GAME CLEAR No. 39 -- Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness

Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness (2000, Multiplatform)

Developer: Namco Hometek
Dreamcast Developer: Mass Media
Publisher: Namco
Clear Date: 7/5/2021
Clear Platform: Dreamcast

Rarely do I leave visits to Video Game Trader in Buford, GA empty-handed, and my most recent visit was no exception. I left this time with Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness, having only given it a cursory Google. It was an affordable Dreamcast game with decent contemporary reviews, so I went for it. Good thing too because I ended up liking it a whole lot!

Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness is a kind of meaningless title that could’ve just as easily been given to the original game, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Its equally uninspired box art didn’t help me glean much about its content or gameplay either. But again, it was an excuse to bust out my neglected Dreamcast and from an IP I enjoy, so that was enough. I popped the game in, reminded my Dreamcast what year it was, and got right into the story. I’ve already forgotten most of it, but the broad beats are that a witch named Mesmerelda has cursed Pac-Land or something, and Ms. Pac-Man has to gather four gems to undo the curse. The story really isn’t the highlight. The gameplay ain’t bad, though.

And it turns out Maze Madness is a fairly apt name. The game is a pretty solid extension on the concept of the original games. They still involve collecting dots in mazes, those mazes are just 3D now and scattered throughout themed worlds. There are still no buttons required, just the joystick. To spice things up, though, the mazes include other obstacles and features not possible in the old 80s games. Ms. Pac-Man can use springs to cross chasms or leap walls, press buttons to activate different stage elements, or push blocks (sometimes made of ice or TNT) to solve spatial navigation puzzles. The classic gang of ghosts return to antagonize Ms. Pac-Man, alongside new more sophisticated enemies befitting their locales (mummies for the Egyptian world, yetis for the ice world, etc.).

Neither avoiding the various enemies nor solving the games puzzles are ever terribly difficult. The challenge comes from the stars that are awarded each level and necessary to progress throughout the game. One star is awarded simply for completing each level, but another is awarded for collecting every dot in a given stage and yet another for collecting every fruit. These require you to keep a sharp eye out, as reaching the end of the game simply isn’t possible without getting these bonus stars on most of the game’s stages. This brings me to my only real criticism of the game, which is that the levels usually have tons of points of no return between sections, so missing even a single dot or fruit can often mean you may as well just start the level over. You really have to keep a sharp eye out. Fortunately, the game does tell you when you’ve eaten all the dots in a given area, but the only way to know if you’ve missed a fruit is if you get the next one (they always appear in the same order), by which point it may be too late to return for the previous one. This definitely frustrated me more than once.

The final way to earn some bonus stars is to complete the speed runs, which are actually pretty tricky. I only did the one for the first level, and it took me several tries. You start with precious little time and can only increment your countdown by defeating enemies or finding stopwatches scattered throughout the level. It definitely requires practice, and I’m sure it’s the sort of thing some people would love, but it’s not really my thing. Nice addition, though, and nice that they are by no means required to reach the credits.

The only real variation to this formula are some decent bonus stages and the boss encounters against Esmerelda. These moments are all right but nothing to write home about. Still, they’re a nice break from the fun but very samey gameplay loop of the rest of the game.

I’m really glad I grabbed this on a whim. I was expecting very little and found a very nice extension of the gameplay contrivance that is (Ms.) Pac-Man. It’s been a few years since Pac-Man Championship Edition 2. Hopefully Namco treats us to another take on the series before too long.