Patapon 2, the popular sequel to one of the most unique rhythm-based 2D platform/action games, finally got its well-deserved Remastered treatment. Bringing over the successful PSP game to PlayStation 4 certainly took a lot of time, but now we can finally guide our little troops to victory once more.

Pon Pon Pata Pon

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Patapon is an incredibly original rhythm game that combines a lot of different genres into one. The title of the game explains everything as it’s created from two Japanese onomatopoeia, pata (marching) and pon (drumming). That’s exactly what you’ll do in the game. After receiving a couple of magical drums, you’re able to give your little troops a set of different commands. You are their leader, their hope for survival on the battlefield. If you hit the drum at the right time, the cute Patapon army will do exactly what you’ll want them to do. Missed a beat? Well, then you’re troops will stop their movement completely. This results in a fun rhythm game where you’ll have to keep marching in the rhythm of the beat. The more you advance in the game, the more commands you’ll learn. Some will let your Patapon advance while others will make them attack or defense. At its core, it’s a very easy and straightforward system but the more different commands you’ll master, the more complex everything gets. By combining the right commands, you’ll advance, attack, and defense at the same time, always while following the correct rhythm. To assist you, the corners of the screen flash at the correct beat but you’ll always have to push your buttons at the exact time in order to reach the end of the mission. It’s a fun and easy concept at first but the more you’ll play, the more depth you’ll find.

A deep layer of strategy

Patapon 2 is more than just a fun rhythm game where you’ll combine your commands in an attack, it’s also a rather deep strategic game. The more you advance, the more Patapon you’ll be able to add to your army, each with their own set of skills. This sequel introduced the strong Hero character, a highly customizable character that respawns after it falls in combat. Before the start of the mission, you can pick the class of the Hero character, which is of crucial importance. Will you go into battle as a close-ranged melee expert or will you ride your way to victory on the back of another creature? This freedom enables you to constantly change your strategy before the start of every battle, transforming this cute little rhythm game into a true strategical adventure filled with deeper layers. One of those layers is the skill tree system that enables you to make to the strongest possible version of one of your troops. By gathering the correct materials on the field and by gaining the right amount of experience. These strong characters can really make a difference on the field so it’s important to invest enough time in your troops to get the job done.

As said before it all starts easily with simple tasks and easy objectives using just a couple of command strings. The more you advance, however, the more complex everything gets. Clearing your objective while keeping the correct rhythm using different sets of commands won’t be easy and demands extreme precision. There aren’t that many mission but it will certainly take a while until you cleared them all, the level of difficulty is challenging but never unfair, if you learn the commands by heart and stay in the rhythm, you’ll be fine, just don’t be mistaken by the game’s cute looks.

The remaster

Now, at its core, this still is the same game as back in the PSP era but there’s nothing wrong with that. Patapon is a great franchise and the sequel is bigger, better and a bit more difficult thanks to the variation it has to offer. The base game itself didn’t really change that much although there are a couple of new surprises, that will certainly entertain fans of the franchise. That being said, the key factor of this remaster is the way it looks. I played it on PlayStation 4 Pro and I have to say the 4K graphics really make a difference. It’s a gorgeous game to look at and the vibrant colors really come to life on the more powerful platform. The only downside about the upscaling is the fact that the cut scenes became a bit blurry at times, which is strange for a console as powerful as PlayStation 4 Pro. This is only a minor downside of course since the menus and actual game never looked better, it’s an amazing immersive experience that will get you hooked from the first seconds. Judging on its smaller price in the PlayStation Store, it’s a great remaster giving you a lot of fun for a small fee. It’s not the most prestigious remaster out there but it simply does what you expect it to do.

Conclusion:

Patapon 2 Remastered is a simple yet great remaster of an incredibly original and fun game. If you missed out during the PSP days, it’s a game we would highly recommend thanks to its creativity and solid gameplay. If you do own the PSP version, it’s still worth revisiting the world of Patapon as it never looked this good before. Patapon 2 Remastered offers a great addition to anyone’s PlayStation 4 library.

9/10

Tested on PlayStation 4 Pro