PaRappa the Rapper 2

"Is the good old Parappa gone? I hope not."

Intro:
I was in Japan this summer and decided to pick up a Japanese Playstation 2 so I could play some imports. I happened to be in Akihabara the day Parappa the Rapper 2 came out so I figured that since the last two Parappas were awesome, I would enjoy this one too.

Story
8.5/10
Parappa wins a lifetime supply of noodles and has been eating them for a long time. He decides to mix things up a bit and go get a burger. The only problem is that all the burgers have mysteriously turned into NOODLES!!! He asks for something else and all the food in Parappa town have turned into noodles. You must help Parappa save the town so he can enjoy a burger. A wacky story line, but funny nonetheless. They execute the storyline with humorous movies in between levels like in the previous installments of this game.

Gameplay
8/10
Parappa the Rapper 2 features the same type of gameplay as the last two Parappas with the addition of tweaked accuracy and a new scoring system. Just look at the bar on the top of the screen and follow along. When the little Parappa symbol hits goes along the top, you hit the buttons that are indicated by the symbols. Pretty simple, but it can get tricky. At the start of every stage you have to complete a VERY boring lesson with a small boombox with a face. This is kind of neat at first, but gets very boring after a while, and once you get the the final stages you can sometimes be sitting there doing the pattern over and over for a few minutes. This seams to like a cheesey way to make up for the lack of songs in this game.
The game still has it's old 2 player mode, and multiple difficulties, but the place where this game gets hit the most is in the level department. There are only about 8 levels, and Parappa 2 can be completed in under an hour your first time through. Considering the amount of songs and levels you could fit on a DVD, they really should have made more levels. It is very easy the first time through, but becomes increasingly difficult as you get higher in the difficulty levels, but on the normal difficulty, it is just way too easy.

Graphics
9/10
This is where the game really shines. It's the same old 2.5D (I'll call it 2.5D because it is flat ''1'' D characters in a 3D world)graphics, with paper thin characters, but with increased resolution and sharper images, it looks awesome.

Sound/Music
4/10
This is the single most important aspect of this game, and it comes up short. The songs really feel as if the writers are completely running out of ideas and are just doing anything to complete the rhyme, or the song. The songs all feel old and boring, with sub-par lyrics. There are a few stages that will make you smile, but this game definitely does not have that old Parappa and Um Jammer Lammey feeling to it. The sound quality is great though.

Comments
Overall it was a fun experience, but with the lack of levels and interesting songs, it is just plain boring. I do not recommend buying this game, but rent it, it is still fun nonetheless.
I would give this game 6.5 or 7 out of ten.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/02, Updated 01/02/02