There was a
time when peace reigned. When the Almighty inspired the beat of the magical
drums and the tribe known as the Patapons lived contentedly in their homeland.
But then the almighty went away and a neighboring tribe, the Zigotons, drove the
Patapons from their homeland.
But Hatapon
believed the Almighty would return, and that the magical drums would once again
ring out, lead the Patapons to victory over the Zigotons and guide the lost
tribe back to its homeland (otherwise known as the Earthend).
This is the
premise behind Patapon, a game that has rhythmic elements combined with
mini-games, strategy and role playing and based in a two-dimensional
side-scrolling world. The title is from Sony Computer Entertainment and is
arguably one of the best titles to appear on the PlayStation Portable platform
to date. It is entertaining, charming and highly addictive. The characters are
drawn from the works of French graphic artist Rolito and rather than use rich
texturing, the game uses stark contrasting colors that almost give a silhouette
feel to the entire game.
Patapon starts
off by looking cute with little Patapons (the name of the tribe you control,
which look like little eyeballs with feet), referring to you in such reverent
terms as ‘almighty,’ hooks you with the simplistic gameplay nature, then twists
you around with the challenging aspects of guiding your tribe to victory against
a variety of foes. The game contains more than 30 missions in a variety of
environments. Players will traverse swamplands, volcanic territory, gorges and
deserts collecting resources and fighting to collect drops to outfit the army.
There are five music-based mini-games as well in this title, which will give the
players upgrades and bonuses. With a total of six drumbeats to learn, players
will have to think quickly while planning ahead. The game’s mission structure
includes boss battles, hunting, and escort-type activities. There are also more
than 100 items and weapons to find and use to create a powerful army.
As the
Almighty, your job is to set the tempo, or beat, that will guide your army to
victory. The beats have a variety of functions, and therein lays the strategic
part of the game. You learn the beat that drives your army forward to start.
Then you will learn alternative rhythms, like the one to attack (circle, circle,
square, circle), or to defend. When you have the Patapons worked up to a frenzy,
the Fever icon will let you know that you can unleash the rhythms of the Juju,
which will create a “miracle.”
As one might
surmise, music plays a vital part of this title and the musical score is very
nicely handled. The beats are distinctive enough to allow players to recognize a
rhythm and work in time to it. But timing is the key. The Patapons will also
chant and you must not cut into the chant, but time the drum beats (depressing
the appropriate buttons) to counter the chants and create a musical flow.
As you progress
through the levels (and yes, there will be times when you will have to
backtrack), you will resurrect heroes to join your marching tribe, as well as
new units. There are both ranged attackers and skirmishers, and in the
two-dimensional world, having melee units is key to protect the spear-throwing Patapons. The initial melee warriors are the Tatepon, but is also the Yaripon
and Yumipon (range attacks), the Kibapon (horse-mounted troops), the Dekapon
(large melee troops) and the Megapon (fires sound waves at the enemy).
When you start
to gain troops, you can then form your groups to take into battle. This is where
the strategic part of the game comes into play. Not only do you outfit your
troops with items you acquire through battle, but you also start to think in
terms of unit selection and order of attack. In addition to armor and weapons,
you will also acquire Ka-Ching, which is the money and can be used to purchase
units or resurrect fallen heroes at the Tree of Life.
The joy comes
from the fact that you are fighting an uphill battle. The Zigotons are bigger,
have more troops and employ monstrous units against your poor little tribe. It
is only the Patapons belief in you, as their Almighty that will sustain them.
Talk about pressure!
Graphically the
game sports a very simplistic stylized appearance that works very, very well. As
mentioned, the game’s design is by Rolito and uses simple abstract character
designs juxtaposed against brilliant solidly colored backdrops. But even while
the rhythms will hook you, Patapon is not without a few sour notes. The biggest
is the lack of save points. Once you enter a level, it is either complete or
repeat. There are checkpoints or save points en route that will allow you to pick
up mid-mission should you fail. And because the game is rhythm based, any break
in that rhythm will cost you. Yes, you can power off the PSP in the middle of
the mission, but you really risk powering back up and being out of sync with the
timing of the musical phrases.
The mini-games
are also not only creative and challenging, but delightfully fun. An example is
the dancing tree that if you play the tune correctly, it may drop some treats
for your tribe.
It does not
take long for this game to weave a spell of its own and draw the player in. The
first couple of missions are too easy, but then the challenge starts to ramp up
and losing a unit early will likely mean failing the mission.
Patapon is a
truly great handheld game. It is unique in many regards, charming in its
presentation, aurally pleasing and a lot of fun to play. It is also quite
addicting and a real time-eater. Sit down for five minutes and before you know
it, it has been 30 minutes. And it will draw you back time and again.
If you have a
PSP, you owe it to yourself to play this game.
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Gameplay: 9.3
The challenge ramps
up quickly and while this is a button-mashing rhythm-based title, the elements
work exceptionally well with the controls to deliver a grand experience. The
game is also surprisingly deep, with role-playing elements that will have
players second- guessing themselves.
Graphics: 8.8
A two dimensional,
side-scrolling game can rate high, especially when it uses color so well and the
animations add to the charm of the title. If you just see an image of the game,
chances are you won’t be impressed, but put it all into motion and you will
definitely be hooked by this little tribe.
Sound: 9.5
In the preview, the
word “insidious” was used, and that is applicable to the songs here. They will
get into your head and you will find yourself doing some routing and chanting
the rhythms out. This is an exceptionally well done element.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 9.5
While this is a
genre that Sony has not only created (to a large extent) and both defined and
refined, Patapon is a bit of a unique animal in not only the stylized look of
the game, but in the charm it exudes.
Overall: 9.3
Yes, it is a
rhythm-based game, but it is also one of the more engaging and wonderfully
unique titles to grace the PSP. It is addictive, it is delightful and it is a
lot of fun to play.
