Rhythm games had gone a long way since their conception in 1987, when Dance Dance Revolution's precursor, Dance Aerobics (or Dance Studio in Japan), came into the gaming scene, per Ars Technica. We now have games that rely on touch screens for taps and slides and even dedicated equipment to play them with.
However, these modern rhythm games wouldn't be possible without the contribution of what many consider the first true rhythm game in gaming history.
PaRappa the Rapper is one of the most iconic video games in the '90s and the first true rhythm game that laid the foundation of similar games we can find on app stores and digital game stores today, per Free Game Tips.
The game is so iconic that Sony remastered the game for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and the PlayStation Portable (PSP).
PaRappa the Rapper Details
PaRappa the Rapper is a game developed by Japanese video game company NanaOn-Sha and was published for the PlayStation 1 (PS1) on December 6, 1996, in Japan. The game would later be released to the rest of the world, per the game's Fandom page.
The game's designer, Masaya Matsuura, teamed up with American artist Rodney Greenblat to create the iconic game. Matsuura had a background in music before he not only designed games but also composed music for them, as well. He was the music director for the Japanese original video animation To-y, and the music for the horror movie, Sweet Home, per his IMDb page.
The game follows the titular main character, PaRappa, in his quest to become or be seen as a "real" adult and confess his love for his friend, Sunny Funny. Along the way, he learns many things that helped him achieve his goal, including the skills on how to rap and expressing his feelings for Sunny using them.
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Although the game's plot is a cliche for some, the gameplay is far from being one. The game tasks players to press a particular button at the right time for PaRappa to rap. As time goes on, these seemingly random buttons turn into a sequence, and players are graded based on how well they time their button presses to the sequences presented in the game's six stages. A rating of Good and Cool lets players advance in the game, while a Bad and Awful rating forces players to retry the stage or quit the game.
PaRappa the Rapper's gameplay is what made it the foundation for the rhythm games we now play today.
Matsuura mentioned that the pioneering success of PaRappa the Rapper was mostly due to the development team's creativity. He explained the game's development process was "quite unprecedented" at the time, which was mostly a case of "directing all the staff's imagination."
"This empowerment of imagination gives tonality to various elements of the game, much like the sensation musicians experience during live sessions,' Matsuura said.
PaRappa the Rapper Remaster
PaRappa the Rapper was eventually remastered for the PS4 in April 2017. The game was rendered in 4K (but would need a PS4 Pro and a 4K-compatible display for it to work) and 1080p. Sony also added a new feature for the remastered version that provides players a metronome-like rumble for each of the game's songs through the console's controller to help players "feel" the beat of the rap, per PlayStation Blog.
The game was also released for the PSP in Japan in December 2006 and in North America and Europe in July 2007.
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