only game I ever really hated it was like Disney's Dinosaur for the PS1. So I remember that this was the age where I could like instinctively notice what a quality game is. I realize that this game was weird, it was sort of lackluster, it was fun it was pretty, had cool settings, cool power ups, and I like that you know, you could punch monsters cuz I was like "yeah punching stuff is cool using b button to attack, and it's red and it's cool"... But man was the combat repetitive, I know... I laughed out loud seeing you fight the damn scorpions for like 1 minute. The music was weird really softly forgettable however it was calming... A few months ago I looked up the OST particularly the main menu which is memorable and relaxing.
So I feel like I passed it almost fully but some of those levels I couldn't get the collectibles. And I know those years like 2005-2008 felt like 9 years. I tried to revisit it I guess around 2013 and last night was around 2017 I guess of the game was really bugging the first-level sort of walked out on me and I had lost my memory card so I couldnt play it again.
Now I'm 25 and I'm hoping to replay them all again... If I could only find the time... And my GameCube controllers.
I'm also hoping for the remaster trilogy to come out!
Pac-Man world 2 and 3 both have a place in my heart
I love your extensive and deep retrospectives. You made me remember I had the Demo for Pac man world 2, and I alway wished I could find it so I could buy it. Never did.
There's also a DS version that I hear is even worse.
"anything that reminds me of the mundanity or frustration of every day life wins an award from me for being one of the worst video games of all time"
And then the 358/2 days review happened and its the only review I've seen that agrees that it's mundanity is an incredibly strong suit to it's experience.
This isn't a like... diss at this video or that one though. I pretty much agree with both. Like, Pac-Man World 3 is one of my favorite games but I can't say it's a good game. It's got a boring gameplay loop, mediocre platforming, and an incredibly apparent lack of polish from the font in many places being just default comic sans, to cutscenes playing out incredibly awkwardly to the point where I'm convinced that the game was left unfinished. I really wish it was far better than it is, but I can still love the good that this unfortunate mess offers.
Zapper was actually pretty good, it's like a distant cousin of the PS1/2-era Frogger games, in fact Blitz had previously made Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge.
I used to like this game when I played it as a kid but after revisiting it a couple years ago i couldn't STAND it. it was absolutely atrocious to the point where it made me genuinely mad that it exists to taint a series i love so much. about a year ago i gave my copy away to a friend who wanted it just for his collection but warned him not to waste his time playing it. it's really sad to see the follow up to two of my favorite games of all time fall so short of my expectations.
You need help man
Well I grew up with this game and I really liked it there's no way I could hate it!
This game reminds me more of sonic adventure 1 and 2 rather than 06 personally. It has its fans that love what it does right despite its flaws, while 06 is so bad it became for bad games what dark souls has become for hard games.
There's a DS version of this game and it's packed with 4 short levels!
OkayTeaCup Wow how'd they get away with that shit
If theres anything i remember about this game its that the sound effects for when pacman punches is really satisfying.
But thats about it really
I like his punching sound effects.
What pisses me off the most about this game is that they mixed up blinky and clydes names, in the original, blinkey is red and Clyde is orange but they managed to screw that one little thing up.
yeah they did that with pacman world 2 as well
wingedzombie909 Who knows? Maybe the developers are colorblind.
Personally, this game is my favorite of the trio and stands with me as a personal favorite in platformer. From the environments to the new methods of combat and puzzles with the ghosts, I found a lot to love here. It was tough at times without ever feeling insurmountable or brutal. But World 2 left me mostly without a reason to care and frustrated by the intense difficulty of some segments. I got through both of them, but I preferred 3 by a lot. However.... I didn’t actually finish World 1...
....on the PS1. But I am surprisingly fond of it on the GBA?
@Rappin'Ninja You the lamest, corniest, most eccentric, and cockeyed Doofus, and fakest Pac-Man fan ever.
I had a lot of fond memories of this game as a kid and I recently started replaying it, yeah I can definitely see that it’s boring lol. But I loved it as a kid! I think the simplicity is a big reason I had so much fun, it was easy lol! But I also really loved the aesthetic and environments, that’s what really jumped out to me as a kid, although I guess now being much older there wasn’t anything really novel about it, but it did really capture my fascination.
Oh my god, after beating pacman world 1 and 2, I was set on beating this. Then i realized how shit it was
Perfect Focus Same here, just brought a PS2 since I never owned one and want to revist the past games for my childhood. 1&2 is a buy but 3? Fuck that!
Uh, sorry losers, but World 3 will always be the best and no other opinion will change that.
@@Theworstnoobever *puts on his sunglasses, flips the collar of his leather jacket and rides his motorcycle over a cliff.
@@KittSpiken *puts on his helmet, zips his backpack, jumps off the airplane without a parachute and dies.
@@Theworstnoobever uh, sorry loser, but your remark was a pale imitation.
What's even funnier is that this released on the DS somehow, and it's basically like eating a mediocre rare steak that's filled with sea salt.
I remember loving this as a kid but it was also in the edge era along with Shadow the Hedgehog
yknow what shadow was pretty good imo
I've been making LPs on a regular basis since 2011, over 60 complete series, well over 1,000 videos, but despite that the only series I ever made to get any kind of notoriety was my 2012 LP of Pac-Man World 3. It's better than just about any other LP of the game you'll find, I'm good at the game, have things to say, throw in a few funny lines, but it was also only my 8th series and I hadn't even been making videos for a full year yet. Ultimately, it meets the bare minimum requirements of what I'd consider a Let's Play needs to qualify as "good." The fact that my LP is essentially the best this game gets is pretty darn fitting I'd say.
Like you, I greatly enjoy the dialogue, cutscenes, and story. They're perfectly fitting for a Pac-Man title and the personalities and voices given to the characters are absolutely fantastic. That said, the generic gameplay and platforming is pretty dull, but seeing as how there's only really one jump that I find annoying and I always look forward to seeing what funny thing a character will say next, this mainly drops my view of the game from "mediocre" rather than "terrible." The combat is basically just filler, especially given how much health the Ancient Guardians have, the worlds, while nicely designed, don't mesh well with Pac-Man himself or the world previously established in 1 and 2, and of course the music is entirely bland and uninteresting except for perhaps the final boss theme.
I was never that big a fan of Pac-Man World 3. Heck, one of the better moments of my LP is me comparing the game to Sonic 06 due to the game's greater emphasis on realistic settings, combat, story, and the unusually high number of glitches I ended up encountering throughout my recorded adventure. Still, it is a game that I go back to once every couple years, if for no other reason than to relive the dialogue again.
WHY DOES EVERYONE TRY TO KILL THE ANCIENT GUARDIANS WITH ONLY PUNCHES. sorry... just got a bit angry there
Ok Pac-Man’s model is graphically the best especially the way light reflects off him, but the visual model is way too short and fat, at least he’s more polished than the original.
This was the only Pac-Man World game I played as a kid. I was a sad kid
Me and my brother grew up playing pac man world 2 on our gamecube and completed the game countless times. Eventually we convinced our parents to buy us world 3. Even though we were kids we still noticed the huge change in atmosphere and graphics compared to the originals. I don't think either of us made it that far in before leaving the game for much more interesting things (like Mario DDR).
24:47 "Uh, that buzz saw! Someone just shut it up, stop making noise!" That's the only joke of this video.
Wow to think that pmw3 was the only I grew up with is pretty sad, I had 3 on the psp when I was younger but I never really got into it that much although I was always interested in the previous two, might be something to look out for after watching this series, got into the channel through the recent Zelda retrospectives, keep it up man!
I remember playing this one as a kid and mildly enjoying it for what it was. I really hated the first Pac-Man World for some reason (don't know why, I wanna give it another shot) and loved the second one. I completely agree with you, though. I don't ever want to play this game again. From a gameplay perspective, it's a total bore, and the story and dialogue isn't compelling enough to justify the time required to get through it all.
This game was criminally inferior to the previous 2, but I enjoyed it a little...
Right?
I have to disagree with one of the statements you made in the video at 26:05. You say that anything that reminds you of the bore of everyday life is necessarily a bad game. I get what you are trying to say, but that is a pretty broad statement. Think of a game like "Papers please", in which the monotony of working at a border checkpoint is one of the central narrative mechanics. Also, earlier in the video (25:04) you state that you state something along the lines of "If it's not fun, why bother". I remember (at least I think so) in one of your videos you said that fun is only one of the many different feelings a game can evoke in the player. Horror games for instance are not particularly "fun", yet people still like playing the games because they can offer an experience like none other. As another counterexample, look at ABZÛ, which offers a meditative experience through an amazing soundtrack and killer visuals, with some of the most boring gameplay one could imagine (spoiler alert: it's one big water level). The game doesn't need to be fun or have good gameplay in order for it to be a meaningful experience. I honestly think this is also one of the strongest parts of games like BoTW and I feel people don't give this aspect of games nearly enough credit.
That being said this game does indeed look like a dumpster fire. It wants to do nothing more meaningful than offer some nice platforming and fun gameplay, yet completely fails in this regard, so your general thesis still stands. Just thought I'd point out the misconception that games are JUST fun, and nothing more than that.
Shut your mouth up and accept the fact that World 3 is the best in the series, loser.
I didn't think this game was that bad. I might say it's my second favorite in the trilogy behind the first game. It had this charm to it I don't think other games had. I liked the story and it had the most threatening main bad guy of the trilogy. We are talking about a guy who supposedly threatened the universe with what is known as Spectral Paradox. Despite this though the game still had it's funny moments. Despite how threatening he is Erwin is still comical at times and I got a few laughs from him as well as the exchange between him and Pac after defeating the first actual boss of the game. I do agree with some of your points though like the ghost encounters being very forced. The game isn't perfect but I enjoyed it for some reason.
@Artavis Wright Uh, sorry bitch, just accept the fact that World 3 is awesome.
@Hero of Legend Sorry Corny, lame, eccentric ass lil dork but World 2 is the best and always will be, wise up boring child.
For me, the game reminds me of the Legend of Spyro. That's not really a bad thing mind you. What really killed it for me was the lack of music. You might call it ambience, I call it the one thing that makes the experience boring. More music would definably make this game better. Besides from that, the game pays the bill. The game is okay, but it's a play every once in a while type of game.
Im 18 now and i had this game in a 3 pack from walmart was 14 dollars back in the day i begged my mom for this game because it just looked cool i was maybe 5 at the time so around 2008 maybe when i got home the first game i tried was world 2 I IMMEDIATLEY FELL IN LOVVE like changed my childhood for a long while i was obsessed with pac-man just because of world 2 and rally but world 3 well uhh yeaaaa i avoided that game when i was little because i couldbt grasp the concept it was wayyy different than world 2 and from a 5yr olds perspective back then the game was hard like really hard and it looked very dark aswell but since im grown up and i went back to this game it actually isnt to bad. Yea its one of the longest world games but i enjoyed it when i got older i just re beated it tn due to the upcoming pac-man world re pac which i pre ordered but yup not much i can say for this game 🤷🏻♂️
I grew up with this game I loved watching my brother play. at that time I never knew what pac-man world 2 or world 1 was but I will always love this game its my favorite pac-man game.
Who is garbage: Artavis Wright
What sucks: Pac-Man World and World 2
@Artavis Wright Yo mama's so ugly that when she looked in the mirror it said "Viewer Discretion Advised." Shut yo mouth up and accept the fact that World 3 is the best in the series, loser.
@@Theworstnoobever
King of Asinine: You
Trash and mediocre: Pac-Man World 3
I've never heard of a bad game with a great story or script. Of course, I never paid attention to this when I was six or seven when I had this game. Interesting observations here.
Honestly, I'll jump back into Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures - a point and click game during an age where Point and click adventures were PC exclusives.
And maybe even Pac-Man and the new Adventures or whatever those tv tie-in games were...
I loved pacman world 2 as a kid, that I wanted to get the 3rd one. I could never find it for my platform, the xbox, so I never got around to playing it. Thanks to this review I know I'm not missing much.
Nah, you’re missing quite a lot
@Playboy Pika nigga speak English
@Playboy Pika nigga stop acting like some white boy pretending to be black cause you ain’t
@Playboy Pika ratio
@@Nic_2751 Nope he ain't missin' nothin' this game Trash he just need the first 2, this game ok on it's on but shouldn't even be a Pac-Man world game.
This was the very first video game I EVER played. So I had nothing to compare it to. I had fun with it and didn't know what was bad cuz again, it was my first experience with a video game. Looking back I definitely had nostalgia for it, but man yeah the mashing and mechanics of it sucked.
Am I the only one who noticed the sequilitis reference he made at 18:44
I loved this game, it had good graphics, an amazing world environment, a great actor for pac man, and great collectables placement
One thing they kept consistent throughout all 3 games, they all switched up Blinky and Clyde's names and that still bothers me
World Rally fixed it
The red ghost is actually Blinky they got the two ghost mixed up and the orange one is Clyde
I remember playing this game and having lots of fun with it. I should probably revisit it after all these years...maybe...
As soon as I saw Glover that's all I could think about 😂
Nice reference to Clement
you should cover maze madness
I will say, I have heard before Pacman World 3 really sucks from one review I have seen on UA-cam. And from what I have seen it looks dreadfully boring to me. The "combat" shall we put it sucks. There's not enough variety,layers,or even complexity to it.
One thing I can say about any excellent combat system is that it has to have a lot of variety,layers,and even in general encourages you to try out different styles. Case in point, why Devil May Cry 1 to this day is praised for it's excellent combat system. Hell, even God of War the series that's called a "button masher" has a lot of layers to it even if it's no Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. And at least the Warehog has more layers to it. Sure, like you said it's not the best but compared to World 3 it's Devil May Cry in comparison.
I think the main core problem with the combat is that it get easily repetitive due to enemies taking forever to die. It's the same problem Sonic 06 with the Shadow Stages suffered from. You end up mashing the button waiting for the enemy to die. And then as for the platforming for this entry, it is the most boring platforming I have seen from any 3D platformer. Like you said, any good-excellent platformer should have a clean difficulty curve. And should always introduce new things but also add new challenges with old things.
And besides that one example you used it's super basic. Now if this was the N64 era where it was the early days of 3D platformers I would understand it being basic due to limitations. But by 2005 there's no excuse for this "platformer" shall we put it being basic and boring with the platforming challenges. As a platformer, it fails to re-capture what made Pacman World 1 and 2 very excellent platformers. And as a 3D action beat m up it is so basic that it gets boring quick.
Frankly, am I even that surprised this ended up so mediocre? Blitz games outside of maybe Glover and one Spongebob licensed game is a very average shovelware developer that at best can do mildly interesting games at least imo. Ya know, it's funny... History tends to repeat itself with how like this game some AAA developers let mediocre developers work on their big franchises. (*Cough cough Capcom*)
And honestly, I wish Namco just let their core team from 1 & 2 make 3. Idk what made them think letting a mediocre developer like Blitz games should work on a Pacman World title. It's baffling honestly it really is for me. Though yeah, overall excellent review Dan.:) I definitely loved this retrospective as this trilogy doesn't often get talked about as in-depth. So I am thankful you talked about this series. And whenever you do your next retrospective i'll be there to watch it man for sure.
Thanks for reviewing pac man world 3 on a pac man world 3 review video
Yeah, sorry. I have a habit of making my comments long.
Super Gamer61499
I kinda get carried away myself sometimes too. Lol.
But you brought up some great points.
Super Gamer61499 to be fair combat is simple in all 3
+Super Gmer61499 the enemies don't take forever to die
I loved this game when I was a kid :(
Hey KingK!! I know this video is kind of old now, but do you think you could make Retrospectives on the other 2 pacman-world themed games? Ms. Pacman Maze Madness, and Pacman World Rally? I would be very interested in seeing what you have to say about those titles.
Thank you!
Pac-Man Adventures in time
Also for as padded and underbaked as Pac-Man World 3 is, I'll take a game that's mindless over one that pisses me the fuck off and stonewalls the player with impossibly difficult, unfinished shit like the 1st game.
I have a feeling you’re talking about the Anubis boss
I actually like this game (I played 2 religiously as a kid). Don't like it as much as World 2, and haven't played the first one enough to be a fair judge of it (the arcade-style game over system turned me off to it), but I always found it passable. Very repetitive, though, yeesh, much of this game is a straight up beat-em-up.
Admittedly, this is probably nostalgia coupled with the fact that I haven't played in probably 10 years. I am a lot more picky and critical when playing games now.
Edit: After watching your review...yeahhhh, this game isn't what I remember. I do disagree about Pac-Man's model, though, I prefer it in this game.
15:37 "Every time I saw that vortex I wanted to kill myself"
Too right, glad we have brave people saying things that others are too afraid to say.
I liked the video but I was disappointed in your opinion of Pac-Man World 3. I really enjoyed it as well as Pac-Man world 2. I got this game for my gamecube Christmas 2005 and Pac-Man World 2 my 30th birthday in 2002 before Star Wars episode II came out.
Ron, no.
@@KittSpiken What's wrong??
@@roncorless2592 you were an adult, you didn't have to be subjected to this game.
@@KittSpiken Fun is subjective. Just because you've played the game and don't like it doesn't mean that it's wrong for others to like it in spite of its flaws.
Disclaimer: I have yet to play the game myself.
This may be a nitpick but theres something specif that bothers me about this game as somneone who grew up loving PMW 1 and 2.
Every level is that unnatural radiation green. If there was any color I wouldnt associate with pacman (level design or otherwise) its green. It doesnt feel like a pac man game in world to me. It feels like a bad generic 3d platformer that had pacman added to it.
It sucks because PMW2 was maybe my favorite game as a kid, and that along with Spongebob battle for bikini bottom fostered my deep love for platformers.
I kind of liked this game actually, but I never finished it. Now I see why. I wouldn't say calling it one of the worst platformers ever made is really justified, but I would agree it's not very good. Still love 2 though. Never really got very far in 1.
I had really high hopes for this game back then, considering how much I enjoyed the originals. Its sucks that they didn't end up following through and probably killed the chance of another Pac-Man World type game with this one, but my memories with the first two will stick with me for a long time.
Unfortunately Blitz had to meet Namco’s demands and had to rush the game out, sounds familiar?
@@Nic_2751
Pac-Man 06.
@@Kuzamer and people say SEGA started this trend lol, unfortunately this game could’ve been better, there was a whole inventory system that YOU GUESSED IT! Was cut because of time restraints!
@@Nic_2751
Would have liked to see how they would have worked in some of the scrapped concepts, like having Power Pellets in an inventory and a shop to buy stuff. Sounding like it was gonna be like a platformer/RPG hybrid. Would have been interesting.
@@Kuzamer god this game had so much fucking potential and it deserved better
the second I saw the title screen, I knew I was gonna be disapointed. I loved all of pac man world 2 and hated all of this
18:45 Arin Hanson? From SuperMega?!
I love this game.
Did you predict the "Crash Bandicoot is Dark Souls" joke?
Great videos!