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Patapon Review

Chris Leyton

22/02/2008

Pata, Pata, Pata, Pon... TVG goes slightly crazy in love with Kouno-san and Rolito's creative collaboration...

With a strong musical theme and a highly distinctive linear visual style, it's easy to imagine Patapon as the latest idea to leap from LocoRoco's Tsutomu Kouno's highly imaginative mind. In truth, it's something of an international menagerie of efforts, the sole link to Kouno-san's vivacious PSP platformer stemming from Kenmei Adachi's return in charge of the game's ubiquitous use of sound.

Most noted for heading Sony's pioneering Game Yarouze efforts during the 90s, Hiroyuki Kotani's first title as a freelance game designer in collaboration with acclaimed French designer Rolito marks a profoundly artistic impact on Sony's handheld. Bringing Rolito's inimitable designs to life on the PSP, Patapon is principally based around a rhythm/action mechanic - but it's probably the strangest one we've seen so far!

Once fearless warriors, the Patapon story begins with the tribe lying defeated on the battlefield. Drawing upon a Native American theme and loose setting for Rolito's work, Patapon arms the player with an assortment of drums and songs to stir the tribe back into action, hunting Rolito's interpretation of buffalos and fighting against their dreaded Zigaton rivals. After signing a Holy Pact to put the swing back into the Pantapon and guide them to glory, the initial task centres upon resurrecting Hatapon, the first and most important Patapon you'll come across.

Split between hunting stages, boss fights, and standard attacking or defending bouts against the Zigaton, Patapon's series of missions provide an engaging arrangement for the unique action that ensues. Despite its linear structure, Patapon (like the greatest games) challenges you to keep coming back for more, fighting against higher-level bosses or discovering hidden secrets that you lacked the ability to discover the first time through.

Pata-Pata-Pata... Ummm

Merging the most bizarre clash of genres we've seen since Yoot Saito pushed troops onto the pinball table with Odama on the GameCube, Patapon marries rhythm/action tap-along action with the strategy and tactics of an RTS - leading to the question, what was running through the minds of Japanese developers when they first played Command & Conquer?

Beginning with the basic 'Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon' (get used to it, it's going to be drilled into your psyche) to advance the Patapon forwards, beating a song leads to the Patapon chanting along and performing the associated technique; after which it's time to drum another mantra and continue the combo. The basic drum-chant-repeat cycle provides the basis for the entire duration of the game; fortunately, it's the basis for one of the most alluring and mesmerising concepts to grace the slowly expanding list of distinctive PSP titles.

Quickly expanding upon the 'Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon' with 'Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon' and 'Chakra-Chakra-Pata-Pon' yields attacking and defensive commands. Hatapon (remember him?) is the main Patamon on the field, the commands centre around the diminutive flag bearer and if he dies then it's mission over. The challenge of deciding which command to issue while beating along in a rhythmic manner provides an entertaining and rewarding experience. More so than any other rhythm/action title, Patapon successfully integrates a layer of gameplay on top of the hypnotic button-tapping action, resulting in an irresistible experience that will quickly warm to many PSP owners' hearts. Although it begins a little hectic and bewildering, Patapon is extremely easy to pick up and follow, hypnotically tapping along while concentrating on battle tactics and reading the speech bubbles that pop up all over the place.

Knowing the difference between your Tatepons, Yumnipons, Yaripons, and Kibapons is crucial to success. Reinforcing the RTS elements of the game, each of these represent types of Patapaons specialising in melee, ranged, and mixed combat respectively. Each have an assortment of strengths and weaknesses, all of which continues to reveal the greater level of depth lurking beyond the four simplistic moves and rhythm/action gameplay.

Armed with axes and shields the Tatepons provide the first line of attack and defence, yet their excellence in melee combat means you'll want to leave these guys at home when you're out hunting for resources on the plains (more on that later). Conversely, with their medium range and resistance to fire and drowsiness, the Yaripon are adept at hunting and play the middle ground during combat. The Yumnipon round out the balanced cast, providing long range attacks with bow and arrows, but little in close quarters defence. Finally, the Kibapon, available later in the game, can be switched for an existing type, providing mounted steeds to carry out quick dash attacks. The simple and distinct pros and cons behind each unit type coupled with the low number of unit types may not be to the tastes of sophisticated RTS fanatics, but it's a crucial necessity to ensuring the strategy element never unbalances the equation with needless complexity.

Hitting a rhythmical climax with a combo of 10 chants or precisely nailing each 'Pata' in an individual chant sends the Patapons into a Fever, vastly improving their attack or defend commands. Maintained by frantically perfecting every subsequent chant the Fever adds a level of pressure and frenzy that escalates the intensity immensely. It's also the key to performing the range of Miracles encountered throughout the game, requiring a deft touch of the X button and knowledge of the 'Don-Don Don-Don Don' to solve puzzles such as bringing rain to inhospitable deserts.

It's Not Just Beating A Drum

Reminding us that despite the accessible rhythmic gameplay there's an RTS to heart, Patapon takes a lot of pleasure in displaying the vast reams of figures and stats going on in the background. With plenty of traditional RTS elements such as strengths and weaknesses to certain types of attacks, critical hit percentages, and much more, Patapon's gameplay away from the rhythm/action formula is surprisingly more complex then what it initially appears to offer.

Recruiting new units requires both resources and the game's currency Ka-ching. The necessities of food, stone, and wood, are collected from fallen opponents and during hunts, appearing in various different forms of quality, which in turn are used to amass a mighty Patapon army and powerful legendary heroes (provided you've got enough Ka-ching). Equipping each of the Patapons with weapons and various other goodies is a key requisite and provides the additional challenge of discovering the rare legendary blades, spears, shields, and bows.

Despite its accessible rhythm/action gameplay, Patapon's hidden depth provides plenty of intrigue and interest beyond the genre's typical demographic. Beyond the ability to tap along rhythmically and decide the best time to advance, attack, and defend, subtle advance techniques slowly begin to unfold such as attacking from afar for stealth kills with the Yumnipon. Elements such as wind and rain play a vital role in the game, introducing a further element of timing to the rhythm/action gameplay by affecting everything from an arrow's trajectory to the waft of scent alerting a buffalo when out on the prowl - which coincidentally dampens during a fortuitous shower of rain.

A Veritable Treat On The Eyes & Ears

Bringing Rolito's designs successfully to the PSP, Patapon is a visual masterpiece of simplistic proportions. Beyond its modest style lurks a game packed full of visual charisma and an abundance of little details: Patapons stare at you blankly for direction when you miss a beat and gesticulate wildly when you're hitting every note, it's hard not to adore these little fellas.

Naturally music plays an integral role to the game, although it's worth pointing out that this element (and by its very nature the entire game) is likely to split opinions. If repetitive kitschy bleeps of strange distorted sounds will drive you nuts with anger, stay away from Patapon, it's never going to do it for you. In fact, it's probably always best to play Patapon with a pair of headphones, simply for the sanity of people nearby - plus it's easier to hit the notes. Carefully designed to assist with touches such as precise beats resulting in a 'better' chime and the Pantapons cheering more vehemently, Patapon's use of sound and music is hard to fault if it doesn't drive you nuts when 'Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon' is the only thing going around in your head at 3:00am.