365//365: Day 068 – PaRappa the Rapper 2 (PS2)

03.09.2010

Remember my review on PaRappa the Rapper? I went out and proclaimed that he would have been the poster boy for the Sony PlayStation, as he had class, charm and outstanding gameplay that could gather a diverse group of gamers and non gamers alike. He was more than the perfect choice to usher in a new era of gaming. Thankfully, Sony didn’t listened to that recommendation, since PaRappa the Rapper 2 on the PlayStation 2 was devoid of all the charm and good feelings you got from playing the first PaRappa the Rapper title.

That might be a little harsh. PaRappa 2 isn’t a failure at all, but just about everything you loved and adored about the first game, isn’t at the same level. Not close. The characters you run into for your rap battles, are not as likable, nor as interesting, like Guru Ant, who lacks any charm or charisma. This also includes the returning cast, including Chop Chop Master Onion, who is some love dance instructor on television, wit no kind of hook to his song. In fact, just about every song in PaRappa 2 feels too long. The lyrics are not inventive, nor are they memorable in any capacity.

PaRappa 2 actually does look a bit better than the first game, which is almost like saying this Jersey Mac Apple looks better than this Red Delicious Apple. There’s a lot more animations going on at a higher resolution, but its all 2D paper cut out characters in a somewhat 3D world. It does still look very inviting, and there’s a lot more you see in this game. But even still, when they take the game a bit away from PaRappa Town, the stages begin to look like rejected Fighter Maker 2 stages.

The lyrics are not nearly as inventive, nor charming.

Then there’s a few other little annoyances throughout the game. The little tutorial boom-box that comes out before each stage begins serves as a small practice run for the stage ahead. There is no need for this, and thankfully you can press Start and skip it. Then there’s the pointless bonus stage  at the end of every second stage you encounter. Again, there is no need for this, other to boost your points. The game its self is only eight stages long, and after the third stage, it feels like it’s actually too long. I actually wanted the game to end, since it lacks an memorable hooks or any real feeling that the first PaRappa title held.

Unfortunately, there’s one major fault to PaRappa the Rapper 2 – it’s too friggin’ easy! The first PaRappa the Rapper wasn’t the most challenging experience in the realms of gaming, but PaRappa 2 is almost as hard as hitting Play on your Blu Ray player. To further push that envelope, you have so much leeway in timing and mistakes, that you’re almost never dipped that low in your Rappin’ meter that you’re close to losing. You could even press the correct buttons out of order, within the beat parameters, and you’ll get it right a good chunk of the time. It makes me question whether the game is suck on a permanent Easy Mode.

PaRappa the Rapper 2 never challenges you until the very last stage, and even then, it's nothing complicated.

PaRappa the Rapper 2 is not a bad game per say. When compared to PaRappa the Rapper on the Sony PlayStation, it doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned along side it. As a stand alone title, PaRappa 2 suffers from two big flaws that characterize the premise of the game – uninspiring music, and gameplay that has almost zero challenge to it. This game rarely sells for over $10 used at most gaming outlets, though honestly, you might be better off using that $10 towards something with better longevity, better audio and something more challenging than tearing a hole in a piece of toilet paper.

Rating: 5.8


Jason V.

Jason Velez has been reviewing video games off and on for the last 14 years, including his time with GameSages, a then IGN affiliated video game code database that's now owned by IGN. He is a huge gaming enthusiast, has an old school soul, is a somewhat collector, and is just an overall geek. Follow him on twitter @Jas0nVelez

http://www.twitter.com/Jas0nVelez


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  • ExpertPenguin

    Great review…by the by, it isn’t very publicized, but there is a good reason the game starts out so easy. If you notice, when you start, Parappa’s hat is red. Sequential playthroughs change it to blue, pink, and eventually yellow, and with each change, the game actually becomes more challenging as the masters start remixing their own lines.

    Parappa 2 may not have had quite the charm of the original, but running behind the scenes was a very dynamic difficulty scaler that would remix the lines of the song to either be more difficult if you were doing very well, to being simplified if you started to mess up. This alone from a gameplay standpoint had me playing the game endlessly, completing it over and over because with each sequential playthrough (the game calls each 8 level runthrough of the game a circuit in New Game+) the lines would get crazier and crazier, to the point where I could have two people play the same exact song and I can guarantee you there’s a difference between when I would play, and when someone else would step up. Good example.

    “Get me out of this and now push the button!”
    “Come on, come on, I’m big all of a sudden!”
    What’s going on, what’s going on, I’m really scared!”

    If you were to play my game right now, this is what the line may sound like.

    “Get me, get me, get me out of this”
    “A big, a sudden, a big, a sudden, Come on!”
    “I’m-I’m-I’m really scared, what’s going on?!”

    I thought it was brilliant. The songs may not have been as catchy as the original, and the difficulty questionable on a first (and second playthrough), but when you get that gold hat, the game opens up. Hearing the noodle song flipped on its ear, or the drill sergeant stage with an extra layer of funk was enough to make me complete 40 circuits. That alone makes me recommend it alongside UmJammer and the original.