Game: Parappa The Rapper
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: NanaOn-Sha
Release Date: 17th July 2007
Originally released in 1997 on the Playstation, Parappa The Rapper took ten years to be ported to the PSP. In this time, lots of things changed in the gaming industry, including the release of many other rhythm games. Gamers were surprised to find then, that the PSP port of Parappa The Rapper was virtually unchanged from the Playstation version, featuring only a few downloadable remixes and fairly poor online capabilities.
The events of the game see the titular character through 6 stages, in which he must rap well enough to impress the instructor of each stage. In game activities vary from learning karate and driving, to cooking and selling merchandise on a market stall. All of these are achieved by pressing any of the X, Circle, Square, Triangle, L and R buttons in time to musical cues, copying the rhythm of the instructor to rap.
The story of the game is quirky and doesn't make a huge amount of sense as a plot, but it serves to inspire players to continue well enough. All players really need to know is that Parappa is in love with a girl named Sunny, and that the aim of the game is to impress her enough to reciprocate Parappa's feelings. As the game is fairly short, it'd have been difficult to put much more detail into the story.
The mechanics of the game itself are hard to master at first; visual cues must be disregarded, save for the buttons which need to be pressed. Unlike Dancing Stage games, the visuals aren't properly synchronised to the rhythm and so following the cues at the top of the screen is a sure way to lose the stage. While this can be an annoyance, it's not too hard to clear stages once this has been realised. There's also an issue with songs which use a double bar at the top of the screen, or scroll straight through to a third and fourth, as players are required to press buttons before they even know what's coming up. Again, being forewarned is the only way to combat this.
Graphically the game is presented in an almost hand-drawn style, with paper thin characters and low levels of detail for backgrounds and background objects. With no visual update from the Playstation era, the characters and locations do sometimes seem a little lacking, but liked the visuals overall. The songs and music used are catchy, and enjoyable. The lyrics are often simplistic and sometimes even cringe-worthy, but this only serves to amplify the game's character.
Overall while there are several problems which haven't been fixed from the original release of the game, Parappa The Rapper for PSP allows players to experience the game who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to. The downloadable remixes for the game are not particularly easy to find or download, which is a shame. The game can feel a little too short, even for a rhythm game of this kind, so an extra difficulty mode of some kind would have been a nice touch. Nonetheless the game is a quirky and somewhat enjoyable experience for fans of rhythm games, even if it doesn't have the polish and array of features we usually see in modern rhythm games.
Rating: 72/100
Grade: C
Game: Gitaroo Man Lives!
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Koei/Inis
Release Date: 14th November 2006
Another rhythm game port, this time from PS2, Gitaroo Man Lives! tells the story of U-1, who must defeat enemies with his Gitaroo skills to stop Zowie from obtaining the final Gitaroo, and presumably conquering the world. To do this, U-1 must showcase his playing skills against opponents over 10 stages, attempting to empty their life bars before his own becomes empty.
There are three modes to each stage; usually the first is charging, which allows U-1 to fill his life bar by playing well, with no damage for missing notes. Next comes battle mode which is split into two sections; attack and defense. Attack mode is played in the same way as charging, except that playing well now damages the enemy's health bar and missing notes damages U-1. Defense mode changes gameplay significantly, as button symbols fly into the middle of the screen from all directions and must be pressed in sequence to avoid taking damage. Finally when the opponent has been weakened, the final stage can begin, which works the same as attack mode, without the threat of a defense section.
To play the Gitaroo, players must point the analog stick of the PSP in the direction of the green line on which notes to be played sit, before pressing (and holding) a button to play each note. This system is pretty easy to get the hang of, and is unlike anything I've ever seen in a rhythm game. The defense system in battle mode utilises the face buttons for a change up in gameplay, and in many songs these two mechanics are switched between very quickly.
After all 10 story mode stages have been completed on either Normal or Easy difficulty mode, Master mode unlocks for an extra challenge. The overall difficulty of the game is pretty high, and towards the end it's challenging, even on Normal difficulty. Theater mode and Jukebox mode allow players to watch cutscenes from story mode and listen to music from previous stages. There's also some duet stages which can be played alone or with a friend who has a PSP and the game, that are a nice addition.
Graphically the game has an interesting cartoon style, with plenty of detailed characters and enemies, even if background objects lack in detail a little. The game's interface works well with the graphical style and doesn't get in the way of events happening onscreen behind the game. Musically the game is excellent as it features a wide range of musical styles and some truly enjoyable tunes. The voice acting in cutscenes is a little lacklustre, but I assume that it's been dubbed from the Japanese version.
Overall Gitaroo Man Lives! is a very interesting rhythm game that has innovative gameplay and many unique features, combined with a great soundtrack and a cliched, but tolerable story. The originality of the concept and overall style gives the game an impressive sense of identity. I'd definitely recommend this to fans of rhythm games who are looking for some extra challenge, as the game isn't particularly easy.
Rating: 75/100
Grade: B
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