Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Patapon is a new breed of game. It blends elements of rhythm, real time strategy and role playing games to carve a genre all of its own. You play as the benevolent deity "Kami" who comes back to the Patapon after their former civilization is a shadow of what it used to be. Use your divine rhythm to guide and order the Patapon to reclaim their glory. From the same team that brought you LocoRoco comes the little walking, talking eyeballs.

What's Hot
The first thing you will notice about Patapon is that this is an entirely different kind of animal. The rhythm aspect is very strong, to move and fight, you need to tap out a beat with the buttons. The button combinations are not challenging and you will ingrain them in your head rather quickly because you will be singing the tunes until someone tells you to quiet down.

After a short musical lesson, you'll begin to understand the inner workings of how deep Patapon can get. You can gear your little army with better weapons and armor to stand a chance against your enemies. You will need to stay on top of the upgrades otherwise you'll lose many Patapons in battle. For those less strategically inclined, you can "auto-upgrade" to save time.

The world that Patapon bring you into is unique (even if it does resemble the LocoRoco's world). The tiny little Patapon will tunnel their way into your heart. When one falls in the horrors of Patapon war, you will feel for it as it was once a happy, sing-songy fighter but is reduced to a Patapon hat. The simple, clean and charming graphics give off the right kind of vibe for this type of game.



What's Not
As you take your Patapon army through forests and over deserts, there is one very peculiar thing. The entire world is flat. The terrain does not change elevation. For awhile, it is forgivable but seeing that you don't control the Patapon traditionally, it would have made little difference to include a slight hill or speed bump. The lasting impression is that the enemies are creative but the backgrounds could have used more variety.

Music can also be a problem. The PSP is a portable system and Patapon is a rhythm game. If you forget your headphones at home while you are in a noisy location, don't even think about playing the game. Without ample sound, it is impossible to be successful in progression.

Final Word
The parallels between LocoRoco and Patapon are present. However, Patapon stands on its own as a completely fresh and exciting experience. With the endearing characters complete with hilarious personality, unforgettable gameplay, depth, style and the all important "X" factor, Patapon only delights.