Almost 10 years after its original release, PaRappa the Rapper has been ported to the PSP. Some factions have argued that the game ought to have been released on the PSN, rather than as a full priced PSP game. However, we’d argue, that while the game was quite an influence upon its initial release, the music genre has evolved considerably since then. Given this, the game really should have been taken back to the drawing board and looked for new ideas, rather than this attempt to recycle the formula worked upon for the inception of the genre.
For those who never played it, PaRappa the Rapper tells a loose story revolving around a stylised cartoon dog named PaRappa, and the exploits with his friends, who happen to be a singing cat, a DJ bear and a dainty sunflower love interest. These exploits include hanging out at a beach, donut palour, learning to drive and other arbitrary tasks. There are six “levels” and at the beginning of each, PaRappa discovers that he needs to do something - become stronger, learn to drive, earn money - which then sets off a rap. Upon completion of this rap, he will have achieved whatever he set out to achieve.
Something stinks.
In the least, the style and presentation of the game do not look out of place by today’s gaming standards. Sure, the style does represent an overtly cutesy and exaggerated approach but it fits in well with the game and the feel that it’s trying to capture. The whole “I gotta believe” theme comes off a tad cheesy but it does provide a platform for the game to work off. Furthermore, the game has a wholesome goodness about it and is essentially a feel good game, which is something that the other music games of the day lacked.
The issues with this re-release are two fold. Firstly, while the method and execution of the gameplay worked reasonably well upon its initial release, the gameplay method of pressing buttons as they appeared on the screen has since been upgraded and exploited in new and different ways. This includes various input devices such as a dance mat or mock guitar. Secondly, the game is brutally punishing on your timings and anyone without any musical direction will likely find themselves incredibly frustrated with this game.
The PSP really has only one other music game-timing game of note – Gitaroo Man Lives!, which actually manages to play quite well on the PSP. With the case of PaRappa, we’re not sure whether it’s the actual timing or the ported display that causes a lot of the problem. As with most timing games, you’re watching a meter on the screen that prompts you to press the given button. This meter is actually quite tiny in proportion to the rest of the display, so we believe that part of the problem relates to the fact that it can be hard to directly hit the prompted button at the right time.
There are six “raps” or levels in PaRappa the Rapper, and two difficulty settings. In each rap, you'll score points for correct timings and lose points for incorrect timings. Lose too many points and you'll fail the rap. On the easy setting, so long as you're not stuffing around, you should be able to pass without too many concerns. However, it's incredibly easy this way and you'll only be able to play through the first three raps. In complete contrast, the "normal" difficulty is brutally difficult. Unless you're highly musically inclined, the game is an awful struggle. Still, this does stop players from completing the game in under an hour. There is a multiplayer component, where four players can rap competitively and a game share option is available as well.
Oh come on, we're not THAT bad...
In its day, PaRappa the Rapper was reasonably endearing, primarily because what you put into the controller would happen on the screen. This put it above most of the other music-timing games, as they would require you to press the right button and then "something" would happen. In PaRappa for example, if the command was to "chop" or "turn right", PaRappa would perform that action. Furthermore, the game required you to pick up the rhythm and keep to it. As far as musical games went, it worked reasonably well.
Aside from the exceedingly punishing need to have the correct timing, the primary issues with the gameplay are that it lags behind the improvements that have been made in the music genre and that it loses a lot of mainstream appeal. Once music games started adding dance mats, crazy peripherals and touch screens, the act of simply pressing buttons in sequence feels redundant. The difficulty also puts the game out of reach for people who still struggle to remember the position of the triangle button on their pad.
The truth is that with the existence of games such as Ouendan and Ouendan 2, which have revolutionised the musical genre, and games like Guitar Hero, which have taken music games to the absolute mainstream, there is no way for PaRappa the Rapper to compete. This little pup simply can't withstand the modern male cheer leading squad or the legends of rock.
PaRappa the Rapper for the PSP is essentially a port of the original game, so what you'll find here is pretty much all the content from the original game. However, there has also been the addition of downloadable content. These come in the form of remixed songs, though it's arguable whether or not they add anything to the package as a whole. Strangely enough, we were unable to download them yet, as we are greeted with a "coming soon" screen. They're available for the US and Japan to download; why not us, especially since the game has now been released?
Yeah, we are that bad.
While the style of gameplay may not be what we'd expect from today's standards, the graphical stylings and musical flavour of the game still manage to hold their own. As we've mentioned, the graphical style is rather cutesy, but it retains personality and a unique appeal. It is apparent though, that the game is based off the original PS1 game, as no real upgrades have been made. Something should have been done with the meter, such as making it larger or more prominent. The raps still sound good today and they seem fresh from the fact that every second word is NOT an expletive. The in-game sound effects are nicely set-up and aren't your typical menu progressing sounds. Of course, we can't really comment on the remixes, as they're not available yet. At the end of the day though, the sound and music are the highlights of the game.
Standing alone, PaRappa the Rapper is not that bad a game, especially if you consider the competition on the PSP and that it's being charged at below normal retail price. However, it is completely outclassed when the options outside of the handheld gaming arena are taken into account. The DS is currently leagues ahead of the PSP in terms of music games and PaRappa simply can't fight the battle on his own. The game is really only good for a nostalgic feeling, from a time where Sony was fighting its way to the top of the pops. However, the times have change. So much so that this dog's tricks are no longer enough.
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