Official PlayStation Magazine - 04.2020

089

REVIEW

INFO

FORMATPS4

ETAOUTNOW

PUBSONY

DEVPYRAMID,SONY

JAPANSTUDIO

PATAPON 2 REMASTERED

Getonthetable forthis absolutebanger

T

hedrums!Doyouhearthedrums,

dearreader?No?Weusedtobe

likeyou–uninitiatedandwoefully

unappreciativeofthesilence.Oh,we

weren’tcompletelynaïve;werememberthe

badolddaysofPSPandhowtheoriginal

releaseofthisrhythmactiongamehookedus

backin2009.Thisremasternowservesas

a rudereminderofjusthowdeepitsrhythm

burrowedintoourskull.

If you’reexperiencedinbangingthePatapon

drum,thisis thesequelyoualreadyknowand

love.Eventheoddlow-resolutioncutscene

madeforPSP’stinyscreenhasmadeit into

thisversion,buteverythingelsehasfaredmuch

betterinthejumptomodernconsoles.

If you’renewtothegame,knowthis:thetiny,

titularmusic-lovingwarriorsareona questto

findEarthendanduncoveritssecrets.Butthe

seafaringadventuretheyembarkedonatthe

endofthefirstgamehasendedinshipwreck

andbroughtthemintoconflictwiththeKarmen

tribe.Astheirpatrondeity,youguideyourfighty

followerswitha funkydrumbeat;r,r,r,e

willmoveyourtinyblinkingarmyforwardbut

youwon’tbegoinganywhere

ordoingmuchofanythingif

you’reoff-beat.

BEATIT

Earlyexcursions’stagemusic

is stripped-backandfocused

onhelpingyoukeeptime.

Everybumnoteis heraldedby

thecowbellofshame,though

thankfullyyourPataponswill

countyoubackinratherthan

allowtheirgodtoflounder

inoff-tempohell.Perhaps

you’realreadythefunkdaddy,

rhythmmaster,butit takesus

a whiletopickthebeatback

upagain.Yourwarriorsdance

witheverymatchedbeatand

you’llfindit impossiblenotto

swayintimeyourself.What’s

trulyinfectious,though,is

yourPatapons’responsetothe

callofyourdrumbeat–their

chorusof “Pata,pata,pata,pon”

stillfollowsuslongafterwe

leavePatopolis.

Donningyourheadphones

is anabsolutemust,especially

aslatersoundscapescanget

muchbusier.Theseaudio

arenasnevergetsodensethat

you’llloseyourthread,andon

thewholethesoundhasbeen

designedwithatleastoneeye

onthelessrhythmicallygifted.

Tolevelupandevolveyour

warriors,you’reencouraged

toreplayearlierstages.A

numberofthesedevelopover

timebuta simplifiedweather

systemalsohelpstokeep

thingsinteresting.Equippable

‘Miracles’allowyoutoalterthe

weatheryourself,buttriggering

thisseachangeis a surprisingly

involvedprocessforsucha

limited-timeeffect.Onepoorly

timedbuttonpressmeansyou

havetorestartthestageand,

evenmorefrustratingly,bosses

invulnerableunderclearskies

definitelywon’twaitpatiently

asyoustruggletogetyour

raindanceright.Youwillget

it eventually,butif you’re

anythinglikeus,you’llbeeffing

andjeffingintherain.

DRUMROLE

VERDICT

This call-and-response

routine is far more

challenging than a first

listen might suggest.

When you and Patapon 2 are on

the same page of its rhythmic

song book, this is a treat of a

dance party. You won’t be able

to resist getting down to this

sick beat. Jess Kinghorn

“A CHORUS OF ‘PATA, PATA,

PATA, PON’ FOLLOWS US LONG

AFTER LEAVING PATOPOLIS.”

@KoeniginKatze