Wow! Patapon is unique and charming, and should not be overlooked by PSP owners.
In Patapon, you play as the mighty God of the Patapons (whose default name is Kami.) As God, you must give your Patapons guidance by beating out certain rhythms on some mystical drums. Orders such as attack, move forward, and retreat are all given by pressing face buttons in time with the beat that your Patapons are chanting for you. It may sound odd, and well, it sort of is, but it won't take long before giving out commands is second nature. And because gameplay primarily only uses the face buttons, anyone who can keep a half decent beat going will be able to enjoy this game.
That's not to say that Patapon isn't deep. The game gives you the ability to create new Patapons for your army by arranging different items found during scavenger missions. In all, there are three different types of Patapon, and each represents a typical RTS class: there are archers, spearmen, and axe-weilding warriors. You can also equip each individual Patapon with new weapons, shields, and helms, and the new additions are visible on the character's body when equipped. Seeing a small eyeball creature marching across the screen wearing a Viking helmet and weilding a small axe and a circular shield is just charming.
Patapon's graphics are excellent. Although they don't showcase the power of the system, they are stylistically fantastic and similar to LocoRoco. Don't confuse this game for a spiritual successor to LocoRoco because of the graphics, though, as Patapon is much more strategic. Anyway, the graphics look very nice and sharp, and they make good use of color amidst the primarily black Patapons. Bosses are all giant and sufficiently intimidating compared to the small Patapons, and the fights themselves are great.
The sound in Patapon is unifofrmly amazing. In order for a beat-based game such as this to work, the music has to be simple enough to comprehend easily, yet catchy enough to really get players into the rhythm. Patapons chanting and drumming acomplish just that. The music outside of combat is equally fantastic. The Patapon's victory chant is cute, and it becomes almost hilarious when it is accompanied by the visual of the Patapons hauling a wagon with a defeated boss' head resting on top.
As great as Patapon is, the gameplay really needed to be spiced up a bit to sustain a long playtime. This is where the miracles come in. As a God, you can collect and use certain miracles, such as the ability to make it rain, at key points in the game. While these miracles do spice up the gameplay and are accompanied by some cool environmental effects, they can be very cumbersome to initiate until you really "get it." See Youtube and the Patapon forums for examples of people who have become baffled by the rhythms and timing needed to initiate these miracles. It may seem hard, but perservere and you'll be rewarded with successful miracles.
All in all, with its low price point, there's no excuse to miss Patapon...other than being tone deaf, of course.
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Overall: 9/10