Story time! I was introduced to the game by a PlayStation magazine Demo disc. I didn’t care much about the the other games, even intelligent Qube, but this one game stuck to me by how fun and zany it is. Sure it was one stage and it was simple but it was a lot of fun and it kept me playing for hours thinking about getting the highest score and trying to get the “Cool” rating instead of “Good”. I got an actual copy of the game soon enough and I was bummed out it didn’t came with a manual but a poster of something (I lost it eventually) but other than that, it was worth the money buying the game. This is Parappa The Rapper for the PlayStation! 

Story: 8

The story is about a character named Parappa. After watching a movie in the theaters he and a few friends go out and grab some food. He has a crush on his friend, Sunny, and is determined to win her over but Joe Chin appears being the alpha Chad, Parappa felt inferior to the man and would try to do what he can to make sure he wins Sunny’s heart. 

The story is pretty cute and nothing too serious. It gives some wacky scenarios as the game progresses with cutscenes and gameplay and it’s pretty good to say the least. 

I would give it a nice 8 out of 10. 

Graphics: 9 

I’m not gonna lie, for a 2D pseudo 3D kinda paper thin game, it’s nice to look at. The settings, the character models, the wackiness compliments the game’s style and personality. Though you do see some pixelation on the backgrounds and characters but it’s not that big of an issue. The game was released in 1996 and it looks more cleaner than let’s say… Sonic R. I know different games, different systems but PaRappa overall is a beautiful game. It’s 3D graphics on the beginning look more stiff and such (movie theater scene) and some stuff just seem so off (ice cream and some objects during cutscenes) that’s all I’m saying. 

Overall it’s a 9 out of 10 

Sound: 8

The music is memorable, the sound effects are… decent. You can hear the static when characters speak (and this is just a me issue due to a scratched up disc, voices kinda go in and out and skips but that’s not counting against the review.) The way you can cut off your voice during the game is hilarious at first but kind of annoying later on, especially when trying to follow the commands of the game. Again, the music is one of the best part of the game. Each stage has a song you have to follow with and they’re catchy. Anyone can immediately recognize the first level stage of the game if they ever played the game before (or the demo) and I’m telling you, I recommend listening to them. Most songs are inspired by different sub genres of hip hop. 

Overall it’s an 8 out of 10 with the scratchy voices. 

Depth: 7

The game is a button rhythm game, following the commands that are displayed on top of the screen. The stages are memorable with a zany cast and such. The game is rather short sadly with 6 stages (I think there’s a hidden 7th but haven’t been able to unlock it). The game doesn’t have any extra features other than the story but you can replay the levels once you beat them the first time. Only replay ability I see is when you beat the game once it gives you the chance to go after “Cool” during the game, which was not possible to obtain during the first gameplay. Overall the game lacks content, but the story and gameplay makes up for it for an early 1996 title. 

A 7 out of 10. 

Addictive: 7

The game is pretty addicting, with the cast and colorful backgrounds and zany storyline it’s one of those games that you can play out of enjoyment without much stress. A game to play at your leisure to say. Though with it being so short and not much content available in the game it can get rather boring quickly after a few play throughs. For a game of its time it’s pretty fun and can see why it was one of the better sellers of the system. 

A 7 out of 10 is reasonable. 

Difficulty : 7

The game isn’t that hard. Each stage comes with its own unique tempo and beat when you have to hit the buttons. One issue is that sometimes I hit the button on the timed sequence but I still lose points like how? I don’t know if there’s a lag in the game or what but jeez. Sometimes the buttons sequence are close together and I don’t know if I’m hitting the timing right or not but I still get punished for some reason. Heck even at times if done perfectly on the first stage I lose points. It’s when I realized if I just spam the buttons at times I get a bunch of points for some reason and I don’t have a complaint about that. Little cheap yes but it works. 

It’s a 7 out of 10 for difficulty. 


Final words : 


Overall the game is so much fun and all but like I said, with its short gameplay and lack of other content it hinders the game these days. I am not surprised how it became a classic for the PlayStation and a favorite of mine for the console. I do play it from time to time at my leisure from time and the story is entertaining. It’s a shame my copy is kinda scratched up due to years of wear and tear tho it just shows how much I enjoy playing. Overall here is my rating and review rating from the average of the neutral ratings I gave the game. 

My rating : 8.5 out of 10

Review rating: 7.7 out of 10