Parappa The Rapper

PARAPPA THE RAPPER

SCPS-18002
Copyright © 1996 Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.
Sony Playstation, 1 Player
¥4,800

— by Geir Friestad

A while ago, musician Matsuura Masaya of PSY.S had an idea for a unique game. He pitched his idea to several companies, and the people at Sony took him under their wing and turned his idea into reality—PARAPPA THE RAPPER.
Here's the premise of the game: you play the role of Parappa, a cute little dog who just happens to be totally in love with Sunny Funny. She's a flower who lives in a big lemon. I kid you not.
As Parappa, you try to spend time with your lovely sunflower/girlfriend, but rivals and bullies keep messing up your plans. In order to deal with all these problems, Parappa has to learn how to fight, get himself a license to drive, earn money, bake a cake, and so on. In order to do all of this, Parappa has to rap. That's right, rap.
Basically, what happens is this: the teacher will rap a line and you have to copy it by hitting the right buttons on the keypad in sync to the rhythm. Your rapping is judged from "cool" to "awful," and a rating of "good" or "cool" is required to go on to the next stage. And that's all there is to it, really.

Admittedly, this sounds simple and, frankly, a little bit dull. But it's actually a lot of fun. The raps become more and more complex throughout the game, upping the challenge a little bit. Once you've finished the game you can finally access the "cool" rating, if your rapping is good enough.
In order to reach this badge of coolness, you really do have to have a good sense of rhythm and timing, since you have to rap free-style. By expanding on your teacher's rap, he may turn the floor over to you and let you make up your own rap as you go along. This is not as easy as it sounds, and your teacher will come back and take control again if your rapping isn't cool.
Given the game's original and entertaining gameplay, it's nice to see that the presentation side hasn't been neglected. The music is foot-tappingly great, and you'll probably catch yourself singing some of the songs to yourself after repeated exposure to the game. The graphics are equally great, and done in a style which is probably just as unique as the gameplay; the graphics are 3D, but the characters are paper thin. When they bend or twist, they look like cardboard figures that bend or twist. It's weird but it works, and it totally suits the game's wacky attitude.
Despite all these good points, the game does have a few weaknesses. The main problem is the game's length—with only six stages to complete, it's way too short. The "cool" rating challenge does add a little to the game's life span, but it's not enough. It's also a game that's a lot more fun to play in the company of friends, rather than alone—but there's no two-player option. Rumors indicate this will be addressed in the upcoming sequel, though. In the meantime, I have no problems recommending this game—just don't expect it to keep you occupied as long as, say, FINAL FANTASY VII will.

Rating: *** (out of 4)