PaRappa the Rapper

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PaRappa the Rapper
Developer(s)	NanaOn-Sha
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Masaya Matsuura
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	JP December 6, 1996 NA October 31, 1997 EU September 1998
Genre(s)	Music
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A

PaRappa the Rapper (Japanese: パラッパラッパー, 1996), also known as "PaRappaRappa", and "PaRappa the Rappa" is a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuura (the former leader of the Japanese "Hyper Pop Unit" PSY S) and his NanaOn-Sha company. Released in Japan on December 6, 1996, followed by releases in North America on October 31, 1997 and Europe in September 1998, it was one of the first rhythm video games. While the gameplay is simplistic on a certain level, the game is remembered for its unique graphic design, its quirky soundtrack, and its bizarre plot. Despite being made in Japan, all of the game's songs and dialogue are spoken in English in all versions. The game is named after its protagonist, Parappa, a rapping dog, with the motto "I gotta believe!".

It spawned a merchandising campaign in Japan, a spinoff in 1999, an anime series in 2001, and a direct sequel for PlayStation 2 in 2002. A PlayStation Portable port of the original game was released in Japan in December 2006 in North America and Europe in July 2007.

Gameplay

Considered ahead of its time in its day, PaRappa the Rapper is somewhat similar to the classic 1980s game Simon, in which the player is required to repeat a sequence of sounds and buttons. PaRappa the Rapper demands that the player not only get the sequence correct but also the timing of the sequence, in a call and response format. The game provides small portions of spoken vocals that are triggered when the appropriate buttons are pressed. Pressing the buttons in the correct order, with the correct timing, provides an intelligible imitation of the words spoken by the character; pressing the buttons in an incorrect order or with incorrect timing rewards the player with nothing more than unintelligible gibberish.

Points are awarded for correctness and "style". By simply following the given sequence, the best a player can attain is the "U rappin' GOOD" rating. To get a higher rating, the player must "freestyle"; that is, to deviate from the given sequence but still keep in time with the song's rhythm. Through this method, the player can attain a "U rappin' COOL" rating. A player needs to have completed a level first before a COOL level can be obtained (this is not the case in its sequels). Alternately, if the player continues to play poorly, they may lose points and attain "U rappin' BAD" and "U rappin' AWFUL" ratings. A player drops down a rank after playing two wrong lines in succession, or on occasion an utterly ridiculous line, and can only go back up a level by getting two consecutive good lines.

If the stage is completed with a BAD or AWFUL rating, or if at any point the "U rappin'" meter falls below AWFUL, the stage is failed and the player is offered an option to try to attempt the stage again or to quit. If the stage is completed with a GOOD or COOL rating, the player continues to the next stage. If all stages are completed at COOL rating, the player is awarded with an alternate game ending, and a bonus song can be accessed.

Rank-changing aspects of a level are only apparent during the first of every two lines. If the player successfully times the first line of a pair, but fails on the second, the rank meter will not blink BAD or AWFUL. Likewise, once the game has been cleared, a good play is only necessary on the first of every two lines to get a shot at COOL mode on the second line. This is fixed in the game's sequels, but not in the PSP remake.

When the game was featured as a challenge on GamesMaster in 1998, the contestants, a team of two people, were given an extra large controller to make the game harder. The size of the buttons were that of the palm of a hand.

Plot

The player takes on the role of Parappa, a paper-thin rapping dog. Parappa is Japanese for "Paper Thin". He is trying to win the heart of a flower-like girl named Sunny Funny. He is aided by his friends Katy Kat (an enthusiastic cat) and PJ Berri (a fat teddy bear DJ with a huge appetite). Also vying for Sunny Funny's attention is Parappa's arch rival Joe Chin, a rich, narcissistic dog.

To impress Sunny Funny, Parappa learns to fight at a kung-fu dojo, and takes a driver's education course to get his license. However when he crashes his Dad's car, he has to earn money at a flea market to pay for it. When Sunny's birthday comes up, Parappa has to get cake, but ends up ruining it after an encounter with Joe. He makes a new one by watching a cooking show, and proceeds to eat a lot of it on the day. When spending some time alone with Sunny, he is suddenly overcome with the need to go to the bathroom. Parappa has to rap against his previous senseis in order to get to the front of the line to the toilet.

Then one night, Parappa is invited to Club Fun, and asks Sunny to go with him, which she agrees. Parappa then raps on stage with everybody, rapping solo at the end of the song and expressing his feelings for Sunny.

Characters

Main cast

• Parappa the Rapper - The hero of the game, trying to impress the love of his life. He motivates himself out of problems with his catchphrase, "I Gotta Believe!"
• Sunny Funny - Parappa's love interest, who generally has a cheery disposition. She appears to be most impressed with Parappa when he needs the bathroom.
• PJ Berri - A lazy bear who loves to eat. He works as a DJ at Club Fun.
• Katy Kat - Parappa's friend who enjoys disco and will generally try to keep things organised.
• Joe Chin - A pompous rich guy who goes to extravagant lengths to woo Sunny. Sunny is generally disinterested in him, but Parappa sees him as a threat.
• Papa Parappa - Parappa's father, whose car ends up getting taken, and crashed, by Parappa ten minutes after he gets his driving license.

Teachers

• Chop Chop Master Onion - An onion sensei, who teaches students karate in his dojo. He is distinctedly memorable for his moustache and 'stink lines'.
• Instructor Mooselini - A strict driving instructor whose antlers have a habit of getting caught on the car roof. She has a sister who appears in PaRappa the Rapper 2.
• Prince Fleaswallow - A frog who rules over the flea market, and helps Parappa earn money to replace his Dad's car that he crashed.
• Cheap Cheap the Cooking Chicken - A chicken who hosts a cooking show for people with little money. She is somehow able to get out of the TV to tell off the viewers if they're messing up.
• MC King Kong Mushi - A flea who hosts wild parties at Club Fun that get the whole crowd going.

Development

The unique visual style is that of Rodney Greenblat, an American graphic artist who is popular in Japan. Like in the Paper Mario series by Nintendo, all of the characters appear to be flat, two dimensional beings cut from paper while the surroundings are primarily three dimensional. While the setting is a bright interpretation of an urban city, the characters range from anthropomorphic animals such as frogs, spiders, and dogs, to lively versions of normally inanimate objects including onions, hammers, and flowers.

PSP version

PaRappa the Rapper was released for PlayStation Portable in Japan in December 2006 and in North America and Europe in July 2007 for the game's tenth anniversary.^[1] It is a port of the original game with an added ad-hoc multiplayer mode for up to four players and an ability to download remixed versions of the existing songs.^[2] However, it does not fix some of the faults of the previous game, such as missync in lipsync or the rank meter, and does not improve the graphics. In conjunction with the PSP release, Sony, for a limited time, freely released the soundtrack for the game through the PSP Fanboy website.^[3] It was recently revealed in an interview with Masaya Matsuura published in Famitsu that a bonus song created for the PSP release, "Believe in Yourself," was cut due to development time constraints. The song featured Parappa training with Chop Chop Master Onion at a Buddhist temple on top of a mountain.^[4]

Reception and legacy

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	PS: 88% (17 reviews)[5] PSP: 67% (50 reviews)[6]
Metacritic	PS: 92% (15 reviews)[7] PSP: 67% (43 reviews)[8]
TopTenReviews	PS: 3.61 out of 4 (19 reviews)[9] PSP: 2.74 out of 4 (19 reviews)[10]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	PSP: B-[11]
Allgame	PS: [12] PSP: [13]
Computer and Video Games	PS: 7.0 out of 10[14]
Eurogamer	PSP: 7 out of 10[15]
Game Informer	PSP: 8 out of 10[16]
GamePro	PSP: [17]
Game Revolution	PSP: C-[18]
GameSpot	PS: 8.5 out of 10[19] PSP: 6.5 out of 10[2]
GameSpy	PSP: [20]
GamesRadar	PSP: 7 out of 10[21]
GameTrailers	PSP: 6.5 out of 10[22]
GameZone	PSP: 6.9 out of 10[23]
IGN	PS: 9 out of 10[24] PSP: 6.8 out of 10[25]
Official PlayStation Magazine (US)	PS: A+[26]
PSM3	PSP: 7.5 out of 10[27]
The New York Times	PSP: 8 out of 10[28]

PaRappa the Rapper managed to sell 761,621 copies in Japan by 1997, making it the 7th best-selling game of the year in that region.^[29] As of December 26, 2004, the original version of the game has sold 937,976 copies in Japan, while its PlayStation the Best re-release has sold 306,261 copies meaning it has sold nearly 1.4 Million copies total.^[30]

At the first annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 1998, PaRappa the Rapper won the awards for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design and Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music, and was nominated for Interactive Title of the Year.^[31]

Parappa was featured recently in the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. Parappa is featured in the first episode of its fourth season. A group named Mega64 have also parodied PaRappa the Rapper.^[32]

Sequels and spin-offs

PaRappa the Rapper is regarded as the first "modern" popular rhythm game. It was followed by a spin-off titled UmJammer Lammy, which was released on March 18, 1999 in Japan.^[33] The game featured a new cast of characters, multiplayer modes and focused on guitar play, but very similar game play. A bonus mode was included in which the entire game could be replayed with Parappa as the protagonist, complete with his own versions of the game's stages.^[34] An arcade version of the game produced by Namco was also released.

A direct sequel, PaRappa the Rapper 2, was released on August 30, 2001 for the PlayStation 2.^[35] The franchise has spawned a large range of merchandising and a children's anime TV series, PaRappa Rappa, which began airing in April 2001 on Fuji TV in Japan.^[36]

In 2007 it was rumored that work had begun on a PlayStation 3 sequel entitled PaRappa the Rapper 3.^[37]

References

External links

• Official PaRappa Homepage
• PaRappa the Rapper at MobyGames
• Rodney Alan Greenblat´s page - the main game illustrator