Review: Patapon

Patapon
SCEA, Interlink
Available now on Sony Playstation Portable

Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon! These words have been stuck in my head for the last few days and all because I decided to pick up the newest rhythm game for the Sony PSP, Patapon. Patapon, a whimsical game created by Interlink, the same studio that created Loco Roco, has bewitched me with its enchanting beats and simple, yet lovely artistic graphics by French artist, Rolito and now I plan to implant those 4 beat counts into your mind, my lovely readers.

Patapon places you in the role of a powerful God that has been chosen to lead the Patapon nation to its former glory. The small tribe has been forced from their homeland by the evil Zigaton army and it’s up to you to help them reclaim it. With the help of 4 special drums, you are able to drum out commands like attack or march to the Patapons during battle using the PSP’s face buttons. Each command must be drummed out to the rhythm of the music playing, and then the Patapons will repeat the beats to you as they carry out the command. Once they finish, you must repeat the command beat or drum out a new command and if you miss a beat, the Patapons will stop.



You can customize your army with different unit types, different equipment and as the game progresses you can even learn miracle beats to create rain storms or other miracles to help your Patapons in battle. You get three different missions types to complete: hunting, battle and boss. Hunting missions can be repeated to gain meat and ka-ching to create more Patapons. Battle missions can be only completed once but must be completed to advance the storyline and for your Patapons to earn new weapons, units, and items. Boss missions can be repeated but the bosses will get harder each time to kill.

Being that Patapon is a rhythm game, expect to be singing the jungle beats in your head for at least a week after finishing the game. The addictive and groovy melodies are truly what make Patapon stand out as a unique and creative music game. The graphics were simplistic with its use of light and shadow and I loved how the bosses were humungous in comparison to the little Patapons, which just made their victories all the more sweet. The designers even made sure that each little Patapon unit was unique and even changed in colour and shape as they advanced. They reminded me of Mike, the eye ball monster from Pixar’s Monster Inc.



I honestly didn’t have one complaint about this game. Patapon is addictive, rewarding and best of all, half the price of normal PSP games, which provides no excuse for gamers not to pick up this great title. Buy Patapon and I promise by the first mission, you’ll be chanting in time with me too. Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon!

Rating: 10 out of 10
Buy it!