Name: Patapon
Genre: Rhythm/Action
Platform: Playstation Portable

It wasn’t until developer SCE Japan decided to take a chance and announce that they’d release their game for $20.00 that Patapon really made any waves in the gaming community. Videos were released showing a title that looked like LocoRoco meets Pikmin meets PaRappa the Rapper - and gamers’ interests were peaked.

In Patapon you essentially play the part of a war drum, leading small, eyeball-like creatures into battle. Throughout the game you are given a number of different songs to play that command your armies to attack, defend, march, or retreat. There are additional songs learned that have different effects on the gameplay by influencing the weather, but a majority of the game is played with the four abovementioned commands.

The trick that is learned throughout the game is when to use which song, and what they do against different enemies. The game has a mesmerizing and alluring style to it, combining some of the simplest yet most beautiful graphics on the PSP. Fans of the developer’s previous work with LocoRoco would feel right at home with the title’s crisp, 2D graphics and vibrant colors. The same praise goes for the music, which is also simple for a rhythm game. For the most part, the music consists of the words “pata” and “pon” arranged in different ways.

The game also has plenty of RPG elements both good and bad. Different Patapons can be created by combining different elements found during hunting levels and equipped with different items found during others. This deepens the gameplay considerably, allowing for players to customize their army and specialize certain units for certain battles. Adding an RPG element to the gameplay does bring with it some negativity, however, as grinding also finds its way to Patapon.

Early on, gamers may be excited to learn that they are able to replay levels to gain better armies, but later they will realize that they aren’t “able” to do this, they are “forced” to do this. Certain bosses are practically undefeatable unless the player has the perfect army, and the only way to gain that army is to spend most of your time playing the game in one of the hunting levels.

There is also no way to pause the game without putting the PSP into hibernate mode, which makes absolutely no sense. It is possible to hit pause, which brings up a menu, and the PSP also has a HOME button which usually puts the game into a paused state. Hitting either of those leaves the game running, continuing the action. It is becoming a somewhat common idea to do away with a pause screen for developers looking to immerse gamers into their title, with the developers of the upcoming EA shooter Dead Space apparently kicking around the idea.

It doesn’t seem like that was the intention for Patapon, since the game doesn’t really make any effort to try and immerse players too much. It is also a major inconvenience because of the fact that it is a handheld game, which promotes itself on portability. Not being able to hit pause when the train stops or when someone asks you a question is just a nuisance.

It also feels far too linear. While the wealth of customization may seem like enough to keep gamers in a disillusion that they are in control, they should realize that they are not.  It just doesn’t feel like you have any actual say in what happens in the game. Sure, there are four different songs to inspire the Patapon to go through their motions, but there is almost always just one right answer as to which one to do.

If enemies are charging you have to defend, if they are running you have to attack, and if they rear up you better run. Failure to comply with these rules will usually result in all of the Patapon dying, and you needing to try again. It isn’t really trial and error, per say, but it is a testament to how little decision making goes into playing it. There isn’t even the choice as to when to do any of the songs, because if you don’t do them to the beat you will lose your bonuses and become weaker.

I may be the minority on this, but I was disappointed with Patapon. Leading up to the release I became steadily more excited, but the faults of the title are simply too many and the gameplay is simply not as fun as it seems at first. While it may seem like I am being overly negative about the game it is just because of how high my expectations were.

The cheery music and shiny graphics may be enough to hypnotize you into having a good time and that isn’t really a bad thing. At a price of $20 it is hard for me not to recommend you purchase the title if you own a PSP, just don't expect perfection.


 

 

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