PSP Fanboy hands-on: PaRappa the Rapper

PaRappa the Rapper used to be the coolest kid on the block when he came out ten years ago. Although this game was the pioneer of a genre ten years ago, our recent hands-on with the upcoming PSP version has left us underwhelmed. PaRappa is back, but he's just not as cool as you remember him. Like parachute pants, PaRappa hasn't aged very well.

The greatest flaw we see with the game so far is its awkward input mechanism. Sure, music games have always been about pressing buttons at the right time. The problem with PaRappa is that its hard to tell if you're doing well or not ... until it's too late. In Dance Dance Revolution, for example, one would receive a confirmation of a "Great!" or a "Bad" immediately after pressing the button. Without an instant response, its hard to tell how you're performing ... and how to improve yourself.

Also, navigating the menus is a chore, and it's far from intuitive. We're also disappointed to see that the cinematic sequences in the game are bordered horribly: where's our full-screen video? There's still a lot of potential in the game: the game is charming, moves at a brisk pace, and the downloadable content will be available immediately at game's launch. We still have to play through the game some more, but our initial impressions are far from glowing. Stay tuned for more. Until then, check out new images in our gallery.

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