Patapon 2

Plot

The story continues from the previous game. The ship the Patapons and Zigotons have constructed has been finally completed and they have set sail for new lands. On their way there, they are attacked by a kraken who easily defeats them and sends the Patapons into the ocean to be washed ashore in a strange new land (which is actually and originally their homeland, the Patapolis) where they come up against another tribe called the Karmen. Now it is a battle to defeat the Karmen and find out who is their true enemy. Early in the game, the Patapons discover the mysterious "Hero", who wears a mask which boosts his abilities. He has lost his memory, and his true identity is forgotten, hidden and unknown. Later, the Patapons fight against the Akumapons, and the "Dark One" (who is actually Makoton, the Zigoton that was killed in the first game with Baban, and now was reincarnated), who gave his soul to the demons for power. Gong the Hawkeye and his fellow Zigotons appear once more, to assist the Patapons against the Karmen.

During the course of a game, the player learns of a legend, that the world was broken and the Patapons ruined because a Wakapon broke the "World Egg". At the second to last stage, the player finds out that the Hero was actually the Wakapon who broke the egg, and that the Karmen tribe was the Patapon's ancestral enemy, knowing them as the ones who overtook the Patapon Ancients. The Patapon Princess was trapped inside an egg by Ormen Karmen, the leader of the Karmens, who plans to make the Princess his queen.

After defeating the demon Dettankarmen that the Karmens summoned, the Patapons journey to the end of a bridge, only to find and break an egg. Dazzled by the bright light that emerges from the egg, the Patapons assume they have found "IT" at Earthend, which they have been searching since the first game. However, the Patapon Princess emerges from the egg, compliments them on their job well done, and tells the Hero that he has a new task - to restore the world and find the true Earthend.

At the end of the game, the Patapons are seen working with the Karmen and Zigotons to fix the bridge that will lead them to the other side of the land.

Characters

Rob Smith writes that new "characters such as the bird-riding Toripon, the Robopon with huge fists, and the magic-using Mahopon provide fresh attack types and original personalities for your almighty ruler to manage." In an interview attached to the same article, Hiroyuki Kotani adds that all "the new characters ended up... attractive from a fundamental gameplay standpoint, so I picked the ones I liked the most." When asked, "From all the characters...is any one of them your personal favorite?" Kotani answered,"I love Gong, the leader of the Zigotons. In fact, I love him so much you can probably expect to see him in Patapon 2."

Gameplay

The core gameplay of Patapon 2 is almost identical to its predecessor. It is a video game that the player controls in a manner similar to rhythm games. The player is put in direct control of a tribe of Patapon warriors; to command the warriors, the player inputs specific sequences using the face buttons on the PSP, each representing a "talking drum", in time to a drum rhythm. These sequences order the tribe to move forward on the linear battlefield, attack, defend, and other actions. If the player inputs an unknown sequence or enters them off the main rhythm, the tribe will become confused and stop whatever they are doing. However, repeatedly entering a proper sequence in sync with the rhythm will lead the tribe into a "Fever" increasing their attack and defensive bonuses. The tribe will stop doing anything after performing the last entered command if the player does not enter any more commands. For example, some commands are square, square, square, circle (Pata, Pata, Pata, Pon.), which has them march forward and circle, circle, square, circle (Pon, Pon, Pata, Pon.), which makes them attack.

The game is divided into several missions. Prior to each mission, the player can recruit new troops and assemble formations, equip troops with weapons and armor gained from the spoils of war or crafted from certain minigames. The player can return to an earlier mission to acquire additional resources and equipment to build up their troops before a larger battle.

Units

A notable change is the inclusion of three new units for each group and another way to access new patapon classes. Another change is the evolutionary tree. To access different Patapon classes, they need to reach certain points in the tree, some not available until later parts of the game. Also Rarepon can be made without sacrificing Patapon to make space for newer ones. To maintain incentive for collecting items, there is an abundant amount of classes of Patapon to rely upon, some Patapon such as the "Pyokoran" Rarepon being nimble in battle as well as being immune to freezing but are vulnerable to fire damage. Another change is that a Patapon can level up by using more material with effects amplifying at every 5 level to maximum of 10.

The most notable change is the Heropon, a hero unit which can adopt the persona of any class of their choice with a powerful special attack to deliver to unsuspecting foes. You can change their masks for different stats, like elemental resistance or attack speed. They also can be revived but takes longer to revive with each death. In addition, if Hatapon is alone while the Heropon is reviving, the mission ends. Each "Hero" persona also has a special move that can only be activated in Fever mode and must have perfect beat. This special ability shows a spirit above him and allows him to have a special damage effect on opponents like: The Iron Fist (Yaripon), Broken Arrow (Yumipon).

Multiplayer

Patapon designer Hiroyuki Kotani has revealed that the multiplayer mode stems from the single-player mode, the former of which will involve giant eggs. These eggs contain Masks for the Hero Patapon to wear, or new CPU Kumopons. To hatch the eggs, four players must defend the egg on an enemy-laden multiplayer battleground, while moving it to a special egg-hatching altar. At this altar, all players must perform a hatching ceremony, which involves playing their rhythms in synchronization to crack the egg.

Patapon 2: Art of War

Patapon 2: Art of War is a flash game created by Rolito and Interlink to promote Patapon 2. It was playable until the release of Patapon 3 on the patapon-game.com website.

Release and reception

To test the market for digital distribution of games, Sony Computer Entertainment America released Patapon 2 as a "test case" digital download through the PlayStation Store for North America only, leaving the Latin American market out of their strategy. A voucher for the game is available for retail purchase. In all other regions, now including North America, the game is available on UMD.

GamePro's Heather Bartron called the game a "must-have title for PSP owners," rating it a 4.5 out of 5 stars and praising it as an improved sequel to the already enjoyable and addictive Patapon. Bartron wrote that both titles have great visual style though Patapon 2 has limited multiplayer modes and "needs more songs." Hyper's Tracey Lien commends the game for being "exactly the same as the first Patapon, which is good because the original was really rad".