Pac-Man has to collect all of the items on the screen. Like Super Pac-Man, they are all locked behind doors. Unlike those games however, the doors are unlocked by collecting face-down cards scattered around the maze which will flip to reveal an item on the board. The game's titular pal, or the dog in Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp's case, is not much of a friend as they will attempt to steal the item before Pac-Man can get it and then take them to the ghosts where they will be out of Pac-Man's reach forever.
The weirdest part is that there are no power pellets here. If Pac-Man manages to collect an item, either before Pac-Man's pal Miru can collect it or by stealing it back from her, he will become larger and turn blue. This will enable him to turn the table on the ghosts trying to catch him. Unlike other games in the series, Pac-Man can not just walk into the ghosts. There is now an action button that will cause Pac-Man to emit a ray which will stun the ghosts temporarily.
Like Super Pac-Man before it, Pac & Pal contains stages with three levels each that then goes into a bonus stage. In the bonus stage, Pac-Man collects cards. The cards contain dollar symbols, Pac-Man's pal, or a ghost. If Pac-Man collects his pal, the final score is doubled. If a ghost is turned over before the end, the stage ends immediately. The cards are not randomized as they all have a pattern, so they can be memorized in order to provide the largest score possible.
This game does have one thing that this game, arguably, going for it compared to its predecessors. The game does not just have sound effects during gameplay, but actually has a stage tune that plays during gameplay. It is just one tune, so it can be repetitive, but it is a fun upbeat melody.
Pac & Pal is a weird game. Moreso than even Super Pac-Man, it takes all of the elements that made Pac-Man popular and threw them out the window. It takes the doors of the aforementioned title and makes them even stranger by locking them behind cards rather than keys. It adds a weird chase mechanic that ends up being kind of pointless other than point-wise as the game continues whether Pac-Man catches up to the items or not. If the pal ends up returning the item to the ghosts, it will still count as the item being removed from the board. It also strangely adds an action button for a ray power that Pac-Man had not had prior to this title. It is a strange game to rate, as it is not the best maze game out there, but it is definitely not like any other Pac-Man title. In any case, it is not a must play for fans of maze games or Pac-Man fans.
Final Verdict:
3 out of 5
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