Banging their drums across the lands of their ancestors brings together one tribe that looks to expand its territory and uncover the secrets of the great Kami. Your PSP is your “War Drum” as you guide your Patapon army through the lands against the mighty Zigoton Army and many other monsters. Build your army and continue your quest as you try to uncover the secret of the Julu as well. Patapon brings together rhythm-based gameplay with RPG elements to form a highly entertaining title.

Gameplay

If you’ve ever played rhythm games before, then you might already come to expect what Patapon is. Chances are you’ve probably played something very similar to this title. If you have played PaRappa the Rappa, than you will notice a similar concept.

Players start with a small group of Patapons in their village. You are anointed as the great one, finally, some respect right? The Patapons expect you to build their army and roam through the lands conquering anything in your path. Using your skills on the “War Drum”, you must defeat your enemies while also making peace with your ancestors at the same time. Your job is to lead these funny little beings against your enemies and bring them to the Promised Land called Earthend.

With the “war drum” instructions shown to you before you begin the game, it takes about a moment or two to get acquainted with the rhythm. You have to keep pace with the rhythm to move your Patapons and make them attack. There is a white border surrounding the screen that either brightens when you have a rhythm going or darkens when you fail to complete the combination. This proves difficult in some cases when you start to bring in more combinations from various other “drums” you gain as the game progresses.

Rythm and RPG?

You’re probably wondering, so what are these RPG elements you mentioned? You start with a group of 3 patapons that you use to grow your army in the first couple of missions. You don’t want to head straight into the heat of battle with only 3 patapons, right? You should be able to grow your army in no time, if you spend a decent amount of time with it. These first few missions give you a chance to really get comfortable with the controls and keeping rhythm with the drums.

Something Extra

One interesting feature that brings the game together is the Fever element. Fever takes place when you successfully keep a combination going for a 10 streak. After hitting this, the Patapons will scream in delight and give you the strength to take out your enemies. If you keep Fever going, your strength is continually increased and thus it is much easier to defeat the many bosses you will face

The story is quite intriguing. At times, the story brings Japanese mythological elements into parts of the game. Patapon’s missions, while they may seem pretty repetitive, are rewarding once you hit the later levels of the game. These later levels allow you to be fully able to match your button combinations and make successful runs through the missions.

Graphics

Patapon carries with it a very interesting art direction. It’s certainly nice to look at and the bright colors complement the rhythm-based gameplay. Character designs are straightforward, as the Patapons themselves are quite funny little creatures. The level design is quite entertaining, especially when you’re trying to fight the monsters in your path and keep your Patapons alive. The artwork in Patapon is as good as it gets and will no doubt keep you interested in seeing more of it as you progress through the game.

Sound

As with all rhythm games, music is a big part of Patapon’s presentation and gameplay. As mentioned earlier, your PSP becomes your “War Drum”. Special drum commands are fixed to your circle, square, triangle and x buttons. These drums fairly represent themselves. The speakers project the music and sound well, although you will need to use headphones to get the full effect. The music is vibrant and delightful. Although you might find the drum tunes to be repetitive, Fever helps to offset this.

Plasma Factor

Taking into the account the repetitiveness of the game, some might get bored easily without realizing it. I fully recommend this title to fans of RPG games. Patapon is one of those titles that will make you will feel yourself drawn to it when you are not playing.

Conclusion

Patapon delivers what you would expect from a rhythm-based RPG title. With vibrant music and artwork, it is impossible to put down at times. However, I feel this title is unfortunately limited to a small demographic of gamers. If you don’t have the time to continually keep up with your patapons and continue through the missions of the Metropolis, then you may not get the full game experience. Patapon is one title, I believe, that will give you the most fun you’ve had with your 20 bucks.