Review: Patapon 2 Remastered is a refreshing return to rhythm-action

Beloved rhythm-action series Patapon has had a bit of renaissance over the last couple of years with remasters of the first two games. The two titles made their debut on PSP but now, Sony has brought them to PS4. With the release of Patapon 2 Remastered, it cements that it’s one of the best games in its genre.

In Patapon 2, you play as a deity of sorts that controls a tribal group known as “Patapons”. These adorable (yet fierce) musically-inclined warriors are controlled exclusively through rhythm. They only march and attack by your ability to stick to the beat of the music in the game. If you’re unable to keep up with the rhythm, you will be absolutely torn apart.

Patapon is definitely one of the most creative and well-designed games I’ve ever played. You can’t just mash buttons to win, you can’t half-ass your way to success, you must be truly involved and that’s what makes it so great. If you start to panic or lose focus, you’re going to get off rhythm and struggle to get the upper hand in intense battles like boss fights. It’s a game that manages to always keep you engaged and isn’t mindless progression.

It’s easy to call Patapon 2 hypnotic as once you begin to build combos and are in a groove, it’s nothing short of stimulating. The audio and visual feedback the game gives you as a reward for doing well is satisfying and scratches an itch that quickly becomes addicting. It actually makes it unreasonably upsetting and demoralizing when you begin to mess up, especially for extended periods of time.

Sometimes I found that all of the noise and music were making it too stressful for me but luckily, you don’t *need* sound to match the rhythm. Patapon 2 has a blinking border on the screen for you to use as a visual aid to match the beat. It’s an incredibly helpful tool not only for those hard of hearing but also for those who are getting overwhelmed and just need to catch their breath to regain their focus.

There’s a feeling of actual strategy when playing, both with timing and how you build your armies. Patapon 2 features the ability to customize your armies with different kinds of Patapons and the equipment they carry. They have varying stats, perks, and the gear you earn from each mission is essential to your victory.

There are some areas that could use improvement as the game doesn’t always make things incredibly clear. Even the very first tutorial of the game was confusing me due to lack of clarity. I’d do the command perfectly then the game would say “You did it wrong, watch this 30-second unskippable cutscene and try again”. I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong for a good 10 minutes at least, then I realized you need to start a combo and not just do the command once.

There are a lot of other things that just aren’t explained ranging from objectives to mechanics. Sometimes games make an intentional choice to leave things unexplained but in Patapon 2’s case, it feels like more of a case of just forgetting the essentials. Since it’s been roughly a decade since I played the game, I often found myself consulting guides to figure certain things out.

For example, you might not realize that you basically need to replay missions to grow stronger. Otherwise, you’re going to be stuck on near-impossible boss fights that will make you want to rip your hair out.

Patapon 2, while gorgeous and pops off the screen, has not gotten the full remaster treatment in every area. Sony has ported the game over with 4K graphics but there’s a striking and borderline revolting contrast when a cutscene plays as they look ripped straight from the PSP, low-res and all. The same goes for some sound effects which sound dated and from another era.

They did a great job on the rest of the game’s touch-ups which only makes these weird exclusions stand out all the more.

The Verdict:

Patapon 2 is still best-in-class when it comes to the rhythm-action genre but there are some areas where it doesn’t hold up, specifically in its clarity and technical prowess. However, if you’re looking for an incredibly engaging and euphoric game to help tide you over until 2020’s big hitters start to drop, you can’t go wrong with this remaster of this beloved PSP title.