Kick, Punch, it's all in the Mind!
Parappa the Rapper is one of those games I SO STRONGLY want to love in it's entirety, but just can't because the gameplay doesn't click with me. It's one of the most charming and influential games of the PlayStation 1 era (and for good reason too!), and it's impact on video game culture is undeniably profound. This review is just a couple things I wanted to comment on about this game.
God, this game is so charming. The paper-esque art style takes advantage of the PS1 hardware, and to this day really holds up. The UI is simple but appealing, and it gets the point across. Of course, with this being a rhythm game, the music is BOPPING. The actual lyrics are, well, pretty bad, but I'm 90% sure that was the point, it's meant to be cheesy! However, the actual instrumental tracks themselves unironically beat pretty hard, I especially love the Stage 5 instrumental.
Now for my main point of contention with this game, the gameplay itself. Now Parappa is deceivingly easy from footage you may see, but play it yourself and you'll know what I'm talking about. The timing is just EXTREMELY strict, and I swear I've tried multiple different timings and they would never consistently work. There were times where I'd do EVERY note correctly, but I'd lose points, but even WEIRDER is there are times I'd miss like half the notes and EARN points. Is it something to do with how the "freestyle" mechanic is coded...? I don't understand how the game wants me to play it.
I loved the presentation and stuff so much so I TRIED to play all the way through, but after a bunch of failed attempts on stage 5, I just had to put it down, I was so frustrated. I was SO CLOSE, but I felt my head would explode if I played any more. Maybe it's just a skill issue on my behalf, I don't know, but regardless I'm done. Hopefully someday I can finish this game in full, but I have no idea if that will ever come. In short, I love the world, music, characters, and aesthetic of Parappa the Rapper, but I cannot get behind the very punishing and janky rhythm game mechanics. Give it a shot yourself, though, maybe you'll see something I didn't.
UPDATE: I played the PSP version quickly after my completion of Um Jammer Lammy, and SOMEHOW finished the entire thing in a single sitting, and beat my ever so hated stage 5 on my fourth attempt. My feelings here are exactly the same, but I'm glad I finally pulled through. I guess all I had to do was believe.
Parappa the Rapper is one of those games I SO STRONGLY want to love in it's entirety, but just can't because the gameplay doesn't click with me. It's one of the most charming and influential games of the PlayStation 1 era (and for good reason too!), and it's impact on video game culture is undeniably profound. This review is just a couple things I wanted to comment on about this game.
God, this game is so charming. The paper-esque art style takes advantage of the PS1 hardware, and to this day really holds up. The UI is simple but appealing, and it gets the point across. Of course, with this being a rhythm game, the music is BOPPING. The actual lyrics are, well, pretty bad, but I'm 90% sure that was the point, it's meant to be cheesy! However, the actual instrumental tracks themselves unironically beat pretty hard, I especially love the Stage 5 instrumental.
Now for my main point of contention with this game, the gameplay itself. Now Parappa is deceivingly easy from footage you may see, but play it yourself and you'll know what I'm talking about. The timing is just EXTREMELY strict, and I swear I've tried multiple different timings and they would never consistently work. There were times where I'd do EVERY note correctly, but I'd lose points, but even WEIRDER is there are times I'd miss like half the notes and EARN points. Is it something to do with how the "freestyle" mechanic is coded...? I don't understand how the game wants me to play it.
I loved the presentation and stuff so much so I TRIED to play all the way through, but after a bunch of failed attempts on stage 5, I just had to put it down, I was so frustrated. I was SO CLOSE, but I felt my head would explode if I played any more. Maybe it's just a skill issue on my behalf, I don't know, but regardless I'm done. Hopefully someday I can finish this game in full, but I have no idea if that will ever come. In short, I love the world, music, characters, and aesthetic of Parappa the Rapper, but I cannot get behind the very punishing and janky rhythm game mechanics. Give it a shot yourself, though, maybe you'll see something I didn't.
UPDATE: I played the PSP version quickly after my completion of Um Jammer Lammy, and SOMEHOW finished the entire thing in a single sitting, and beat my ever so hated stage 5 on my fourth attempt. My feelings here are exactly the same, but I'm glad I finally pulled through. I guess all I had to do was believe.