News

• Reviewed on: PlayStation Portable
• Also available for: N/A
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• The Good: Same charming characters and cut scenes. Brilliant songs. Free remixes. New wireless multiplayer.
• The Bad: At six songs, too short by today's standards. Same illogical judging system. Some remixes better than others.
• The Verdict: Pioneering music game is still brilliant, but shows its age
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Had PaRappa the Rapper not broken the ground for the rhythm action genre there's a good chance we'd never have seen the likes of Karaoke Revolution, Donkey Konga, Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Originally released ten years ago for the original PlayStation console, the game' s quirky songs and cut scenes, unique paper-thin art aesthetic (before Paper Mario) and cute mantra of "I gotta believe" have earned it a place in the music game canon.

The magic is still there on this re-release for PlayStation Portable, but at the same time it's hard not to notice how far rhythm action games have come since PaRappa (thanks in large part to the inspiration of PaRappa itself).

Kick, punch, it's all in the mind!

A big part of PaRappa's charm was that it featured a cast of characters in ongoing story that unfolded through cut scenes that played out in between each song (similar in concept to a theatrical musical). The title character, PaRappa tries to impress the girl of his dreams Sunny Funny by becoming a hero like his rival for her attentions, Joe Chin.

With the guidance of Chop Chop Master Onion and other mentors, PaRappa learns various life skills on his quest to improve himself, whether it's getting his driver's license with Mooselini the driving instructor, jamming with the reggae Prince Fleaswallow at the flea market to earn money to buy a new set of wheels, or baking with Cheap Cheap Chicken to make a cake for Sunny's birthday.

In terms of gameplay, the songs follows a call-and-response pattern, where the character raps a line and the player makes PaRappa repeat it by pressing buttons in the correct rhythms as indicated on a bar with a scrolling cursor. After each line, you're assigned a rating and can get bumped up or down a meter based on your performance. Earn "Good" and you'll pass the song, but get "Bad" or "Awful" and you'll be forced to retry. You can also improvise by making up your own rhythms to earn a special "Cool" rating.

Do you know why we stopped the car?

The judging system for the original PaRappa was always a bit finicky, and unfortunately that hasn't changed with the re-release. Sometimes lines that seem to have perfect rhythm still get bumped down, and it's impossible to predict which improvisations are going to be received favourably or rejected. Unfortunately this makes the game more frustrating than it should have been.

At only six songs, brilliant and catchy though they are, PaRappa the Rapper now seems too short by today's music game standards of 30 songs or more. Rhythm action adepts could finish everything the game has to offer in a couple of hours. In terms of add-ons, the PSP version offers wireless multiplayer capabilities for challenging a friend, and a handful of free downloadable remixes to play through.

The remixes that I sampled consisted of the original vocal track with a different musical background. Some, like the Chop Chop Master Onion's remixes, turned out pretty well, although others, like the one that tried to graft Prince Fleaswallow's reggae lyrics overtop of pop-rock chord changes, just didn't work.

Bring back the lamb

While PaRappa the Rapper's clever songs and charming vibe have certainly stood the test of time, some new songs, or at the very least some more inspired remixes, would have made the PSP version a better value proposition — especially for those who have already played the original.

Or, while we're on the topic of re-releases, why not throw the PaRappa spin-off Um Jammer Lammy onto the disc as well? The game stars a guitar-playing lamb and is three times longer than PaRappa the Rapper, but seems to have slipped into relative obscurity while PaRappa basks in its iconic status simply for being first out of the gate. A package containing both classics together would be a huge treat for rhythm action fans. By itself, however, PaRappa is sweet but a little too short.