PaRappa the Rapper 2


PaRappa the Rapper 2 is a rhythm action video game published by Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by NanaOn-Sha for the PlayStation 2. The game is the third title in the PaRappa the Rapper series following Um Jammer Lammy. On December 14, 2015, the game was made available for the PlayStation 4 through the PlayStation Network.

Gameplay

Gameplay follows that of its predecessors, in which the player must press buttons to make Parappa rap in response to a teacher's lyrics. Players earn points and progress by rapping in time to the music and maintaining a Good rating through to the end of each level. By successfully improvising raps, the player can obtain a Cool rating, during which Parappa will be given the chance to rap freestyle by himself. If the player performs badly, however, they will drop down a rating to Bad and Awful, with the player losing if they drop below Awful or end the song with a Bad or Awful rating. PaRappa 2 features some tweaks to the gameplay, as some of the teacher's lyrics may change based on the player's performance. For example, the lyrics may become simpler if the player is struggling, or become tougher if they perform well.
After clearing two stages in a row, players can participate in a minigame where they must hit targets held out by Chop Chop Master Onion's Tamanegi students, earning bonus points which are added onto the previous level's score. Clearing each level with a Cool rating unlocks music tracks that can be listened to after completing the game. Each time the player clears the game, the color of Parappa's hat changes from blue, to pink, to yellow, with each hat remixing the lines in each level. In addition to the single player campaign, the game features a two-player Vs. Mode, in which players are given a line to rap to, which they must improve upon by freestyling better than their opponent.

Region differences

Similar to Um Jammer Lammy, the North American release of PaRappa the Rapper 2 features some censorship when compared to the Japanese and PAL versions of the game, replacing lyrics referring to alcohol and religion in order to ensure an E rating from the ESRB.
In Japan, McDonald's released a demo disc alongside its Happy Meal, containing a demo of the first level which has been changed to resemble a McDonald's restaurant, alongside a demo of Ape Escape 2001.

Plot

Parappa, having won a 100 years' supply of instant noodle products, has grown sick of eating nothing but noodles for every meal every single day. When Parappa complains about being served noodles by his crush, Sunny Funny, he becomes shocked when she calls him a baby, causing him to question his own maturity. When Parappa and his friend P.J. Berri go to eat at Beard Burger instead, they learn that a mysterious phenomenon is turning all the food in town into noodles. As Parappa and Sunny's respective fathers, Papa Parappa and General Potter, try to develop an invention that can stop the "noodelization", they inadvertently shrink themselves and everyone else in the process. After That, Parappa And P.J. unknowingly watch an adult show
not knowing that Parappa's dad and Potter are stuck small by Papa Parappa's Invention. Parappa presses a remote for a different T.V. Show but accidentally shrinks both P.J. and himself along with some other people. but they are soon helped out by the Guru Ant and return to normal size. After undergoing army training under Instructor Moosesha, Parappa helps rescue a Hairdresser Octopus from being possessed into giving people afros, discovering "Food Court", a video game cartridge, to be the cause. Parappa's father warns that if the player loses the game, the cartridge will curse them to only be able to eat noodles. Despite this, Parappa insists that he be the one to win the game.
Upon winning the game, Parappa's father reverse engineers the cartridge to create a device that can reverse the noodlelization. Parappa and the others use sweets and the de-noodlelization devices to combat against the Noodle Syndicate, who are behind the town's noodlelization. They soon confront the mastermind, Colonel Noodle, who is revealed to be the son of Beard Burger Master who, similar to Parappa's situation, had grown sick of eating burgers all his life, deciding that noodles should rule the world instead. However, Parappa manages to convince him to be more open-minded about different types of foods, and everyone celebrates with a party, where Sunny assures Parappa that he is more mature than he thinks himself to be. Things return to normal, only for Parappa's situation to repeat itself when he wins a lifetime supply of cheese.

Soundtrack

PaRappa the Rapper 2 is the original soundtrack from the game by the same name.

Reception

The game received "mixed to positive" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann gave the game a 6.6, stating that "an almost total lack of innovation makes the game seem pretty dated when compared with other games on the market.... Even when played to perfection, though, the rapping still sounds just as stuttery as it did in the previous game. While it was excusable then and perhaps even a little charming, it would have been nice to see the developers make better use of the PlayStation 2's higher specs." Though the game "features the same 2D graphical style as its predecessor, but it's not without its share of enhancements," he added, "The music in the game covers a lot more ground, genre-wise, than the original did, but none of it is especially funny or toe-tapping – with the exception of the level that takes place inside an old video game machine. PaRappa 2 isn't a bad game, but it doesn't have as much of the same off-beat charm that the original – and to a lesser extent, Um Jammer Lammy – had." However, IGN's Douglass C. Perry gave the game a slightly better score of 7, saying, "The game concept hasn't changed, leaning neither toward an evolutionary or even a moderate change in the way gamers play music games.... not as hard as Um Jammer Lammy, and it certainly covers familiar territory when it comes to the essentials – gameplay, graphics, and sound – but it's still fun and happy-making."