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This is one of those games that sneaks up on you. At first glance, Patapon
looks like an overly simplistic game with some gimmicky play but not a lot
of depth. However, this changes as you play the game's later stages, where
you have multitudes of Patapon to command and massive enemy armies to
battle, things become a lot more interesting and intense. Patapon's unique
style of play definitely makes for some interesting strategic decisions.
Your main objective is to move them from the left side of the screen to
the right, attacking any foes you encounter, collecting items and hunting
for food and additional items. It takes place on a 2D playfied and all the
objects in the game are rendered visually minimal, which makes the action
easy to understand. It seems simple on the surface, but this is deceptive.
Like the similarly themed Loco Roco from the same developers, Patapon
wraps complicated strategic play under a simplistic presentation, though
Patapon feels much more active. Superficially, its gameplay resembles the
classic Lemmings, though instead of being passive, these warriors attack
their obstacles. Despite its similarities in style and presentation to
other games on the market, Patapon feels like a refreshing change of pace.
The game's interface is unique as well, and makes this feel more like a
music game than an action title. Instead of controlling the characters
manually, you have to beat on the drums using the PSP's square and
triangle buttons. Alternating these beats creates songs, which are the
commands that your Patapon respond to. If you correctly make the notes,
you'll enable specific commands that they'll hear and follow. However, you
can't do this randomly and instead need to play specific songs on the
drums in time to the beat of the music, which is shown by a bar that
flashes around the screen. You need to get the timing just right, which
takes some practice but becomes more intuitive as you play along.
 When
you command them to do something, they'll follow your instructions and
attack or move around the screen. The unique pacing follows a call and
response where you have to wait for the tiny Patapon to respond for a bar
before you can issue the next command. You can build combos and momentum
by successfully completing a sequence of songs, which sends them into a
frenzy, making them move faster and attack more effectively. Each stage of
the game presents a variety of different obstacles and enemies. Most of
the opponents you face will attack your Patapon almost immediately, so
you'll need a large army of specific types to defeat them. As you move
your army towards the goal, you can collect special items that appear when
you defeat foes. These can include power-ups that restore your health or
special items that you can use between stages to upgrade your Patapon
creatures or create new types to use in later battles. Before you begin
each mission, you can equip and deploy your armies and give them weapons
such as swords and spears to use and give them helmets and shields to help
protect them from attacks. You can also use the different elements such as
food and wood you find in battle between missions to create other items
for your armies as well. This unique upgrade system gives you plenty of
flexibility and keeps you interested in the gameply throughout.
Patapon starts off simply enough,
gradually introducing new abilities and types of characters to use, while
adding new songs here and there that give you the ability to perform
additional commands, which adds to the challenge. The game's complexity
sneaks up on you and before you know it, you are managing complex assaults
and massive numbers of little soldiers into battle, which is almost as
much fun as the battles themselves. Patapon's levels are fairly well
designed and offer an excellent balance between combat and strategy.
Timing your moves so your soldiers are close enough to attack without
taking damage is a big part of the strategy, doing so allows you to get
through the next stage without losing any of your soldiers. The levels
themselves are fairly simple, and filled with imaginative enemies and
creatures, some of which will come to your aid and join your forces if you
play things just right. Most of your time is spent attacking enemies and
deflecting their advances, but there are also other objects you'll
encounter. For example, there are large creatures that you can hunt for
food and numerous special objects in each stage. Most of the action
progresses quickly from left to right but sometimes you'll need to attack
enemy buildings in order to progress. These varying tasks help to keep the
game fresh and interesting throughout, creating an immersive balance that
makes Patapon engaging and fun.
 Visually,
the game takes its cues from games like Loco Roco, and features a brightly
colored, minimalistic design with a very cool tribal gathering motif. The
game's design is quite beautiful and its seamless animation and unique
character designs make for an immediacy and simplicity that many other
modern games lack. Its 2D approach makes things instantly accessible and
allows the gameplay to shine through. As you might have guessed, the
game's music is superb as well, with primal drum thumping and a tribal
beat that drives the gameplay home throughout. The characters mostly speak
in high-pitched tones, which adds to Patapon's cuteness and appeal, though
in a clever touch, comic-style word balloons appear over their heads so
you can tell what's going on. This is definitely one of the more
aesthetically appealing and accessible titles from a design standpoint on
the PSP, and effectively highlights the handheld's versatility. Even
though it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, Patapon is
actually one of the more entertaining and challenging titles on the
handheld. It's accessible and innovative gameplay combined with its unique
sensibility makes Patapon one of the more unique titles on PSP, and it's
low price makes it an irresistible title you won't regret picking up.
- Michael Palisano
Grade: A
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