Pac-Man World Rally, known as Pac-Man Rally in Europe, is a kart racing game, developed by Smart Bomb Interactive and published by Namco Bandai Games America in 2006.
Gameplay[]
Pac-Man World Rally is a racing game in the same vein as the Mario Kart series and Crash Team Racing. The player navigates their vehicle-bound character through multiple laps in a racetrack, racing against other opponents. Seven other racers appear in each course (five in the PSP version due to its limited hardware). The overall goal is to reach the highest place number possible (preferably 1st).
What makes this game unique are the Pac-Man mechanics applied in the game. The player can collect Pac-Dots (the yellow button needs to be triggered first) to fill up their Pac-Meter; if it's full, the player will turn into a Pac-Mobile, and can eat their opponents for a limited amount of time (much like the Power Pellet's effect in the original Pac-Man). The player can also collect fruits (the corresponding fruit button needs to be triggered first) in order to access shortcuts, making the race easier.
Race Weapons[]
As with most kart racers, many power-ups appear within the game, which are gained by running into Pac-Boxes. From these, a player can get the following items:
- Green Pac-Bomb - Can hit other racers when aimed properly. Same function as the Green Shell from Mario Kart.
- Red Pac-Bomb - Will follow the racer in the place above the player's, and attack them. Same function as the Red Shell from Mario Kart.
- Blue Pac-Bomb - Attacks the player in 1st place. Unlike the Green and Red Pac-Bombs, this one is always in flying form. Same function as the Spiny Shell from Mario Kart.
- Pac-Dora Box - A fake Pac-Box that stuns racers.
- Atomic Pellet - Gives the racer a boost of speed. In Time Trial mode, the player always starts with three of these.
- Pac-Snowman - The Pac-Snowman will throw snowballs at nearby racers, causing them to spin out when hit. If they are hit by a snowball, the player will freeze and will have to press the acceleration button 3 times to break the ice block.
- Storm Cloud - Makes drivers ahead of the user slippery for a few moments.
Unlockable Weapons[]
There are also several unlockable power-ups, which include:
- Black Pac-Bomb - Unlocked by eating 6 Ghosts in Cherry Cup. Works just like the Green Pac-Bomb except that it has a large explosion radius when it hits a racer.
- Siria the Ice Dragon - Unlocked by eating 8 Ghosts in Grape Cup.Throws blocks of ice that freeze opponents.
- Sir Pac-a-Lot - Unlocked by eating 10 Ghosts in Watermelon Cup. It works in a similar way to the Red Pac-Bomb, it goes to the one in front and crushes it.
- Galaga Ship - Unlocked by eating 12 Ghosts in Classic Cup. Shoot the closest runner ahead.
In Circuit Mode, you race in a Cup which consists of 3-4 tracks each. Depending on the position you gained after each race, you'll get points. The racer with the highest points wins the cup.
Characters[]
Each character has a different race car with different stats: speed, acceleration, and steering.
 
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Pac-Man (M)
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Ms. Pac-Man(M)
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Jr. Pac-Man(L)
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Pooka(H) 
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The Prince(L)
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Pac-Devil (M)
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Fygar(H)
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Mr. Driller**(H)
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| Blinky(M)
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Inky(M)
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Pinky(L)
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Clyde(L)
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Toc-Man(H)
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Spooky(H)
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Erwin(L)
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Mappy**(M)
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- (L) = Light Weight. (has a very good acceleration and off road, but low speed)
- (M) = Medium Weight. (all stats are balanced)
- (H) = Heavy Weight. (dives on high speed, but the acceleration runs low)
= Gets a Guardian Angel by Power Sliding.- = Gets a Guardian Devil by Power Sliding.
- = Unlockable. (Pooka and Fygar are available by default in the PSP version)
- ** = Is exclusive to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version.
Unlocking criteria[]
Guest characters from other Namco franchises can be unlocked after getting gold trophies in Circuit Mode.
- Pooka: Unlocked after beating Rally Cup on Normal mode in every version except PSP.
- Fygar: Unlocked after beating Rally Cup on Hard mode in every version except PSP.
- Mr. Driller: Unlocked after beating Rally Cup on Hard mode only on PSP.
- The Prince: Unlocked after beating Rally Cup on Easy mode.
- Mappy: Unlocked after beating Rally Cup on Normal mode only on PSP.
Tracks[]
= Has a cherry shortcut.
= Has a watermelon shortcut.
= Has a grapes shortcut.
** = Is exclusive to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version.
Battle[]
In Battle mode, instead of using the ordinary power-ups, the player uses weapon-like items based on the fruits from the original Pac-Man (i.e. a strawberry rocket, a cherry bomb, etc.), which have limited amount of ammo and various damaging powers. The objective in the Battle Mode varies depending on the game mode the player chooses:
- Deathmatch - The first to reach the number of hits set wins.
- Free For All - The player with the most hits within the time limit wins.
- Last Kart Driving - All players start with a set amount of health. If they run out of health, they are eliminated for the rest of the match. Last one standing wins.
- Binge - Watermelons, Grapes, and Cherries appear in the arena for other racers to grab. The player who has the most amount of fruit when time is up wins.
- Classic - Pac-Dots appear in the arenas and players must gather as many as they can within the set amount of rounds. If they lose all of their health, the amount of Pac-Dots they have are cut in half. The winner is determined by whoever has the most Pac-Dots after a set amount of rounds.
Battle Arenas[]
** Is exclusive to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version.
Battle Weapons[]
- Banana Ram - A banana with two targets on each side. As the name implies, the player must run into the other racers to deal damage.
- Blueberry Blaster - The player is equipped with four fast rockets while the weapon itself has a medium firing rate. The rockets themselves deal heavy damage to opposing players.
- Cherry Bombs - Cherry-like bombs that, when deployed, explode when a racer touches them or when left alone after a few moments.
- Grape Grenades - Explosive grapes that are fired and explode, damaging enemies within close proximity.
- Pac-Dot Gun - A rifle-like gun that fires 10 Pac-Dots at one time. With each shot, the gun has to reload.
- Sonic Bell - A bell that sends out a shockwave, damaging players nearby.
- Strawberry Striker - A single-use weapon that greatly damages a racer.
- Watermelon Seed Spitter - A rapid-fire weapon with weak power. It can be used to slowly chip away an opponent's health.
Challenges[]
A mode exclusive to the PSP version. There, the player can select from one of three modes:
- Time Trials - Complete the track as fast as possible. There are no opponents or obstacles
- Letter Hunt - The player must collect the 6 letters that spell Pac-Man. The mode is similar to collecting the P-A-C-M-A-N letters in Pac-Man World.
- Clockbuster - The player must collect as many Pac-Dots as they can before the timer runs out; clocks can be collected to increase time.
Home Ports[]
- GameCube
- PlayStation 2
- PlayStation Portable
- Xbox
- There was going to be an Xbox version of the game, but it was canceled for unknown reasons; though a preview of it can be found in the Xbox version of Pac-Man World 3. In September 2021, a prototype “Preview Build” disc of the Xbox port (dated February 2006) was found and released online.[1]
- Windows PC
All versions came out on the same day. While the PSP version has much more content than the others, it is debatable whether it is the superior port, as less opponents appear in each race.
Trivia[]
- Smart Bomb Interactive was commissioned to develop Pac-Man World Rally by Namco Hometek, with the agreement being finalized in October of 2004.[2] As Namco Hometek had effectively been shut down by the game's release, it was instead published by Namco Bandai Games America.
- One of Smart Bomb's first planned game productions was a kart racing game titled Scumbag Racing, based on the designs of street artist Stanley Mouse.[2] Scumbag Racing was ultimately canceled; it has been theorized that parts of the game were reworked into Pac-Man World Rally, though other publications have suggested the two games were separate projects.[3]
- This is one of two Pac-Man World games not to be released in Japan, along with Pac-Man World 3.
- Even though the track Subterranean Speedway is exclusive to the PSP version, it appears in the intro for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions.
- The mobile game Pac-Man Kart Rally may have been intended to be a sequel to this game.
- Pac-Man World Rally finally reversed the Clyde and Blinky error, which was set forth in the mid-1990s.
- In the coding of the Xbox prototype, Snoopy from the Peanuts franchise appears as a playable character - though is completely inaccessible in the actual game. It is presumed he was just added as a test character (likely reusing code from the then-upcoming Snoopy vs. the Red Baron), rather than being intended as an actual character; though his model is fully textured. [citation needed]
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Logo[]
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Artwork[]
