While Patapon's artistic teams did an outstanding job, the level design and gameplay is seriously lacking.
Visuals/Art-
This is the strong point of the game. Even though the graphics are simplified to the point of taking a good 10 seconds to design, they are charming and I couldn't imagine the game otherwise. Unicolor background, with a few clouds of lighter colors, a few texture-less trees/cactus/rocks, a pitch black ground and little legged eyeballs kind of explain the 19.99 price tag. There isn't much more to say about the graphics... really. It's simple and it works.
Storyline-
You are the great patapon, the new god of the Patapon tribes which were defeated by the Zigoton tribe (Red eyeballed Patapons) after the last great patapon left them in their greatest days. And it is up to you to take them to the end of world, to gain "IT" and bring back the Patapons to the glory they deserve.
It's quite simple, classic epic war game story. There isn't that much story progression, unless you count unlocking new types of Patapons and songs.
Gameplay-
That's where it gets plain sad. I must admit, the gameplay is innovative and it sucks you in for the first hour or two. But after that, the game just lose its appeal. The game is side-scrolling RTS style, where your units continuously attack the other force's unit for HP damage. Once there is no more enemies on the screen, you move forward to more of them, and in some occasions, towers, houses, totems, etc.
The small difference lies in the way of commanding your troops. The 4 main buttons of the PSP is assigned to different tones of the war drum, which you as the great Patapon play. You will hear a small beat in the background, the goal is to memorize a 4 tone tune, press the right button rythmicaly to th beat, and the troops will follow. (EX, Square,Square,Square,circle Pata~pata~pata~pon, will make the troops move forward a few steps. While Circle Circle square circle, Pon~Pon~Pata~Pon, will have them attack enemies in sight.)
Playing rythmicaly well for a few tunes will make your troops go into fever mode, making them much more powerful.
And that's it, that's Patapon's gameplay. There is a few tunes to memorize other then Move! and Attack! There is also Defend!,Dodge! and Charge! to make the gameplay differ a bit, but it doesn't change the facts here. You'll find yourself tapping your feet, square square square circle, wait for them to sing and walk a few steps, square square square circle, . Enemies appear! circle circle , square, circle, watch a bit of the fight but stay focused! Circle circle, square, Circle, . And that's it. It's like watching a cartoon on TV, but every 8 seconds, you must input Volume volume,mute, volume, or else it switches channel.
Don't get me wrong, there are great RPG Tactics games out there that you don't even do -anything- during the battles (Ogre Battle is a good example). But at least, you get to place your troops in the squad for different results, -and- place them in the field. You get a good hundred of weapon possibilities, as well as a large number of classes. In Patapon's case, you are allowed to make a squad formation, but the feature is useless. Melee up front, ranged in the middle and long ranged bowman at the back. Unless you want your bowmans up front and your melee at the back? You get to equip your Patapon, but the gear is of the "Good weapon, Better weapon, Best weapon" variety, which leaves customization behind. You also get to create different types of Patapon for the 6 classes in the game, depending on what materials you use at creation, which is the "pay more, get better guy" approach. To make it even more of a repetitive, brainless, grinding gameplay, you get hunting stages you have to do in-between missions in order to get Kaching (money) and materials to fill your army of Patapons.
Boss battles may seem impressing at first, but gameplay wise, it's all about looking at them to learn their 3-4 attacks pattern, and play the correct tune (of the 5 tunes) at the right time. Disguising a button press as a 4 button press doesn't make a gameplay.
Music/Sounds: While BGMs are really subtle, most of the music of the games come from the chants of your Patapon army. There's not much to say about it, you'll hear alot of "Pata~Pata~Pata~pon FEEEVEEER" and a metronome ticking every second.
All-in-all, try the demo or rent it. Play for a few hours to get the idea of what you will be doing the whole game. If you like losing your time to see your black/white Patapons turns into black/blue patapons (Not that they level up, you'll just make stronger one to replace the older ones) while pressing 4 buttons every 10 second, then this game is for you. It is visually appealing, and keep things simple. But for just about every other gamers, stay away from the title and do not believe the hype. The fad will die in a few weeks.