Patapon 2 gains four player multiplayer

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 9th 2008 at 11:00PM }

The original Patapon was critically acclaimed for its simple, endearing, and surprisingly deep design. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the PSP exclusive music game is getting a sequel. The big draw this time? Ad-hoc multiplayer for four players. Hiroyuki Kotani explains to Famitsu (via 1UP) that there's a lot more to look forward to this time besides multiplayer. "There are lots more bosses and midboss-type enemies this time. We've got about double the amount of content to explore, just in terms of the number of stages alone. Add the customization options to that, and to be honest, you may never get to fully explore every bit of it."

The game is being prepped for a winter release in Japan. Undoubtedly, the US will also get its own version some time in the future as well. Hopefully, we'll also be able to see more of Patapon 2 at E3 next week.

Tags: patapon, patapon-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ayrkain @ Jul 9th 2008 11:37PM

While it was a fun game, it'd probably be more accessible if the difficulty curve went up at a less than parabolic rate. I don't mind re-doing stages until I get them right, but for some of my friends the desert stage was a deal breaker with the original.

Noshino @ Jul 10th 2008 12:50AM

well, I don't really excuse it, but strategy games in general, the best ones at least, tend to have a really awful learning curve....to name a few, StarCraft, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars...

Ayrkain @ Jul 10th 2008 12:59AM

That's true. A lot of the people I talked to thought this would have more of a casual angle to it, with the stylized graphics and low difficulty of the demo. I think that's where the confusion came in - it wasn't the button presses during normal mode that stumped people, but rather the required jump in accuracy once you have to keep fever going - something that wasn't really portrayed well in the demo. Personally, I loved the RPG-ish aspects of it, so the sequel will be a definite buy for me.

Zippon @ Jul 10th 2008 3:02AM

I dunno if I'd agree. You either have rhythm or you don't. I didn't notice a huge jump in difficulty. In fact, I thought the difficulty plateaued rather early. I mean, all you do is keep rhythm. That's it. I thought we'd have to memorize a whole bunch of command sets, but they remained few (thank goodness). So how could attaining and maintaining Fever be considered such a challenge?

In most missions, I could get Fever in 6 or 7 commands and maintain it throughout. The only exception was after a miracle. I don't think anyone ever figured out how to maintain fever after a miracle. But even that proved only a minor obstacle.

For the record, I don't play any other rhythm games, so it's not like I'm a zen master. LOL

Lars @ Jul 10th 2008 3:06PM

...at a parabolic rate? So it got hard in the middle, then got easy at the end?

I wouldn't really call the game hard at all. And my rhythm is terrible. Wanna see a challenge? Go play some old classics like Mega Man and Ghosts & Goblins.

Oh and "four player multiplayer" ... wow, hell yes please!

Ayrkain @ Jul 11th 2008 2:40AM

Seriously, I don't care how hard anyone on this site thinks it is. If it's only a niche game for hardcore players on a Fanboy site, then it's not going to make money. It sucks, but it's true (I played Megaman 1, and this, sir, is no Megaman 1). And really, anecdotal evidence trotted out as being a measure for everyone is crap. If I said I could make it through "Through the Fury and Flames" on Expert, it doesn't mean everyone can. I encountered a lot of people returning the game because it was too hard. Sorry that hurts your feelings.

Zippon @ Jul 11th 2008 6:01AM

LOL. You sound like the only one with hurt feelings, bro.

The mechanic is to maintain Fever. That means repeating drum beats. And it's not like the game gets pickier about it as you go. You either can do it from the start or you can't. It doesn't get more difficult. Which is why we're offering other opinions.

I'll also point the whopping 86 score on Metacritic. "Niche" games or ones with unfair difficulty don't get glowing reviews from that many game sites.

Give it a rest. Sheesh.

Ayrkain @ Jul 11th 2008 7:49AM

Reviews scores don't indicate audience. Disgaea is a niche game (my favorite, in fact), but it got an 87. My point was that you have to be more accurate in Fever with your presses than during the rest of the game or it ends (and sometimes you die), and that wasn't represented in the demo. I'm not upset about it, as I just went through it till I got it. However, I know plenty of people who sent it packing because of this. I thought it sucked, 'cause it was one of the few games I got a lot of people excited about on the PSP. It should have either had an easier setting for casual gamers, or made the flashing square around the edge a bit brighter, or whatever. It had a lot of potential, and the difficulty hurt that. So you can dislike me saying it or whatever, but that's my opinion.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Jul 9th 2008 11:49PM

cooly. this is a definite buy for me. even if twice as long means twice the price, im still in, the game was only $20 to begin with. certainly one of the best decisions ive made with $20.

mellie_the_sprite @ Jul 10th 2008 1:15AM

I'm wondering how multiplayer will work.
I mean, two people could go head to head, but where is the third or fourth person?

lorddshadow @ Jul 10th 2008 2:44AM

Only one thing interested me: CUSTOMISABLE HERO PATAPON!

Alien @ Jul 10th 2008 3:30AM

I know , I was expecting the game to be easier to , but now Im glad that its actually as hard as it is :D Cant wait to ee how the multiplayer portion will work out :D

LM2007 @ Jul 10th 2008 12:09PM

What they are not telling if there will be or not a bonus for who bought the first game like be bale to load that save file to the patapon 2 or something like that or at least when the demo comes up able to use that file with the retail one as they did with the original game.