Pac-in-Time

aka: Fury of the Furries
Moby ID: 1137
DOS Specs
See Also

Description official description

Everybody knows what/who Pac-Man is from his heyday in the '80s, but this time, we're getting a whole new adventure of our little eater. Guess his stomach is full, 'cause there's nothing much to eat here, only collecting points. This is much like some Indiana Jones adventure, only your little hero's Pac-Man instead of Harrison Ford. Pac-Man can even transform himself into a swimmer, rock eater, fireball spitter, or rope swinger during his quest.

The game takes place on a huge island separated into eight regions: Desert, Lagoon, Forest, Pyramids, Mountains, Factory, Village, and the Castle. When you manage to get through them, the last one awaits: The Machine which seems to be some sort of a way to get out of here. This level is not a typical stage after stage approach. Each screen has several exits that can either bring you closer to, or further from the end of the game.

Pac-in-Time is a reskinning of Fury of the Furries. It's exactly the same game. Only the characters were changed: the not-so-known European Tinies (from the Skweek/Super Skweek/Tiny Skweeks/Brainies/Tinies games) were replaced by the widely known Pac-Man. In Fury of the Furries, you control a cute, round creature called Tiny, who must defeat "the wicked one" who has captured the King and turned all the Tinies into mindless monsters.

A game with the same Pac-in-Time title came out for the SNES but it is a different game.

Spellings

  • パックインタイム - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

15 People

Producer
Project Leader
Design
Graphics / Artwork
Programming
Additional Graphics / Artwork
Programming
Additional Design
Technical Director
Playtesting
Music
Sound
Graphics / Artwork
Music
Sound
Project Manager
Technical Director

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 32 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 55 ratings with 3 reviews)

furiously french bouncy colour changing balls of puzzling

The Good
This game was a lot like another game in its genre at the time, that being the lost vikings yet somehow this had a far more endearing quality to it. The graphics were small but very well drawn and superbly animated, it had nice little neat touches like air bubbles underwater, and some minimal lighting effects for when you fired your fireballs.

Also it was one of the more infuriating of action/puzzle games out at the time, with the control system in particular being very sensitive to your touch so unwanted death constantly waited around every twitch of your joystick but this to me made things far more exciting.

Definitely one of the best puzzle games out on the Amiga delicately trailing its cute little furry butt behind them lemming types.

The Bad
The length, the game was far too short, there were only around 24 levels in all not including hidden area's. If you sat down and played it solid for a day or two I'd guarantee that you'd have it completed in that time, unlike say lost vikings which took me nearly 2 months to finish. Also some of the puzzles were very obscure and the vague way in which the game explained things could make the game harder and more infuriating than it should have been.

The Bottom Line
You control a small fluffy ball, that changes colour to signify different attributes, for example, turning into a yellow furry would allow you to shoot fireballs, turn red and you could chomp through things, blue to be able to swim and green (my personal favorite and definitely a highlight of the game) who could produce a small line from the top of his head much like spider man where he can swing from line to line to get to previously unreachable area's.

you had to solve puzzles and slowly make your way across various themed levels, that included caves, Egyptian tomb's and jungles just to name a few in your quest to make your way to the exit.

Along the way there were puzzles to be solved, using the different attributes that you was afforded, and monsters to be killed by or kill or if you was clever totally avoid. as far as i know this game also got released on consoles as Pac in time replacing the fury characters with the world famous Pac man character to try and glean more money from the franchise.. and much like as happened with this it fell on its face.

Yet I recommend that you try this game, if not for nostalgic purposes just for the fun of it. those that own the original in its original box I envy you I would love to own a copy.. and hey! I might just see if I can get one now I'm thinking about it.

Amiga · by chris nunn (5) · 2019

Funny platform game with lovely music

The Good
Both graphics and music have very good quality. I actually don't see any real difference in style between the two music options - each melody sounds different, but I wouldn't say all "Classic" tunes and all "Fun" tunes share a certain style. Anyway, most of those melodies are a real pleasure to listen to. Just check out the Forest levels tunes - the joyful "Classic" melody and the quite mysterious "Fun" one.
There are many hidden bonus levels in the game - all sharing the same idea: collect as many coins as you can within a short time limit - but it seems their number sharply decreases in later levels. Sure, they also become more difficult, so that you have to think about survival and not bonuses, but I haven't seen any bonuses in several later levels. In the beginning there are even a few levels with more than one secret room, later there are whole series of levels without any secrets.
Many levels require at least a bit of using your brain, it's not a simple run'n'jump platformer. Using blocks to get to a higher place, pulling bricks to make water flow, sitting on a log to cross a river with a strong current... A few times I was't sure what to do in a level when I first got there. My mum usually tended to think something like "all games (except those I like, such as computer bridge) are either brutal or dumb" - "Fury of the Furries" is a good proof that even relatively simple games expect some clever thinking from players.
The game has lots and lots of little touches such as background details, but it's not just the background. It's very interesting to see how the exact shades of the Furries vary in different stages. Four colors are available (of course, not always at once): the yellow Furry can shoot fire, red can eat through some walls, green can use a rope for swinging over obstacles or pulling bricks, blue can dive and shoot bubbles. However, when I write, for example, "green", I don't always mean the same - the color varies from lime in the Desert to dark green in the Factory. Blue changes probably the most - violet-blue in the Desert, dark blue in Pyramid or Village, bright blue in the Mountains or Castle... And another detail I just love: those funny faces the Furries make. When you're not doing anything for a while, the Furry will make some funny faces - which exactly, depends on color and chance, for example the green Furry may start skipping a rope or wear shades.
Almost at the end you're in for a surprise: Castle level 10 isn't the end of the game! For a long time I didn't know that when you complete the Castle, a strange machine will rise out of the sea, offering another unexpected stage. And if you manage to complete it (some parts are super-hard, almost as hard as a terrible level mentioned in "The Bad"), you'll discover the end screen is interactive too. The clock is invisible, but you have about two minutes to walk, jump and swing through the lovely scenery.

The Bad
Sometimes a bit too tough. I doubt if I could ever complete the game without a bit of cheating... (I tried.) Many levels are hard, but Castle level 9 requires incredible accuracy. And you can't get tired, you have to keep shooting fireballs and evading bullets until the opponent gives up.
I liked the music very much, but at a few points the game seems hastily assembled. A few melodies repeat themselves, for example the Village "Fun" tune is the same as Desert "Classic" tune - another proof there's not really a consistent difference in style between those two musical options. And one of those repeated melodies suits its stage as bad as it could - it just doesn't suit the stage's atmosphere at all. It's hard to believe that with so many nice melodies the developers couldn't have had the composers prepare two or three melodies more...
The game only saves, and it saves automatically, at levels 1 and 6 of each section.
And definitely the biggest drawback: only four save slots. It can be a problem when you get further and you'd love to be able to look at the previous levels again... The whole save system is just too uncomfortable.

The Bottom Line
Despite drawbacks such as the uncomfortable save system, this game just has the atmosphere and magic which make it so special. It's hard enough to be frustrating at times, but even then the game's aesthetic quality make this frustration manageable.

(Note: I wasn't fully satisfied with my review, so it has been edited and resubmitted.)

DOS · by Nowhere Girl (8680) · 2013

Little known,but great platform game!

The Good
The music,you have the classic type and modern.it's based on adlib,but it's still good.I also loved the switch between diffrent furries with diffrent powers for each of them.The intro screen for every zone is also nice .

The Bad
You have to jump three times to reach the maximum height.You can also save only after five levels.

The Bottom Line
A good platform game which is more than just jump and run.You have to think here! If you love only fast paltfrom games,then I guess you would prefer to play sonic collection (which is also great).

DOS · by Itay Brenner (67) · 2001

Discussion

Subject By Date
List of items - what is inside game box Hiphoprapu (1769) Mar 26, 2021
Cannot playing music tracks with a MOD player PAC K. Mar 23, 2020
Screen flashing in the Lagoon Nowhere Girl (8680) Mar 19, 2013
split? j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】 (93195) Sep 24, 2012
I'll never complete Castle level 9... :(( Nowhere Girl (8680) Aug 9, 2012

Trivia

Game files

You can see all the artwork used in the game including the animations if you have an image viewer capable of displaying Deluxe Paint PC files (.LBM). These files are stored in the directories PIC and SPR.

You can also listen all the music tracks with a MOD player. Just rename all the files' extensions from .KMD to .MOD in the directory KMD.

References

  • The game contains references to various cultural phenomena including movies, games and true or fictious characters:
    • The second level of the Forest stage references Star Wars by featuring a wrecked AT-ST in the background.
    • In the second level of the Pyramid stage there is a reference to the giant ball trap from the Indiana Jones film "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
    • In the fourth level of the Pyramid stage the player encounters three traps based on those in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
    • There is a Milka chocolate reference in one of the Mountain stages.
    • In the third level of the Village stage there is the appearance of "The Three Stooges"
    • In the fifth level of the Village stage the player meets Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood.
    • In the seventh level of the Village the player can see the balcony scene from "Romeo & Juliet" and a scene from "Hamlet"
    • In the eighth level of the Village stage the player meets Smurfs.
    • The ninth level of the Village includes a white balloon-like enemy that chases the player around the level. It is a reference to Rover, the device used to chase would-be escapees in the movie "The Prisoner".
    • In the first level of the Castle the player encounters Dracula transforming into a vampire bat.
    • The second level of the Castle maze and enemies mimics the Pac-Man game.
    • The fifth level of the Castle is based on Donkey Kong.
    • Among many levels in the Machine, there is a room that resembles an arcade pinball game play field. Scenery elements serve as flippers and kickers while Tiny is acting as a steel ball. There is also another room that features a parody of Space Invaders.
    • Enemies in the Machine stages feature Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters.
  • The loading screens include parodies.
    • The Desert shows a Tiny ridding the sandworm from "Dune" of Frank Herbert,
    • The Lagoon has reference to "Jaws" movie poster,
    • The Forest shows a Tiny in Tarzan outfit,
    • The Pyramid shows a Tiny in an Indiana Jones outfit.
  • In the language selection screen you have the option of choosing Fremen (from Frank Herbert's Dune saga). Selecting Fremen as the game language actually works.

Unreleased Game Gear version

A port of the game for the Game Gear console was done by Kalisto, programmed by Gil Espeche. Years later, a playable and finished prototype appeared and was described as "one of the best games on the Game Gear" (RetroGamer, issue #17, 2005). The previously unreleased game was then made available to the public by SMS Power with permission of Gil Espeche.

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 1137
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Amiga, Game Boy added by POMAH. Amiga CD32, Macintosh added by Martin Smith.

Additional contributors: IJan, chirinea, Alaka, Patrick Bregger, mailmanppa.

Game added February 19, 2020. Last modified January 15, 2024.