A Flawed Trip Down Memory Lane

Patapon 2 Remastered

- Tim Augustin

Patapon 2 is a rhythm-based videogame. You play as a ‘Hero’; one who takes command of an army of Patapons - small tribal creatures that march to the beat of your drum, literally. These creatures have been attacked by a sea monster, and washed ashore on a mysterious island. They have to fight various monsters and tribes in search of ‘It’ at the ‘Earthend’ - both of which are a bit of a mystery to the player at first.

The first few levels serve as one long tutorial. You’re introduced to the story, your Patapons, some obstacles you’ll face, and most importantly - your button combos. The triangle, square, circle, and X buttons all correspond to a specific drum sound, and stringing combos will cause your Patapons to take different actions. Drumming ‘pata pata pata pon’ for example (three squares and one circle), will cause your Patapons to move forward.

Other combos like ‘pon pon pata pon’ causes your army to get into attack formation. What stops Patapon 2 from getting mindlessly button-mashy however, is the rhythm behind its levels. You’ll constantly hear music in the background as you move through missions, and your combos must sync up with the music. If you fall out of rhythm, your Patapons might fall, stop moving entirely, or stop attacking in the middle of a boss fight.