Patapon is not LocoRoco. Yes, they share some of the same development talent, have a similar "can't get it out of your head" selection of music and beats, and a uniquely animated 2D silhouette art style. And that's exactly where the comparison ends. Patapon is funny, a little bit dark and more addictive than one would expect. SCEJ and Pyramid (with help of French graphic artist Rolito), have crafted a rhythmic strategy action adventure like no other. And by "no other" I mean you've never even thought such a weird experimental mixture of genres would be attempted, or in this case, successfully blended together.

You (the player) are the "Almighty" and are chosen by the brave and noble tribe of Patpaons. They ask for your help for two reasons primarily; To help lead them against the evil invading Zigoton army and regain control of their homeland, and to take them to Earthend where the secret of "IT" supposedly lies. The cycloptic and rather cute Patapons are usually a happy little bunch, but there's no doubt that they are still also warriors. So when push comes to shove, they have no problem beheading their prey and partying afterwards. There's a subtle contrast of light and dark themes throughout the game, and it even seems to touch briefly on religion. If you are expecting candy canes and bubblegum a la LocoRoco, then this is probably not where you'll find it.

Patapon frequently breaks the 4th wall in that it revolves around the Patapons speaking directly to you, the gamer. As "Almighty" you need to guide the Patapon army through many missions and environments, but not in the way you would typically associate with a strategy title. You have no direct control of your individual Patapons and there is no cursor to speak of. All of the available actions, including attacking, defending, parrying, movement or other special maneuvers are accomplished by beating your war drum in defined patterns all while following a non-stop underlying beat. Patapon relies almost solely on the four PSP face buttons, each mapped to a unique drum sound (Pata, Chaka, and Pon for example) that when played in a specific sequence "suggests" the action your army should perform. You cannot control individual units or groups to do anything they don't want to do - you lay down the command and they respond how they believe they should. The more on-beat your drumming is, the better your army performs, overall. If you continue a near perfect beat your Patapons will reach a frenzied fever mode, which provides greatly increased offensive and defensive attributes in addition to some enhanced actions. The L and R triggers are used in certain circumstances such as playing special Miracle (magic) songs that are required in various missions. Besides nudging menus and shifting the viewpoint to the left or right a few pixels, the D-pad and analog stick are not utilized. The controls are not complicated at all, so if you can press one or two buttons to a simple beat, you can play Patapon. The game holds your hand at the very beginning, though not for long.

You don't spend the entire game just tapping out button combinations; there is actually some strategy involved in building an army and outfitting them with the proper gear. Throughout your adventure, your Patapons will recover, earn or stumble across items, weapons and new characters and units that are needed to strengthen your army. At the home base in Patapolis are also a number of musical mini-games which, when used in conjunction with those rare items, provide a way to create very powerful Patapons (Rarepons) or special items.

Patapon does follow some strategy and RPGs conventions except your army and units never gain experience or "level up" in the traditional sense. They either are equipped with the best weapons and armor you can find, or they can be dismissed and replaced with one of the special Rarepons. Herein lies one of Patapon's very few faults. While there are all sorts of missions to take on, from straight up battles and hunting, to puzzle and boss fights, there are a handful that will be played over and over again in order to find or earn enough rare items, gold (ka-ching) and weapons to keep your units on the cutting edge. Patapon is not a pushover by any means, and some of the later battles may require up to 10 minutes of keeping in rhythm. Without the right equipment or units, it's not unlikely that you'll lose a few times thus requiring you to go hunting, take down some bosses, play some mini-games and upgrade before attempting them again. Some of the best weapons and armor comes along only once within the game, and if you take too long to pick them up or are defeated during battle, you are out of luck. There are also instances where you could possibly permanently lose one of your powerful, specially created units, so frequent saving before missions (which is always an option), is a must. During the 20+ hours it lasts, Patapon will put you on the edge of your seat many times during the surprisingly tense battles and especially the boss fights.

I'm surprised I've gone so far into the review without gushing over the unique visuals. Like LocoRoco, Patapon is presented from a side-scrolling perspective with smoothly animated little characters and high contrast, layered backgrounds. The Patapons and the Zigotons are simple looking sprites at first glance until you realize how eye-catching the 2D vector and puppet-style animation is. Even through they are only composed of a few basic colors, each of the units have a full repertoire of actions and are full of personality, style and wit. The bosses are huge (relatively speaking) and menacing of course, and employ similar animation techniques except on a larger scale. Rolito's designs really stand out and are a huge part of what makes the game so damn lovable.

The music and audio is probably the most important aspect of Pataponm being a rhythm game and all. As you beat your drum, and your Patapon army begins their singing and war chants, it's hard not to crack (and keep) a smile. While in-game, that's really all the music you have and it's perfect. There are a lot of musical influences within the game, from Scottish-bagpipe celebrations and Neanderthal fire dances, to traditional medieval war marches. The game's non-traditional soundtrack is as much a treat for the ears as the striking visual design is for the eyes. Like LocoRoco, SCEJ really attempted to do something different musically, and again, they've succeeded. There are no voiceovers in Patapon, and they probably don't have a place in the game. The writing, however, is incredibly amusing. Some of the comments during battle are truly laugh out loud funny.

If it wasn't obvious from the rest of the review, Patapon is a must own PSP title. For under $20, you get what amounts to a huge adventure, and easily one of the most original games of the year - on any platform. Pata-pata-pata-portable perfection.