Patapon 3

When I think of rhythm games, I think of something which is really cute that I can nod my head to. Now here is Patapon 3, a rhythm game with bite and also sort of cute.

The game begins straight after the end of Patapon 2 and your army have been frozen after opening a forbidden vessel and releasing an evil force. A bright light begins to tell you that the only way to save the world is to revive one of the mighty Hero Patapon and to also find three worthy soldiers to assist you.

After being revived a star called Silver Hoshipon, guides you and your army to your secret hideout. Here you are able to upgrade and choose the skills and weapons your army uses. There is also the option of playing multiplayer when you visit the Team Totem where you can enlist help to tackle levels or battle it out in versus mode. You are also able to access the world map to choose which quests to tackle. Each quest has a detailed description which tells you if it is more beneficial for levelling up your army, finding materials or for looting.

In Patapon 3 your aim is to control your three soldiers and the Hero Patapon through different levels filled with monsters and treasure. To get your army moving, you need to use one of the four different drum beats (PATA, PON, DON and CHAKA) by pressing the circle, square, ‘X’ or triangle button. You also need to keep to the rhythm which is represented by the flashing border which surrounds the screen. Once you complete your four beat, your army then performs the action. If you are able to successfully time your beat to the rhythm three times, your army is then able to perform more powerful attacks in Fever mode. But if you miss a beat or enter the wrong sequence, your army will suddenly stop. There are seven various combinations of the beats you can play which will make your army advance, attack and defend. Now don’t worry if you forget which combination will make you jump or retreat, each of the different beats is displayed at the bottom of the screen. If you are then able to get to the end of the level, you are rewarded with spoils, Ka-ching and much needed experience points which help your army to level up.

Patapon 3 is the rhythm game with musical bite. By combining rhythm and an upbeat soundtrack with fighting, strategy and weapons there is an element which can satisfy every gamer’s tastes. The fight sequences were really enjoyable to watch and with the gameplay being really easy to get into all levels of gamers can get into this game without any problems. Having said this, I did find some drawbacks which did taint my experience.

As I haven’t played Patapon 2, I found that I was a little lost in regard to the story and characters in Patapon 3. With only a very brief overview of the story, Patapon 3 expects you to have played the Patapon 2. I personally don’t like to play a game where they haven’t taken just a bit more time to actually explain a few things before plonking you right into it. I also found it very strange that during a quest you cannot pause the game. When you press the start button all you can do is abort the mission. To say this was extremely annoying would be an understatement. With all the niggling issues in regards to Patapon 3, it was able to hold my attention and keep me entertained.