Pac & Pal

Controls consist of a four-position joystick and a button. Using the joystick, the player guides Pac-Man through an enclosed maze in which several items are locked behind doors. Several face-down cards are scattered throughout the maze; when Pac-Man runs over one of these, it flips over to reveal one of the items, which becomes unlocked so Pac-Man can eat it. Two items in each maze are power-ups, which correspond to "S" cards. Upon eating one of these, Pac-Man temporarily turns blue and grows larger; the player can now press the button to fire a beam that briefly stuns the ghosts. Items include a flagship from Galaxian , a red car from Rally-X , a trumpet, a snowman, and a miniature Pac-Man. The items are simply different cosmetically, and all of them have the same effect. Assisting Pac-Man is the titular "Pal" character Miru, a green-colored creature with a pink bow. Whenever any items are unlocked, Miru will try to pick one up and carry it toward the center box; if Pac-Man does not catch up to her and eat the item before she enters the box, it disappears. Once all the items are gone, the level ends and the player earns bonus points for each item eaten, receiving a larger bonus for preventing Miru from taking any of them into the box. An orange area immediately below the center box causes the ghosts to slow down whenever they are inside and obscures both them and Pac-Man, leaving only the ghosts' eyes visible. The third level and every fourth level thereafter is a bonus stage with 10 cards and no ghosts; one card shows Miru, one shows the ghost Blinky, and the other eight have dollar signs. Points are awarded for each card flipped, and Miru's card doubles the total. The stage ends immediately if Blinky is found, but the player earns a larger bonus for finding him last. The player loses one life whenever Pac-Man touches a non-stunned ghost, but can safely run through Miru at any time. When all lives are lost, the game ends.