Pac-Man World is a 3D platform video game. Controlling Pac-Man, the player must complete each of the game's six worlds to rescue his family and friends, who are held captive by the ghosts in their homeland of Ghost Island.[3] Worlds consist of four levels each (except the Ruins world, which has three), which are completed by eating all of the pellets to open up an exit door. The final level of each world has a boss that Pac-Man must defeat in order to progress.[3] At the beginning of the game, only three worlds are available, while the other three are unlocked by completing all prior worlds.[3] The six worlds in the game each feature distinctive themes, e.g. the first world, Pirate, features ships, cannons, and beaches.[3]
Levels contain fruit that can be eaten for bonus points, alongside letters that spell out "PACMAN". Collecting all of these letters in a level will unlock a secret bonus stage.[3] Some levels require Pac-Man to retrieve a key to rescue one of his captive friends.[3] Galaxian flagships found in certain levels allow Pac-Man to access a 3D maze themed after the world he is in.[3] These mazes play similarly to the original Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, where Pac-Man will need to eat all the dots and avoid the ghosts. Completing these mazes will unlock them for replay from the main menu.[3] Most levels also contain Pac-Man's nemeses, the ghost gang, which can be defeated by consuming large Power Pellets and eating them.[3]
Pac-Man has two main moves, which can be used to defeat enemies and other objects: a butt-bounce that can shatter crates and crush enemies, and a rev-roll that allows him to propel up ramps or activate moving platforms.[3] Pac-Man has a health meter that allows him to sustain three hits before dying. He can find small fractions of health to replenish it in levels, as well as extra lives.[3] The player can find crates scattered around in levels, some of them giving Pac-Man access to new abilities, such as a metal suit allowing him to walk underwater.[3] Pac-Man can also interact with objects such as trampolines, doors and ramps, which can be used to solve puzzles to progress through the level.[3] At the main menu, the player can play a port of the original Pac-Man arcade game, which is the same version found in Namco Museum Vol. 1.[3][4]
