Together Retro: PaRappa The Rapper

[ExedExes]

So I started this, no wonder I sucked in 1997! This game isn't the type of rhythm game I expected. Button press timing is SO different here, I have to get used to it real fast. All I know is that if Parappa can repeat what the guy next to him said, then "u rappin GOOD!" Otherwise, art, music, everything is just really nice and easy-going. Even the voice acting is top notch. Perfect game for TR for sure.

I also didn't know how short it was, I thought completing 3 stages was pretty good for a single session, then I found out I'm almost halfway through, but maybe it's a good thing, because I can keep playing to get better!

Thanks to this game, I've learned what to do when you have a difficult situation that needs immediate resolution. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!!!! No, I don't feel silly for saying this or playing this!

[Sload Soap]

I just beat it and while I can say I generally enjoyed my time, this game has some pretty glaring flaws the most obvious of which is the lack of feedback when you fuck up a verse. The inputs seem just a touch laggy as well, or at least the prompts that run across the top of the screen aren't on beat.

Unlike later rhythm action games, PaRappa has a disconnect between the buttons you press and what actually occurs on screen. There is no real need for the game to use any button beside X as the button inputs do not correspond to any part of the song be it melody, bass or beat. Maybe this is due to the game trying to conceptualize the more intangible aspect that the voice occupies in music, maybe it was just done to create a sense of challenge. What I do know is that the game pretty much wants you to reply stages until you master them. And fuck that Jafaican frog and his slow as verses.

I'm still glad I played through this one though and it is a good choice for TR. The songs are damn catchy and like Wind Waker it's one of those future proofed games that never shows its age.

[Aramonde]

http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/cant-be-a-crime-to-kick-a-dope-rhyme.html

[Violent By Design]

The last stage is a pain in the ass, it doesn't help that it is the worst song in the game. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!!

What's everyone's favorite level? I think the driving test one is prob mine.

[Sload Soap]

The last stage is a pain in the ass, it doesn't help that it is the worst song in the game. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!!

What's everyone's favorite level? I think the driving test one is prob mine.

I really liked the song for the finale, nice and uplifting, but not the bit when it makes you freestyle with no warning.

I think Mooselini's song is the best as well. That piano hook!

Might pop this back in at some point. Once you clear all the levels on "good" you can retry and freestyle to get a "cool" ranking which unlocks secret endings and a different mode.

[Hatta]

Holy fucking shit. I can't even get past the first level. I swear I'm hitting the right buttons, exactly when the marker goes over them, and I get docked points. This is crap.

[Sload Soap]

Holy fucking shit. I can't even get past the first level. I swear I'm hitting the right buttons, exactly when the marker goes over them, and I get docked points. This is crap.

Yeah, this was my problem as well. Basically you don't hit the buttons as they hit the markers, you hit them in time to the beat. It's a wonky system.

[ExedExes]

My biggest problem is going to be this "bathroom" level by far. Best music in game so far, but to hit the same button *7* times without any real indication except for how you match up to the line presented before your attempt really sucks. Plus, there's no way to tell if it's the L1/L2/R1/R2 button when the "L" or "R" prompt is on screen. I'll keep trying to make it, otherwise I'll be seeing that stock footage of the rocket taking off a lot more often.

[dunpeal2064]

Decided to give this a spin earlier. Haven't played it since I tried the demo way back in the day.

Yep, can't make it past the first stage. At first I was trying to time it to the marker, but that didn't work. So, I tried to time it to the beat, but the input lag I am getting makes it so that I have to time my presses just before the timing of the song.

Loving the asthetics of the game, but as a rhythm game it is a bit dated.

[alienjesus]

I finally got ahold of my copy and started tonight.

It took me a little while to get past stage 1 aswell, and then stage 2 took me a few tries too. I'm currently stuck on the third level (screw this frog).

I've found that following the exact timing of the rapper is really hard, so I try to freestyle instead. If you hit the correct buttons anyway you want as long as its on rhythm, it counts as successful. If you beat a level and go back, this is how you get the U Rappin' Awesome rank. Before then though, I've found it ironically easier to do then trying to figure the timing the game expects out of me for the usual button presses.