➤ Patapon 2 Remastered, the review 🎮

Under the sign Patapon 2 Remastered review for PlayStation 4 starts from a sufficiently clear and (hopefully) shareable starting assumption: Pyramid and Japan Studio in the past have accustomed players to effective, fun, and in most cases fresh and original experiences. It is for this reason, moreover, that some of you readers might remember Patapon, that little game (but not in a reductive sense, but affectionate) based on black monsters who sang to the rhythm of music, on their PSP or on PlayStation Vita. Here: some time ago Sony decided to remaster the first chapter on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro, so it was only a matter of time before we found Patapon 2 in our hands (but digitally). This is not a brilliant conversion. , but someone could still evaluate the purchase: let's see then its strengths and weaknesses.

The plot: pata pata pata pon!

Pata pata pata pon, yes. It is not the result of mental madness, but the philosophy of the whole game: the Patapons are little invented creatures who fight, talk, move, live to the rhythm of music. The purpose of their existence, and on this the plot it is immediately clear, it is to reach Fineterra: a feat that seems impossible, because half the world seems to be angry with them. Patapon 2 Remastered starts from the conclusion of the first Patapon: the eyes-eyed monsters take that blessed boat they built, put themselves to sea and ... a gigantic kraken knocks them down and scatters them.

Luckily there is us, that is you, that is the player of Patapon 2 Remastered in short, who impersonates none other than the god of the Patapons, and guides them to the rhythm of music to adventure and battle. A narration, that of Patapon 2 Remastered, fairly long-lived and sufficiently varied: in any case more solid and interesting than the first chapter, even if inevitably the freshness and originality of that first appointment with the Patapons went to be blessed. But for today's player - who rediscovers these beautiful and precious pearls - the problem does not arise. Because maybe he will directly notice Patapon 2, which is the sum (so far) of what the series has to offer.

PlayStation 4 Trophies

Patapon 2 Remastered arrives on PlayStation 4 with its nice list of trophies, including Golds and the Platinum Trophy: getting the latter, as far as we've seen, shouldn't be a superhuman effort. In fact, you have to complete the entire adventure, collect all the collectibles and explore all the possibilities related to the customization of individual creatures.

Remastered: contents, strengths, weaknesses

Patapon 2 Remastered arrives on PlayStation 4, in fact, with one Remastered, and promising the buyer Full HD, and 4K support on PlayStation 4 Pro. In most of the situations proposed, the promise is kept, but when it fails, disaster happens. And, for example, the intro movie (which is so important in starting the adventure) and all the intermission sequences are a disaster. Needless to try to justify: Sony has taken the cutscenes of the game on the PSP and launched them on the PlayStation 4 as they were. And they turned out badly, in fact: a riot of unwatchable pixels. Too bad, because they are not only important videos to understand the story, but also funny and with the right sound accompaniment.

Speaking of the strengths, on the other hand, the input lag is very good, practically absent except in very rare circumstances: you could say that we went looking for problems where it was not right to suspect it, and instead it was more than legitimate to do so. If you have played the remastered of the first Patapon you will have understood very well what we mean: there at times the title was unplayable. But Japan Studio seems to have learned its lesson, at least from this point of view; even technically speaking, Patapon 2 Remastered presents no problems whatsoever.

Here: passing to the content, the remastered at least skimp on game modes. Patapon 2 on PSP and PlayStation Vita had in fact a couple of multiplayer modes that were simply removed in this conversion; on a stationary console they probably wouldn't work. However, it is also true that the launch price is not even too low, and a good rule of thumb would be that where it is removed on one side it is added to the other. Is this perhaps superficiality on the part of the developers: did it cost so much to add a digital soundtrack, a PlayStation 4 theme, some unreleased collectibles or any other nonsense that tried at least from a distance to justify a cut of some original content?

Gameplay: let's play with the Patapons

Having clarified the strengths and weaknesses of the Patapon 2 remastered and summarily remembering the plot around which the title is based, some "indications for use" are needed regarding the gameplay. Patapon 2 is still so original today, so unique, that it might initially surprise you. It is undoubtedly a strategic game (an RTS, to be fiscal), but also a rhythm game. Everything you do, you do it in time with the music: otherwise the Patapons start complaining, and or don't act as effectively as they could.

Through i commands main players of the DualShock 4, the player controls his own troop. Three times Square and then Circle: the Patapons move to the right. Twice Circle, Square, then Circle again: it is the attack command, the monsters will take down anything in their path. There are other commands, of course: for example the one to defend against enemies.

And there are also the miracles that we, god of the Patapons, can use to overturn a fight that is not going to end well. At all times, the Patapons must be assisted by the player, and will prove obedient and loyal to duty ... as long as the basic musical rules of each are respected. rhythm game: precision, attention to rhythm, quick reflexes. The difficulty level is sufficiently generous (there is also the easy mode, in case) but continuing the adventure offers an increasingly interesting level of challenge; This is good.

It is also good that in some aspects Patapon 2 Remastered insists even more on strategy and on the customization of troops: the Patapons get stronger, level up, evolve, specialize if necessary. There are different species, even unique Heroes that can be placed at the helm of the troop (and these also come back to life during the battle).

Have special powers, often prove to be fundamental to take down the gigantic bosses that await the unfortunate little creatures in the various levels. Add to all this a main hub from which you can access all the various secondary content and information that enrich the game context, and you will have Patapon 2 in your hands. Not bad: maybe a little out of time.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery PlayStation Store Price 14,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.0

Readers (9)

6.7

Your vote

Even today Patapon 2 has a lot to say, to old and new players. Those who already know one of the small Pyramid and Japan Studio masterpieces have the opportunity to recover it in a revised and updated version (even if with some limitations from this point of view, for example in the movies). Those who do not know the Patapons at all can enrich themselves with an important title: Patapon 2 Remastered is fundamental, within the videogame culture of any player who shows a minimum interest in their "wealth of experiences". It is not an excellent remasterd nor an excellent conversion, and it is a shame: in addition to the aforementioned movies, the multiplayer mode has been removed without any compensation, and from time to time some technical smudging or a detail out of place (especially graphics, more rarely of input lag) stand out. Evaluate the purchase also based on your love for strategic rhythm games, of which Patapon 2 was and remains an excellent exponent.