PlayStation Plus Just Quietly Added the Most Creative Rhythm Game of All Time

The PSP was a real hotbed of innovation for PlayStation, home to some of the company’s most creative and ambitious games — from LocoRoco to God of War: Ghost of Sparta. But no other PSP game has managed to hold up as well as Patapon, a fantastically brilliant spin on the rhythm game that has you controlling your own little army of one-eyed creatures. It’s a game that’s as infectiously fun as its bopping soundtrack, and if you’ve got PlayStation Plus you can finally jump into this classic entirely for free.

If you’ve played any of the games, Patapon 3 is almost exactly the same, just with a few new additions and different levels. If you’ve never played one, however, it’s likely going to take a bit to wrap your head around. Essentially it’s a rhythm-based RPG where you command an army of Patapon by tapping buttons along to the beat.

Each of the four face buttons is a different drum you can use, and by combining these you can issue commands. Each command is a series of four beats and inputs, and if you use them at the exact same time as the beat your army will get stat boosts. So for example, inputting square, square, square, circle orders your army to move forward. There are a handful of different inputs you’ll need to memorize and use, for commands that include attack, defend, jump, retreat, and more. Luckily, there is a helpful guide you can put at the bottom of the screen with all the commands, if you need it.

It certainly takes some getting used to, but Patapon’s system becomes a brilliant fusion of strategy and music. Levels will throw a variety of enemies and obstacles at you, meaning you need to adjust your strategy on the fly, all while trying to stick to the beat. This can be challenging, for sure, but that’s honestly part of the appeal of Patapon. That rhythm system is a blast to use, and the game makes sure you need to master it.

But Patapon 3’s complexity goes even further than that, with how you can customize your little troop of cyclops. In Patapon 2 you built an army, but in Patapon 3 the focus is scaled back to a single troop of four characters. While previous games had you, the player, taking on the role of a god — this time you’re put directly into the game as an “Uberhero.” This is a super powerful unit that can use special attacks and revive itself in battle. Alongside your hero you have three other Patapon, which can be leveled up, equipped with different weapons, and use a variety of different classes.

Fine-tuning your little troupe is absolutely critical to your success — because you only have four characters, there’s very little room for error. But it also creates a sense of attachment to your Patapon, these are the dudes going through thick and thin with you. It’s kind of like playing XCOM, where you don’t really know anything about these little characters, but you’d still do anything to protect them.

All of these features make Patapon 3 a lot more complex than it initially appears, with real depth for how you customization your little army. But past that hidden depth, it’s the game’s ingenious level design and dazzling art style that help it stand out even more. Patapon 3 does a fantastic job of introducing new enemies and threats that force you to adjust your approach and don’t be surprised when you need to grind out some levels or try things more than once. But that’s part of the experience.

Even fourteen years later there’s still nothing else like Patapon out there, and that’s a real shame — especially considering we never got a Patapon 4. But it’s at least good to see Patapon 3 become playable on modern consoles, especially considering its developer, Japan Studio, doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s a throwback to PlayStation’s more experimental era, something that seems easy to feel nostalgic for in the wake of the company’s modern live service push.

Patapon 3 is available on PS4 and PS5.