Patapon 2

"Don! Don! Chaka! Chaka!"

Don! Don! Chaka! Chaka!

In virtually every way possible, Patapon 2 is a gloriously updated Patapon 1, but what makes this so great is that Patapon 1 was already one of the best games to come out for the PSP. Patapon 2 takes the quirky gameplay, stunning visuals, cheap price, and bundles it together to make a product that's even more fun and addictive than the original.


Story N/A


In this game, the story is pretty much irrelevant. What makes it fun is the shining gameplay. Although there is some semblance of a story, it only acts as a medium by which the game can progress.


Gameplay 9.5


This is what makes a game a success or a failure. In Patapon 2, it lives up to its predecessor and adds even more charming qualities. The game is set up as a rhythm game, but if that's not your cup of tea, I'm sure you'll manage to find some redeeming qualities in the RPG and strategy elements in this game. Although this game is made up of so many different genres of gaming, it manages to mesh them together seamlessly into a game that feels right.

The basic point of the game is to play the Patapons' Mighty God. You have to get your army of Patapons to the end of every mission and wipe out the native Karmens, local creatures, and multiple bosses. You accomplish this through using the X, Square, Circle, and Triangle buttons on your PSP. Each of these is associated with a drum: Don, Pon, Pata, and Chaka, respectively. These are implemented in conjunction with a four-four beat system to make different drum-chants. Despite starting out only with the chants to progress forward – Pata Pata Pata Pon – and attack – Pon Pon Pata Pon – as you progress, set-ups like defend, charge up, and, even, retreat will become available. Part of what makes this so great is watching your units run up and smack a giant worm with their swords or seeing them flee a massive robot falling over with screams of terror. It really makes for a fun time, and you begin to develop a bond with your army.

With your different attacks, you use them in succession following the pattern of input recall. Basically, you tell your Patapons their next course of action, and listen to them chant it out and watch them perform your command. This is all done in the aforementioned beat system, but this does not make it impossible by any means. Unless you are completely devoid of any rhythmic skill, it adds a nice sense of difficulty to the game. Nevertheless, even if you still find the game too easy or hard, you can increase or ramp up the difficulty from the main screen. Essentially, the only change is the recognition of what qualifies as a successful command entry. On easy, the game is very lenient with off-timing, but you still cannot button-mash. You have to make some semblance of an effort. Either way, this handy addition helps appeal to a wider audience, and I challenge you to attempt it one “hard” difficulty! It really is significantly more difficult than “normal”. After a series of successful chants, your army will go into “FEVER” mode. In this state, the Patapons' attacks will become much stronger. For example, the archers will go from shooting one arrow to three in fever.

Now, speaking of units, your army consists of different kinds of Patapon. There are many different kinds of units that can be unlocked using the game's “Evolution Charts”. You start off with Tatepons (warriors), Yumipons (archers), and Yaripons (spear-throwers), and from these, as you unlock different Rarepons (special versions of their respective class) on their charts, you earn the ability to make other types of units. Eventually, you'll have nine different types of units. These range from mages to robots, so there is definitely a great variety of choice for the player. One of the best improvements over Patapon 1 is that each of these units has been balanced for different situations. Where the old game had a “best party”, this one presents multiple situations where some units are heavily favoured over others. Because of this, it is recommended that the player makes as many different types of units whenever possible. Although certain types will not be able to be unlocked until later, they remain an incentive for the player to unlock.

With each of these units comes a new addition to the series: the hero. He can be changed between the different types of units, so he is not limited to one kind. Unlike the regular Patapons, however, he gets the ability to use powered-up hero attacks. During fever mode, if you manage to make a perfect command entry, your hero will launch an all out offensive on the enemy. These attacks are incredibly powerful, and they, alone, can really turn the tide in battle; however, they only last provided you can continue to make a combo of perfect entries.

As for the enemies you kill, there are tons. From different kinds of Karmens (your enemy in this game) to grazing cow-like creatures, to multiple bosses, you will definitely have a variety of enemies to tackle. As such, the game divides its missions into specific types: hunting, boss, and fortress. In each kind of mission, you will encounter enemies that are relevant to your goal. In hunting missions, you get the opportunity to fight harmless creatures that will provide you with the materials necessary to evolve your Patapons. Boss missions are pretty self-explanatory: you attempt to kill a boss so that you can get their special “drops”. The fortress missions involve you taking on one of the Karmens' many bases in an attempt to drive them off. Just so these do not get too repetitive, Patapon 2 includes different types of weather. This aspect can do anything from making the stage a little more difficult to completely changing the creatures in it. It's a welcome addition, but when it changes the bosses, it can be rather annoying if you are trying to find a specific type. This is just a trivial matter, however, as there are many other missions to do if one of them is “unfavourable” for the time being.

As if this were not enough, Patapon 2 introduces a multi-player aspect to the series. By killing bosses, you have the opportunity to unlock their respective “eggs”. These allow you to go on a special hero-only mission with your friends or computer generated heroes provided by the game. By going to the Patagate with one of these eggs, you initiate a re-enacted version of the boss or the mission. By finishing this task within a prescribed time-limit, you'll begin the Don Chaka mini-game. Here, you have to perform anything from matching beats, to identifying beats by sound, or following a sequence of beats that scroll across the screen. If you do well enough, you will be rewarded with more computer units, different types of masks for your hero, or high-level materials. This is a welcome change to this new edition because it is what sets it apart from being “Patapon 1.5”, and it is a great way to share this with your friends.

The last aspect of the game is the mini-games. The developers have added even more to the mix to compensate for the wide array of new items and unit types. Furthermore, they've re-adjusted some of the old games to make them clearer and polished. To top it off, there's been the addition of difficulty levels. All games start out at level 1, and as you progress, you can unlock levels 2 and 3. Some mini-games definitely are better than others. For example, the Tree game is great for collecting a wide variety of materials. On the other hand, games like the Mountain one with Kon Kimpon are not nearly as rewarding. Eventually, you will reach a point where the majority of mini-games are irrelevant, but it is still nice to have them as an alternative.

One of the largest issues with gameplay has to be the lack of a pause button. Although this was one of the biggest complaints from Patapon 1, the developers have kindly ignored that improvement. Nevertheless, this is one of the only major faults in Patapon 2's gameplay. So, it really manages to identify itself well.

Pros:
Fun, dynamic, variety

Cons:
Lack of a pause button

Visuals 10
When you have such a specialized artistic feel, there is very little that can go wrong. Everything from a unique font, to great backgrounds, to the visuals of your army and enemies, everything is realized exquisitely. Apart from glancing over at the images tab, I can't describe the graphics any better than beautiful.

Sound 9

This game is a rhythm game, after all, but the sounds do get a little tiring after 50 or so hours. One nice touch is that the game lists the title of each song as it is introduced to a stage. There are certain themes that have made a comeback, and some new ones have also been added, but they do not compare to the old songs. Given the decrease in overall quality of the songs, and their repetitive nature, a 9 is more than justifiable.

Overall, I rate this game a 10. It's a great game, and there is no excuse to not pick this up. Without a doubt, it is one of the best games for the PSP and the year.

BUY IT!. It's only $20, anyway.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/09

Game Release: Patapon 2 (US, 05/05/09)