Ratatan Is a Rhythm-Strategy Roguelite That Should Make Patapon Fans Proud

The Patapon bid connected the archetypal PSP helped specify the quirky and easygoing quality of the much-loved handheld. As 1 of the archetypal of what you tin telephone a Rhythm-Strategy game, Patapon was each astir guiding a plucky pursuing of worshipers against a mounting bid of battles – each to the bushed of their leader's song. The franchise has been dormant for immoderate time, but that hasn't stopped the archetypal developers from creating their successor, which adds a clever roguelite twist.

During Summer Game Fest 2025, I had the peculiar accidental to spot the latest physique of Ratatan, which formed maine arsenic a caller person guiding my determined flock done immoderate challenging skirmishes. It took maine a fewer runs to find my groove successful the look of ruthless opposition, but I could inactive spot that Ratatan has truthful overmuch much successful caput than conscionable settling connected being a revival of a PSP classic.

Ratatan takes spot successful the onshore of Redo, wherever euphony guides the fates of the tiny Cobun. After facing a fierce struggle with invaders, the Cobun squad up with a unit of philharmonic guardians known arsenic the Ratatan, who usher the Cobun connected a run to support their lands truthful they tin scope fabled lands of the Everafter. By selecting 1 of respective Ratatan equipped with peculiar instruments, you'll beryllium capable to usher assorted Cobun units and infantry to conflict enemies, retake settlements, and people capable power-ups to instrumentality down each of the large bosses.

Ratatan channels the travel and pacing of the archetypal Patapon games but ups the consciousness of standard to the enactment successful a large way. I loved seeing the whimsical and much vibrant creation benignant travel to beingness erstwhile the enactment got going. You power the person of the pack, but not the units that travel along. To get them successful motion, you'll request to execute a bid that's successful tune with the bushed of the Ratatan's flow. These commands see movement, jumping, antiaircraft skills, and, of course, the bully ol' violative strikes. The large instrumentality with Ratatan, overmuch similar the Patapon series, is managing to support your tempo portion successful the vigor of battle.

Speaking to crippled shaper Saisu Sakijiri, Kazuto discussed the differences successful gameplay styles betwixt Ratatan and Patapon, which thin much toward the in-the-moment enactment of gameplay than the archetypal games.

"Looking backmost astatine Patapon, those games had an RPG benignant of power to it, but with Ratatan, we spell for a much action-focused instrumentality connected that gameplay, and of course, with the added roguelite elements going on with it," said the producer. "I was inspired by games similar Hollow Knight, which I'm a large instrumentality of, and I wanted to springiness this benignant of bushed enactment gameplay."

Finding your bushed is essential, and I'll admit it surely took maine immoderate clip to find mine. I kept asking myself if I was rushing oregon dragging erstwhile it came to landing the bushed for commands, but I besides had to support successful caput that I needed to expect and respond to force attacks. In 1 instance, I led a march guardant with my units, but they astir instantly walked close into a devastating counterattack from the enemy. Facing these setbacks felt discombobulating, but erstwhile I got my groove back, things yet came together, and I was chaining attacks and dodging force laser blasts and different hazards with greater ease.

The cardinal departure from the benignant of gameplay acceptable by the Patapon bid is the determination to a roguelite experience. Each tally volition person you take from a roster of Ratatan equipped with trumpets, drums, tubas, and guitars, who each person their peculiar modifiers and perks to use successful battle. Once the signifier was finished, I was capable to prime up antithetic modifiers that applied onslaught and accomplishment bonuses to the units and Ratatan.

It's a precise acquainted roguelite loop, but wrong the discourse of a rhythm-action game, it feels particularly breathtaking and interesting. Much similar Hades and different roguelites that let you to instrumentality successful the setting, you tin besides sojourn a hub basal of sorts that volition person characters to chat up. These characters volition assistance the Ratatan by giving you the accidental to bargain persistent upgrades for the squad, allowing them to beryllium much prepared erstwhile heading retired into a caller run.

According to the shaper of Ratatan, feedback from longtime fans has been coming successful for the crippled pursuing its accelerated occurrence connected Kickstarter successful 2023, which led to the stronger favoritism betwixt Ratatan and its absorption connected a unsocial experience.

"We're precise blessed that fans of the Patapon bid person liked what we person with the crippled truthful far, but I bash consciousness that Ratatan is precise overmuch a successor to Patapon and is doing its ain thing," said the producer. "It's been a spot of a situation to marque things much modernized with the roguelite elements, but besides recognize that it is simply a situation for players arsenic well. There is decidedly a learning curve for the game, but we're blessed to spot the feedback that we person been getting from players."

From my hands-on with the latest physique of Ratatan, it's truthful acold a amusive but genuinely challenging bushed game. Yet I couldn't assistance but beryllium drawn successful by its infectiously charming satellite and flow. It's a benignant of revival that captures the original, quirky code and gameplay, and hopefully, its larger operation volition travel unneurotic to perchance surpass its forebears.