Patapon

February 17, 2008 | 14 Comments

I haven't had effective days in the past two days mostly because I've been pre-occupied with this game. I can't remember the last time I find a game being this engaging and charming. As a background, Patapon is a rhythm strategy game for the Playstation Portable (PSP). It is created by Japan Studio, the same internal developer responsible for creating LocoRoco. On a glance, one can immediately see the similarity between the two. Both games possess a very unique and cute look courtesy a design studio called Rolito. What sets Patapon apart from LocoRoco, however, is the depth of its customization. There is an RPG-element embedded into the rhythm/God-sim part of the game. You are constantly required to upgrade various weapons and outfits that the Patapons use in the game. One can even mix and match various elements to create brand new Patapons. If that's not enough, there are several mini-games which allow you to obtain rare materials to create rare Patapons. A combination of the elements mentioned above turns out to be an addictive and deep game.

The Demo

If you own, PSP, I recommend downloading the US demo. Speaking of the demo, there are actually 3 versions of the demo being released for this game. The Japanese version contains 2 intro levels, 2 main levels, but no extra item to save at the end. The European version contains 2 intro levels, 1 main level, and a "Spear of Protection" to save at the end of the demo. The US version of the demo is the best one, offering 2 intro levels, 3 main levels, 1 boss level, the ability to customize/build your army, and a "Spear of Protection" to save at the end of the demo. Bear in mind, that if you live in Europe, the "Spear of Protection" you get from US demo may not work in the upcoming European release. However, it doesn't matter. Just download both the US and European demo (using two different Playstation store accounts, one US and one Europe). The Europe demo is so short anyway so it won't take much time to get the "Spear of Protection". After that, you can keep yourself entertained with the US version of the demo until the game is out on the 26th of this month.

The Patapons

There are several different Patapons in the game each with their own roles and levels. The first Patapon that you'll encounter is Hatapon, the banner carrier of the group. You'll find him as the only survivor of the previous battle and he brings with him the PATA (square) drum. He usually doesn't do anything in the battle apart from carrying the banner and stand as far away as possible from the battle. I find it amusing that he somehow manages to escape unscathed from the battle. As for the rest of the groups, they are composed of:

Tatepon: The hand on hand combat Patapons, specialising in swords, axe, etc.
Yaripon: The projectile Patapons, specialising in spears.
Yumipon: Another projectile Patapons, specialising in archery.
Kibapon: The horse-riding Patapons.
Pan Pakapon: The musician Patapons. Responsible for manipulating weather.

Bear in mind that although there are only 5 types of Patapons fighters, there are variations in each type. The weakest ones are usually the white-colored Patapons, which are just your basic soldiers type. As you progress through the game, you can create stronger Patapons by mixing various ingredients you receive from the battlefield.

Trailer

If you're interested, Gametrailers, have other trailers, including an amusing promo created by Rolito, the design studio who came up with the look and feel of the game.

Gameplay

The game begins with a narration about how the Patapons have fell from their former glory. Once the PON (circle) drum appears, you (The God) find Hatapon half-conscious in the middle of the battlefield. It is up to you to awake him by taping circle, circle, circle, circle (PON, PON, PON, PON). After taping the rhythm for a while, Hatapon will awake and will give you his PATA (square) drum. You'll then need to lead Hatapon back to the Patapon village. Along the way he'll meet other Patapon survivors. In order to do this, you have to do a PATA, PATA, PATA, PON (square, square, square, circle) combination by listening to the beat from the game. There is also a flashing border to give you an idea when you have to press the buttons. If you are consistent with the rhythm, you'll be able to chain up a combo. After 10 combos, you'll reach a state called FEVER. It's important to maintain this state when the huge dinosaurs suddenly appears. You don't actually get to fight the dinosaurs at this stage but you do have to outpace it. If you manages to do so, you'll reach the Village.

You will then be required to choose a 4 letters name so that the Patapons can address you as their God. You'll then be directed to an obelisk where you can begin your mission. The first mission is a hunting mission. Hunting mission is an easy mission but make sure you leave the Tatepons behind because they tend to charge forward and scare the animals. You just want to bring the Yaripons, who can throw spears from far away. In this mission, you'll have to do two things: moving and attacking. You move by doing PATA, PATA, PATA, PON (square, square, square, circle). Once you get close to an animal (don't get too close though), attack by pressing PON, PON, PATA, PON (circle, circle, square, circle). If you have reached a FEVER stage at this point, the animal usually dies quickly. If you haven't reach FEVER, however, you'll have a bit of a battle trying to run after the animals whilst trying to kill them. The trick is to keep moving when the animals start to move. When you get closer, starts throwing the spears at them and they should die and leave you some goods.

After the second mission, you can go back to the village. You'll then get dancing tree minigame. In this game, you'll have to give the musician a Cafetaria Meat (the drumstick-looking meat in your inventory). He'll then awaken the tree and you'll have to follow the beat of the tree's song. If you do it well, the tree will drop some useful items you can use to create new Patapons. You'll also get access to the tree of life. In this area, you can choose two items to create new Tatepons, Yaripons, and later on, Yumipons. Depending on the elements that you use, you'll get different combination. For example, Cafetaria Meat + stone will produce basic Tatepons, but if you combine Tender Meats + Stone, you'll get a orange, rabbit ear Patapons, slightly stronger than your usual Tatepons. In addition to two items, you also need enough "Ka-ching" aka money to create new Patapon. You can get more materials and money by going back to the obelisk and re-doing the hunting stage as often as you like. You can also get extra materials by playing the tree mini-game.

When you go through the obelisk again, you'll notice that you can customize your Patapons. This means choosing what kind of gears and weapons they'll bring to the battlefield. This is an important part of the strategy because the better you can equip your Patapons, the better you'll perform in the battlefield. If you feel confident enough, you can go ahead and choose the next mission in the demo, which is basically a battle against Patapons' tribal nemesis. If you think you need to level up, however, just re-visit the hunting stage as often as you like, go back to the tree of life, create new Patapons, play the minigame, etc. I personally find the entire thing to be addictive. Even leveling-up feels fun and exciting even after multiple tries. Anyway, I haven't gone beyond the 3rd mission of the demo but I am definitely impressed with the game. This is one of those rare games that one doesn't get to see often. I think everything from the presentation, music, game mechanic, and RPG-like customization work well to create one unique and addictive game.

Release Date: 22 February in Europe and 26 February in US.

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