Ohhhhhhhh... FEVAHHHH!!
Patapon 2 is quite literally better than its predecessor in every way. Let us tell you how.
Published: April 30, 2009
Still, it builds upon elements that were already there in the first game. Nothing that Patapon 2 does is so radically different that it will detract from what made the first game so fun, and to remind or educate first-timers, a series of simple little tutorial screens are scattered throughout. It'll take more than a few hours to digest all that the game offers moves- and abilities-wise, but that's a good thing, as memorizing a handful of different commands without taking the time to process them all would be overwhelming, even for returning players like me that poured dozens of hours into the first game.
And make no mistake, this is a lengthy game. You can cruise through it in 20-some hours, but the big payoff is in taking your time, building up your army of varying Pons and their individual skills, attacks, buffs and defenses, and laying waste to everything in your path. That the game supports doing so 30 hours into the game as it does in the first three says plenty about its ability to support as much farming and grinding as one has the stomach for. Though like the Disgaea games I couldn't ever imagine throwing 100 hours into things (though I've gotten close), I can absolutely understand those that would choose to do so, and Patapon 2 will happily keep them entertained.
The bulk of the games charm, though, comes from the presentation. The chants of the marching armies, cheerily singing along as they decimate everything to their right, the little touches like attacking Pons scowling as enemies come within range (even if they're not yet on the screen). The simplistic 2D visuals are deceptive; the Pons are capable of an impressive range of emotions from just their single eye and eager movements, and the basic color schemes make painting arid deserts, verdant forests and lush plains all a matter of just swapping the palette and adding a few more layers of parallax scrolling to the background.
Likewise, the audio keeps it varied. You'll get almost melancholy sustained notes while relaxing in parts of the main camp between missions, but just as quickly things can pep up into a party after besting a boss or when playing one of the little mini-games to harvest items (which use money instead of resources like the first game, making farming far easier). The background tunes on the levels themselves are more varied, though they keep things simple enough that it's easy to fall right back in time after stumbling during a march. It's usually bright, cheery stuff that seeps its way into your brain and creeps up when you least expect it (I started chanting while doing the dishes the other day, oddly enough), but it's never annoying, just... infectious.
Also added this time around was a further source of farming: Ad-Hoc multiplayer. By taking the eggs found after beating a boss into a multiplayer game and then using up to three other Patapon 2 players' heroes, you can square off against a boss, then play a short little rhythm game to rack up the spoils. Money banked during the short-ish mission can be redeemed for treasure chests, and any leftovers is converted to the game's form of currency, ka-ching. Like everything else in the game, it's deceptively simple, but endlessly rewarding for those that take the time to level up their characters -- especially given that each of the eggs you take into battle will level up themselves, bestowing more powerful items like masks or additional buffs. All this flows right back into the single-player game, and if you don't have anyone to play against, AI bots will fill in the other spots, allowing you to farm even more resources.
Patapon 2 is deceptively simple. Upon first glance, one would think Sony opted to make it a downloadable game because it's not a huge file or because the first game simply didn't sell well enough to garner a UMD release, but in truth it's probably the best title they could have gone for. Packed in those few hundred megabytes are dozens upon dozens of hours of enjoyment and an experience that feels uniquely suited to the PSP. Bitch all you want about the fact that games may be going download-only, but if you actually avoid buying this one on principle, the only one you'll be short-changing is yourself.
