Late to the Party
Patapon
By Jorge Figueiredo - June 5th, 2010
A long time ago, a friend pointed me to a video trailer for a game called Patapon. The game is about a race of walking, talking, rhythmic eyeballs who can be commanded via a set of four drums; each drum makes a distinct sound, and is mapped to one of the four action buttons on the PSP.
The premise was cool, but, at that time, none of the other PSP titles appealed to me, and I couldn’t justify buying a new console for just one game (those of you who cite my purchase of a PS3 just to play Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm should leave the room, please). Fast forward to 2010 and I have finally joined the PSP crowd; the first purchase I made for my PSPgo made me a very happy gamer.
Patapon places you in the role of a god who must help the Patapon achieve their goal: reclaim the land that they lost in the war against the Zigoton. As stated before, you indirectly guide the Patapon by using the sacred drums to guide them; there are a set of sequences that each play a role in this endeavour (move, attack, flee, etc.); the trick is to do these in sync with the base rhythm that is established at the beginning of each mission, otherwise the Patapon will fall out of step which may have disastrous consequences. Welcome to the most elegant of rhythm games.
You start with very little in the way of an army; but, through some hunting missions and simple battles your fighting force gets larger. As you progress, you collect new weapons, resources, and cash (called ka-ching); you also unlock different Patapon classes which you can summon into being at the Tree of Life, consuming resources and ka-ching; the more rare the resource and the higher the amount of ka-ching, the stronger your base units become.
Each class is also unique; there are Tatepon and Dekapon (melee), Yaripon and Yumipon (ranged), Kibapon (mounted) and – get this – classes that wield what look like deadly tubas (Megapon)! While there are six classes (seven if you count the banner-carrying Hatapon who is always there to rally the army), you can only use a few at a time, which means you really have to think about which units would be best suited to your enemies. And there are many.
Your opposition is varied; there are the Zigoton, for starters, who have similar units in their armies to yours (just replace the ‘pon’ with ‘ton’ in each of the classes); there are creatures that you can hunt for resources; there are some very interesting boss creatures. Each enemy you face will have strengths and weaknesses, as do you; the key is to be smart about how you configure your army at the set-up screen that starts every mission.
The graphics are simple, yet beautiful, as the game designers have managed to jam a ton of emotion into what amounts to a cartoon eyeball. The backgrounds are also very well done; landscapes create mood, and weather can help or hinder your army. The sound effects are the same, conveying what is going on effectively without a lot of thrills. It’s the music that really takes center stage. The songs, while similar, come in a variety of flavours; you will find yourself singing these to yourself while away from the game: guaranteed. By tying all the commands to drum sequences, and introducing a 1 bar delay between instruction and action, the designers limit your toolset, making you think on your feet; luck and skill are definitely separated. Even the juju are well thought-out (the juju are special rhythms you can find that will allow you to manipulate the elements for a period of time dictated by your success at a mini rhythm game).
The game “menu” is also very cute; you get to wander around the base camp of your Patapon army, observing the mood of your little soldiers; cryptic clues are available from your priestess if you allow her to divulge them, and the Altar is a handy place to review all of the items you have collected. You can repeat missions after you have successfully completed them; they increase in difficulty, but the rewards are greater. Fighting certain bosses at higher levels will expand your base camp by unlocking new characters that are portals to mini-game; winning these mini-games yields great rewards.
Combining a god game with a rhythm game is a refreshing concept chock full of challenge. Patapon is a fantastic experience that everyone with a PSP should own. It is available in UMD format, and is also downloadable for the PSPgo.
Now get up and PATA PATA PATA PON so you can PON PON PATA PON this game!
