Patapon (video game)

Gameplay of Patapon. The Patapon tribe is attacking the Zigoton tribe

Patapon is a video game that the player controls in a manner similar to rhythm games. The player takes the role of a deity worshipped by an anthropomorphic eye-ball army known as Patapons. The player can command the warriors by inputting specific sequences using the face buttons on the PSP (○ × △ □), each representing a drum. These sequences can command the tribe to move forward, attack, defend, and other actions. Successfully entering a proper sequence in sync with the rhythm will lead the tribe into a "Fever" increasing their attack and defensive bonuses.[1]

If the player ceases to command the Patapons, inputs an unknown sequence, or enters them off-beat, the tribe will become confused and stop whatever they are doing, losing the combo and Fever. The game is divided into several missions. Prior to each mission, the player can recruit new troops and assemble formations, equip troops with weapons and armor gained from the spoils of war, or crafted from certain minigames. The player can return to an earlier mission to acquire additional resources and equipment to build up their troops before a larger battle.[1]

Patapon follows the titular Patapon Tribe, a group of eyeball-like creatures. The Patapon tribe was once a flourishing nation led by their deity, the Mighty Patapon, in a journey to Earthend to gaze upon an enigmatic object simply known as "IT". The Patapon nation at one point was banished to the desolate frontier by their sworn enemy of similar eyeball-like creatures known as the Zigotons.

The story begins with the Mighty Patapon returning to a banner-wielding Patapon known as Hatapon after an undisclosed time after the Patapons' banishment. The Mighty Patapon is led back to the remnants of the Patapon Tribe to resume their journey to Earthend. Throughout their journey, the Patapon re-encounter the Zigoton tribe and other beasts. The Zigoton general, Gong the Hawkeye encounters the Patapon tribe multiple times by using Patapons as hostages and eventually having a final duel. Gong reveals to them that the Zigotons have their own prophecy which foretells that when the Patapons gaze at "IT", the world will fall into chaos. Towards the end of the game, many of the main Zigoton warriors sell their souls to the dark forces in an attempt to defeat the Patapons. Eventually, the ruler of the Zigotons, Queen Kharma, sells her soul in a final attempt to destroy the Patapons.

When she is defeated, a gateway to the Dark World opened and the Patapons are tasked to kill the ancient demon, Gorl. Once defeated, the Patapons reach a coast, which they assumed to be Earthend, and see the rising sun, and assumed that it is "IT". However, unfulfilled by the anticlimactic end of their journey, they come to the conclusion that "IT" is not the sun. Queen Kharma joins the Patapons and admits to them that the Zigotons also fooled themselves into believing the sun was "IT". The game concludes with the Patapons and Zigotons working together to make a ship.

Patapon was developed by Pyramid and produced by Japan Studio. The game was designed by Hiroyuki Kotani.[2] The game was originally announced on June 11, 2007, during the E3 2007 press conference.[3] The designs for the Patapons were originally created in 2002 by french artist Rolito and were featured on his personal website in 2004.[4] When Kotani discovered their design, he envisioned the creatures marching into battle and chose to create a video game entirely based on their design.[5] Kotani contacted Rolito through a representative group known as Interlink in 2005 and recruited him to develop the game using the Patapon characters.[6] Rolito was tasked with creating a fictional universe for the characters. The development team would provide drafts and be evaluated by Rolito. Once approved, Rolito would provide the final design.[7] The name "Patapon" was conceived by Rolito taken from an old French nursery rhyme that used the word "Patapon" for children. Kotani chose the name due to it resembling the sounds of drums and marching.[6]

The game developed for two years with the first 21 months developing the prototype and the remaining 3 months dedicated to mass production. Kotani aimed to create a game that never existed before.[8] Kotani's main goal was to make the game simple.[9] Kotani chose to recruit Pyramid to develop their game based on their previous work.[7] The original concept of Patapon was to control the characters using adjectives and complex grammar, however, was simplified to making the commands more onomatopoeic once the name was decided.[10] The game was developed with the ability to be played as a simple game and as a complex game depending on the player's preference.[9] One of the most difficult challenges to develop was the dialogue for the enemy army, Zigoton, due to the player possibly unable to read it during gameplay.[11] Kemmei Adachi served as composer while Kotani wrote the lyrics. Kemmei was recruited from the game's conception and proposed ideas to develop the game. Music was composed of multiple African instruments. Pyramid proposed to make the Patapons sing back to the player once a command was sent. Vocals for the songs were provided by Kemmei and Kotani's son who was 10 years old at the time.[7]

Patapon was released in Japan on December 20, 2007.[12] It was later released in Europe on February 22, 2008, and in North America on February 26, 2008.[13][14] To promote the game, an event was held from December 5 to December 17, 2007 at the Sample Lab in Omotesando, Tokyo.[15] A demo was released on February 7, 2008 in Japan.[16] A demo for North America and Europe was released later on February 14, 2008.[17] The demo provided an exclusive weapon that could be transferred to the main game.[18] A port for PlayStation 4, titled Patapon Remastered, was released worldwide on August 1, 2017.[19]

The game was well-received among critics, holding an aggregate score of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic.[20] IGN considers Patapon, "not only one of the best rhythm games ever released, it's also one of the best titles for the PSP."[29] GameSpot gave Patapon cited its excellent art design and innovative gameplay.[28] 1UP.com noted its understated strategic depth despite the game's faults.[22] Game Informer praised the game, calling it" an extremely absorbing gameplay experience". Game Informer further commended the variety of minigames and missions in the game and noted how it prevented the game from becoming a repetitive endeavor.[26] GamePro appreciated the depth of the gameplay, in particular on subtle markers and hidden objects are vital to progressing the game.[27] Eurogamer praised the gameplay calling it, hypnotic and trance-like and not too complicated to control.[24]

Despite the positive response to the gameplay, multiple reviewers noted some criticism to the gameplay. IGN and PALGN were disappointed in the lack of a pause option during gameplay.[30] Game Informer found fault in relying on weapon obtaining and army upgrading through materials that are dropped by chance.[26] Both IGN and Eurogamer made similar criticism for requiring to replay previous missions in order to obtain resources.[24] X-Play noted the gameplay can feel like a grind and also criticized the minigames for requiring up to three songs to obtain a specific item.[32]

In regards to the visual style, it was received with praise by multiple reviewers. PALGN complimented the art design, calling it cute and comparing it to paper cut-outs.[30] GamePro called the art style "eye-catching" and noted the Patapon tribe being full of personality.[27] IGN made similar comments, compared it to playing a cartoon and how expressive the Patapon tribes are.[29] GameDaily compared the art to the classic children's book, Where the Wild Things Are.[33] X-Play praised the art style by calling it gorgeous, however, noted that it may be too cute for some.[32]

The music of Patapon was received positively by multiple reviews and described the game as "catchy".[30][33][32] Multiple reviewers also noted the command for attack (Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon) and march (Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon) to be stuck in their head or be chanted after playing the game.[29][27][22] PALGN particularly praised the music changing when reaching Fever mode.[30] Gamespot gave the music a mixed reaction, stating that it's either going to be loved or hated.[28]

The game has sold 229,000 copies in North America by January 2009.[34] Famitsu inducted into their Hall of Fame under their "Platinum" rank.[25] GameSpot nominated in the "Best of 2008" awards for "Best Graphic, Artistic", "Best original game mechanic", "Best original IP", "Best Rhythm/Music game", "Best PSP game" and won "Best original music" and "Most innovative game".[35] IGN awarded the game for Best Music/Rhythm game,[36] Best Artistic Design,[37] Best Original Score,[38] Best New IP,[39] and PSP Game of the Year.[40] Patapon was nominated 5th British Academy Games Awards for the Handheld category.[41]

On July 9, 2008, Patapon 2[42] was announced. The game was released on UMD on November 27, 2008, in Japan and on February 13, 2009, in Europe. The North American version was released May 5, 2009, as a digital format download from the PlayStation Store.[43] People who reserved a copy of the game at a retail store were given a voucher to download it from the PlayStation Store. The game features new bosses and new units, a multiplayer mode, and the appearance of a new tribe.

During E3 2010, Sony announced Patapon 3.

• Jungle Rumble, a rhythm game where drumming is used to control a tribe of monkeys with a Patapon influenced mechanic

Translation

Citations

• Patapon website (in Japanese) archived from the original.