Patapon 1 I can safely say that it is... One of the most innovative video games in history, combining the genre of rhythm and RPG, being able to customize the troops, while you lead them to the end of the level with commands that requires good rhythm and knowing when to use each one, also strategically. Basically, that's what the game is about. A very addictive formula, combined with a good story that makes progression satisfying, perhaps not quite polished. And for last good point the music and artstyle... Did i really have to say more? Just look at the boxart. Is the definition of an unique experience.
Shamefully due to being practically the inventor of rhythmic RPG has a lot of flaws that makes the game far from perfect and it can really ruin the experience, especially for new players. First of all, the tutorial is one of the worst i ever seen in a game. Patapon practically created a new game genre and new game mechanics, so why they give you a tutorial that has no mercy on the players inputs? If you know the timing on a second playthrough then it wouldnt be a problem, but many new people get stuck on this part because of the timing. And talking about the timing itself, is so excessively strict. Even if you heard perfectly the drums in the same way, the game sometimes counts as a perfect hit and other times no. The game also lacks any type of options besides sound, so in accesibility this game turns off. The levels are also very hard but not always for the good reasons, demanding the player always being in fever. This wouldnt be bad in the lastest levels (that is also the case), but again, you create a formula and you dont explain it properly? The fact that im a good player and i dont have problems with the difficult now doesnt excuse the game for having difficult spikes and teaching the mechanics from a terrible way. Backtracking and grinding are also serious issues that makes the game a bit padded sometimes. Levels like the castle zigoton are a good example of this. But the worst aspect of all has to be the permanent death of units... Like if the game wasnt punishing enough. What is the point of this? I get that some people may like it, but doesnt change the fact that is unfair and only wastes time from the player (the game doesnt even autosave). Bosses and zigotons levels only gives a minuscule amount of materials compared to what cost normal-good rarepons, so just load the game, dont even bother replacing units since it would be a waste of time. And after beating the game, you have a bit of extra content to do, which i have to admit that is a bit addicting but in this entry wasnt very well made, and the problems of permadeath units and difficult are even more noticeable here, and some bosses (like shoshookle) became literally impossible after beating it a couple of times.
Patapon overall is... a good game... one of the most flawest RPG i ever played for sure, probably due to the fact that the team didnt even know how to make this type of formula working perfectly. But i still apreciate this entry for what it is, just ignore the postgame. Trust me, you would have much more fun without it.