PSP Review: PaRappa the Rapper
I still remember the first time I ever played PaRappa the Rapper. No, it wasn’t a bright, sunny day. The birds weren’t singing some cliche tune, and everything wasn’t as right as rain. The shining debut went down in my musty basement, with the sun peeking through the window just enough to highlight the immeasurable dust entering my lungs and coating them with a grimy layer. I had just received a console I could finally call my own, and there I was, fiddling with the demo disc while I took a break from my beloved Crash Bandicoot 2. I was a kid, and back then my family didn’t have money shooting out of our ears in puffs of green joy, so a lot of times I ended up replaying old games just for kicks or pouring countless hours into nailing that 100% score.
So amongst the stingy offerings of the glitchy Croc and frustrating Intelligent Cube, I happened upon a rapping dog and his odorous teacher, Chop Chop Master Onion. The point was … well, actually, I had no idea what the point was, but I did understand the concept. Master Onion would rap catchy lyrics, and it was PaRappa’s job to follow suit with even more U rappin’ style. Despite such a simple task, what made the game a worthy pursuit was the unstated knack for rhythm the player had to bring to the chopping board. The fun beat, eccentric characters, and frivolous lyrics kept me coming back for more, but the demo only allowed me a taste of the wonders PaRappa held in store.
It’s just strange to think it took me ten years of humming the anthropomorphic Onion-led tune before I ever revisited what had in my absence become a rhythm classic that not only mixed whimsical lyrics, but 2D and 3D environments, as well.
In 2006, PaRappa the Rapper hit the PlayStation Portable in honor of the game’s tenth anniversary. While the elements of the original remain the same (for better or worse), the newer version packs an ad-hoc mode, letting up to four players jam to all six songs and the downloadable remixes of the compilation.
Bearing a farcical story that challenges PaRappa to champion the heart of his crush, Sunny Funny, the game awards the player with the guidance of instructors like Mooselini, Prince Fleaswallow, Cheap Cheap the Cooking Chicken, and MC King Kong Mushi. Each personage helps PaRappa move another step closer to impressing Sunny Funny—whether that means taking driving lessons from a rapping moose or grooving to a slow beat alongside a mellow frog.
PaRappa doesn’t arrive on the scene without a few flaws here and there. Though charming, the plot demands a lot of lenience—not only with its silly quality, but with its dominating presence of cut-scenes. The game is short and sweet, and the meter lacks a rock-hard formula. Either way, it’s hard not to fall in love with the unconventional and just plain weird PaRappa the Rapper, and fifteen dollars redeems a lot in gaming pleasure.
