Game Review: Patapon on the PSP

What to you get if you combine equal amounts of LocoRoco, PaRappa the Rapper, and StarCraft? No, I am serious, what would you get? Patapon. Patapon, only for the PSP, is the surprising love child of the rhythm and strategy gaming genres.

The Premise

The Premise of Patapon is bizarre but simple. You are a god, a mighty deity that is worshiped by a tribe of one-eyed warriors. These warrior, the Patapons, have been exiled from their homeland and wish to return. There is only one problem, they have lost the will to fight. That's where you come in. Playing the roll of their god-of-war, you beat the war drums and get the Patapons riled up and ready for war. The goal is to whip them into such frenzied fever that they can conquer the land and see the marvelous "IT" (yes, IT) at the end of their world.

The Gameplay

Gameplay is surprisingly simplistic, and very well suited for the PSP. While the screen border flashes with a beat, you tap the PSP keys to play specific songs that move the Patapons, make them attack, advance, retreat, and defend (there are other Patapon inspiring songs as well). The songs must be played in real time, and the Patapons react in real-time. This forces you to use a tremendous amount of strategy in order to accomplish your various missions.

The trick is to remember the songs, know when to play them, accomplish the mission tasks while keeping your Patapons alive and collecting the various loot, bounty and artifacts. The game, is in fact, a real-time strategy game complete with hit points and combat. The game, is in fact, a rhythm game complete with songs, beats, and the need to follow complex patterns.

You combine this strategy and rhythm gameplay in three different types of stages. First, you have to hunt to gather food and supplies for you Patapons. Second, you have to battle the rival big-eyed citizens of the world to earn back your position and power. Finally, you will have to battle the bosses to move forward between levels.

You have a variety of troops available to you each with strengths and weakness. These troops include: Javelins, brutes, tuba wielding musicians, archers, calvary and infantry. Like other real-time strategy games, you collect various Patapon armor, Patapon weapons, and Patapon artifacts. These can be collected and equipped before setting out for battle. You also have the option of setting up formations and marching orders. The troops you choose, how you equip them and how you for form them up make a huge difference in how you play the levels. While it might seem like an oxymoron, the complex simplicity of this game is outstanding.

Art Direction and Music

Patapon is presented in a very artistic 2-Dimensional style shines on the PSP screen. It is obvious that some of the design talent working with Pyramid on this game was borrowed from the LocoRoco development team. The colors are vivid and stunning, while the characters and creatures are simple and striking. The whole presentation is beautiful, and it is done with a great sense of humor. For example to gain new warriors, you bury various objects under your shrine and out pops a new Patapon. To help get new supplies, one of your tuba wielding Patapons plays along with a blues singing try in a "Simon" styled mini-game.

The music is simple and catchy. I found myself humming the various tunes and drum beats more than once. Some will argue that the songs are cutesy and annoying, but I disagree. I loved the music in LocoRoco too, and they are very similar. Altogether, the artistic direction both visually and musically is outstanding. It supports the simplistic and complicated nature of the gameplay well.

Overall

The game costs a humble $19.99 and offers a nearly 20 hours of deep gameplay. Considering the game is half the price and twice the fun of many other games, it is a deal that just can't be beat. Unique and engaging are two adjectives that will be used over and over again to describe Patapon. If you own a PSP, it is time to buy Patapon, if not, you might want to buy both.