Back in the late 1990’s, you were one of two kinds of people: those who owned a Nintendo 64, or you were a part of the equally awesome family, the first Playstation clan.
I was lucky enough to be a part of both groups of gamers because both of my parents owned both systems. If I wasn’t playing one console, I was able to play the other at the other parent’s house. And I thank my parents for letting be a part of that in my earliest days of gaming.
I find myself a Playstation man, more or less, because of how diverse and creative the early years were. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon were the big heroes of my childhood, alongside Super Mario and Fox McCloud from “Star Fox 64.”
However, one of the biggest, yet kind of obscure, names out there never got to make a mark on my life until a few weeks ago. I still don’t know how this series flew under my radar for all these years, but I had not played anything related to “PaRappa the Rapper” until “Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale” back in 2012. In PASBR, PaRappa was one of the playable fighters and had a pretty fun moveset to experiment and combo with, one of them being a killer rap… literally.
What?! I can give Kratos and Cole McGrath a beatdown as a rapping dog and a morbidly obese princess?! Here's my $40!
In the two games (and Playstation Portable re-release with an anime in Japan) of the series, “PaRappa the Rapper” throws a series of “episodes” at the player where PaRappa lives his everyday life until he comes across an obstacle in his mission. The cutscenes end and the player must rap along to a song that teaches PaRappa some sort of skill, whether it be selling cheap junk, learning to drive, or baking a fish cake. In order to rap well enough to pass the level, the player must press the corresponding buttons in time with the rap. It’s simple, but addicting, gameplay.
What separates “PaRappa the Rapper” from your average rhythm game is that “PaRappa” encourages the player to freestyle a rap that fits the song. This allows for more replayability, especially since the songs are likely to get stuck in your head, even after you shut the game off. I’ve found myself repeating lyrics from the first level where PaRappa is taught karate by Chop Chop Master Onion.
As I said before, “PaRappa the Rapper” has only had two major releases; the first entry of the series, and then, a sequel on Playstation 2. Since then, the world has not seen PaRappa lately (aside from the appearance in PASBR). It’s like he’s hiding in the dark alleys of New York, waiting for someone to come by and say, “Hey, kid. You’re getting a new game.”
Sad picture, ain’t it? He’s made a few appearances on “Robot Chicken,” if that means anything.
The question determining PaRappa’s future is this: will the world still accept him?
My answer: yes.
PaRappa may have an old mechanic, but the series has more than enough potential to attract more players. Not only that, but PaRappa can provide two different styles of gameplay that can satisfy both old and new players. Older gamers might recognize and prefer the classic PaRappa gameplay. Newer gamers, on the other hand, could take a crack out of microphone peripheral and rap along with the game instead of pressing buttons.
For PaRappa, the game isn’t over yet. PaRappa the Rapper 2 hit Playstation Network for download recently, and there were leaked documents last year for a possible PaRappa the Rapper 3. Will we see PaRappa in the near future with a new game for Playstation 4? Maybe not, but with enough feedback, we might see him by the year 2020. His voice actor, known as Dredd Fox, as shown interest in wanting another PaRappa title.
But, for now, there’s only one thing we can do…
