Patapon 1+2 Replay Review - Screenshot 1 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Ever since I was a kid stomping his feet to pop songs in Dance Dance Revolution and getting pep talks from PaRappa the Rapper about how I gotta believe, I’ve been a fan of rhythm games. And while I love popular juggernauts in the genre like Guitar Hero, I’ll always prefer something with more originality than just simply holding down a button, such as Final Fantasy Theatrhythm.

Cue Patapon, a quirky blend of rhythm and strategy originality released exclusively on Sony’s PSP and now out on other platforms thanks to Bandai Namco. You play as a god to the charming Smurf-esque creatures and use drums to direct them during missions. Your controller buttons correspond to a rhythmic phrase. Want them to move forward? That’s easy! Pata pata pata pon! Need to attack? No problem; just hit ‘em with a pon pon pata pon combo. Keep the beat going and you’ll enter into a Fever, which increases your attack and defence.

Patapon 1+2 Replay Review - Screenshot 2 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

It’s a novel concept for a game. You’re completely detached from the Patapon who worship you because you’re viewed as a god. It’s by far more preferable to having an actual in-game avatar because it easily lets you slip into your role as the Patapons’ saviour. You can’t help but grow attached to the Patapons themselves. They’re just lil’ eyeball guys! In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the connection you form with Pikmin. You want to protect your Patapon because they’re yours.

The gameplay is largely simplistic but that’s not necessarily a detriment. In fact, the game works better because of its simplicity, especially when it comes to the general gameplay loop.

You’ll be doing a lot of grinding missions over and over to collect Ka-Ching and other materials that let you create stronger Patapon units, of which there’s a decent variety, from spear throwers to archers.

That grind might sound annoying but the missions in both games are bite-sized little morsels, so you aren’t locking yourself into 10-minute missions or anything worse. I suspect this is because both games were originally on the PSP and it was better for the missions to be quick and snappy rather than long and drawn out. Regardless, it works in each game’s favour.

Patapon 1+2 Replay Review - Screenshot 3 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

But don’t go into Patapon expecting a Guitar Hero clone. Patapon utilises rhythm, but personally, I’m hesitant to call it a rhythm game. It’s more of a strategy game that uses rhythm than a rhythm game with strategy elements.

That also means you shouldn’t go in expecting a toe-tapping soundtrack. Patapon’s usage of rhythm doesn’t necessarily make for good music to listen to. You may only be playing percussion but Drum Hero this ain’t.

There are issues, however. For starters, you can’t pause the game, which is frankly ridiculous in 2025. You can work around this by pressing the Home button rather than a pause button, but it’s still ridiculous. And I can’t count the number of times I was so close to entering Fever mode only to screw up by being the tiniest bit off beat. Sometimes it seems like you have enough space to attack only to realise you need to keep marching forward.

Patapon 1+2 Replay Review - Screenshot 4 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

And worse, it’s very easy to throw off your sense of rhythm when it comes to things like boosting your defence. You can chalk it up to being a skill issue but while you can alter the button-press delay in options, you can’t test your changes out without going into a mission and then exiting it, which is incredibly frustrating and time-consuming.

One thing that can’t be complained about is the aesthetic of the games. There’s an almost moving comic book-like quality to these little eyeball monsters. They’re absolutely adorable to look at, and it’s fun watching them follow your commands in battle by throwing spears or cutting up enemies. And the backdrops in the missions are absolutely beautiful, with crisp shades of reds, yellows, blues, and more. Patapon oozes style in spades and its aesthetic is its biggest strength, even over the gameplay’s.

Patapon is fun to play in docked but I’d argue that it feels best in handheld mode, harkening back to its earlier PSP days. There’s just something about plugging in your headphones and chilling on the couch while sending your Patapon army into battle. The performance is largely the same between docked and handheld, so you won’t be missing out either way.

Conclusion

Patapon 1+2 Replay is a real blast from the past and more than proves why this series was such a hit for Sony. It’s simple to play, but if you dig deeper you’ll find that there’s a real meaty game here. The rhythm-based controls make it unlike any strategy game you’ve ever played before. There are some small frustrations, but generally it succeeds in what it tries to do.