A rare gem that shines through it's very few faults.
Even though this a 2D game, there is a beautiful art style to be presented here. Plenty of stuff going on in the background, wonderful character designs, and vivid colors everywhere.
The gameplay is awesome. However, if you can not keep a beat, skip over this title. I found the control scheme very simple, and in a good way. I just wish the DON drum was used a bit more, but that doesn't affect the epic boss battles and wonderful battle levels.
Even though there are rhythm games out there, I never have seen controls quite like Patapon. Using beats to walk, attack and defend makes it stand out from all the other games out there. The new beats may be a little hard to get used to at first, but soon they will become part of your regular beats.
The story is pretty nice. Everything flows, and it has it's surprising moments (I found Gong's death pretty shocking) The ending is what makes me call this game "epic".
All in all, not a perfect game, but the closest I have found on the PSP to it. In the real world I would give it a 9.7, because of some things that they don't let you do (like replay the battle sequences, those are the most fun). Pick up this game. You probably won't regret it.