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[Popple]

I would normally wait for the final game before writing a review, but that would be a crime. Patapon is simply amazing, I wouldn't be surprised if it is the best strategy game of the year. A game has to be something special for me to play through the demo again after spending 2 hours beating it. Patapon is something special.

Patapon is developed by the same people who made LocoRoco. LocoRoco was a good game, I'll give you that. Sure it was unique, but it just didn't have anything to keep you playing. Patapon does. Patapon is a 2D side scrolling, real time strategy, rhythm based game. Still follow me? There are 6 character types in the game, with variations within each tier. You can take 3 of these 6 into battle, along with several units of each and a special Patapon that acts as a commander. You are the god of the Patapon, and you must lead them to IT by beating your holy drums. No I am not making this up. You command your units by beating out different drum combinations on the face buttons. Circle is Pon, Square is Pata, Triangle is Chaka, and X is Don. By beating these out in different combinations to the rhythm you can command your Patapon to advanced, attack, or defend among other things. You must keep to the rhythm, and as you do you will start a combo. Once you get 10 drum combinations in a row, you will go into Fever mode and your units will get a boost in all aspects. The game and gameplay is addictive and surprisingly deep. As you keep up the combos, the music gets wilder. And as you continue through the game, you start to realize how complex your Patapon are. But what do you do with your Patapon? Well there are 3 different kinds of missions. Hunt where you gather resources, Objective where you fight the opposing armies, and Boss where you take on the games toughest enemies, Although Hunt can be a bit of a grind, the fantastic Boss battles definitely make up for it. The frantic music, trying to keep your combo up, changing commands every chance you get. Gaming at it's finest. Combine this with the simple and visually appealing art style, and you get one of the best games on the PSP is not one of the best and most innovative games of the year.

Patapon is something you have never played before, and if you have access to a PSP you have no excuse not to try it.

9.5/10

Highly Recommend.