Review for Patapon Remastered. Game for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 15/06/2017
Gamers over twenty are the ones who often complain about lack of innovation of this videogame generation which, especially in the console scene, seems to aim more at reviving the past rather than looking to the future, with remakes (and reboots) of timeless glories and more or less lazy remastered.
Patapon Remastered is the return to 4K (or full HD, in the absence of an adequate screen) of a PSP title over eight years old, at the time very popular with audiences and critics, as well as a precious opportunity for younger players to get to know one Simple and innovative IP like few nowadays.
It is not possible to deepen the “generation of remastered” discussion without going out of the way and abandoning Patapon to his fate; however, it must be said that this re-presentation of the original title of Pyramid does not speak very well in favor of those who defend this trend, because of one general laziness in remastering cutscenes and loading screens, so grainy and "old" compared to the sections to be played as to annoy not a little.
The actual game phases were more fortunate: the graphic style has aged very well, thanks to a design that combines minimalism and attention to detail of every single creature on the screen, all accompanied by a large variety of brilliant “Pantone” colors and delightful animations.
Patapon Remastered ingeniously mixes multiple genres, creating something unique: rhythmn game, strategic and god game, with a pinch of RPG for the management of the numerous types of usable troops. The player's goal is to impersonate the Almighty, entity led by the Patapons, disappeared from time immemorial but finally returned to lead their people to the ends of the world, to discover the "THING" (so called) that will guarantee power and happiness to the cyclopean creatures.
Obviously the journey is fraught with dangers and hostile creatures, among which the Zigoton, bitter enemies of the Patapons; task of the Almighty will be precisely to guide his faithful to the rhythm of the drum - or rather, drums - between the battles, hunts and conquests that make up the levels.
That Patapon had been designed for portable console it is evident: each stage has a short duration (it is difficult to exceed five minutes each) and the system for collecting resources and strengthening the troops requires some farming.
All this does not bother when the game period is reduced, but in the case of sessions lasting a couple of hours, repetition and boredom could prevail when, to optimize your units before a boss, you need to repeat the usual levels even six, seven times to get useful materials.
The very creation (and resurrection, in case of defeat) of the Patapons has something brilliant and is contextualized in an extremely pleasant way within the game, despite being the most cumbersome and worst aged component of the entire title, at least for all the opening hours, when money will be constantly scarce.
On the other hand, Patapon Remastered turns out still fun and original to play, with the right mix of rhythm and strategy: Winning battles against bigger and bigger bosses will never be easy (also thanks to the aforementioned and indispensable resource farming) and will require concentration and good attention, to avoid losing the beat on the drums at the least opportune moment.
Following 10 "normal" combos (even less if it is particularly precise) the warriors will enter a "feverish" condition, thanks to which their every move will be more effective; needless to say, keep up the pace - and consequently the Fever state - is the key to the success of advanced fights.
A rhythm game without end-of-stage "marks", therefore, linked to the simple concept of victory or defeat.
It goes without saying that the audio sector of Patapon Remastered fits perfectly and manages to involve with its rhythmic melodies on a visceral level as only the drums can do, often pushing to follow the rhythm even physically; as the Fever state is maintained. The musical tracks are enriched with voices and accompanying instruments, in a crescendo that encourages the player and at the same time lowers his concentration, increasing the probability that he misses a passage and has to start the chain of combo all over again. In short, a delicious and infamous way to make the game more and more complicated.
The average duration of a Patapon Remastered campaign stands at ten hours, even if for a real optimization of equipment and units it would take almost twice as much. The real sin, therefore, is there little variety of levels that can be covered during the farming sessions.
Patapon Remastered is an excellent opportunity and a second life for a title that caused a sensation at the time of its release, but which, due to sequels that were not as inspired and too similar to each other, made us lose interest in continuing the series. Despite some intricacies and slow gameplay that today stands out more than in the past and the cutscenes revived on PlayStation 4 in an inexplicably listless way, Patapon Remastered is undoubtedly a recommended purchase for both nostalgic and curious, thanks also to an introductory price (14,99 , XNUMX Euros on PlayStation Store) rather affordable.
► Patapon Remastered is an Arcade-type game published by Sony for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 15/06/2017
