"Validates parking for my car..."

I've played for maybe a couple of hours, but the songs still got stuck in my head.

I'm not a big fan of rap, at least not the stuff commonly heard on the radio. I don't deny that some tunes stick in my head or that I've even tried to rap along to something catchy (which never goes well), but overall I'm more into electronica and pop or... whatever its genre name is. It seems that most "rap" songs that get stuck in my head aren't mainstream, and they normally aren't by professional rappers either. Basically, if it's a rap song I like then chances are true rap fans won't. Odd sense of taste? Yeah, but I'm used to it.

My odd sense of musical taste and my love of video games come together in the rhythm game Parappa the Rapper. In it you follow a dog named Parappa as he goes about everyday life and raps about it. With only six stages it's a fairly short game, but the songs are catchy enough to replay multiple times.

Basic gameplay is as follows: The rap master (the person Parappa's rapping with) says their line with the rhythm displayed on a bar at the top. The bar shows the buttons the player will need to hit, and when it's Parappa's turn the player hits the appropriate buttons in rhythm. Easy enough. Still, I've found that the timing required throws me off a bit. Sometimes I'll try and punch out my rhythm a bit sooner than the indicated time in order for it to work right, but perhaps I'm just doing it wrong.

Your success obviously depends on how well you replicate the rhythm, and your progress is monitored via the "U Rappin'" meter in the bottom right. Generally you want to be rappin' at either "good" or "cool." I can't ever achieve the cool rank because it involves first beating a level with a good rank (not a huge problem), and then being able to freestyle when replaying the level. I'm a freestyle failure so I think I'll stay out of an explanation on how to become an excellent rapper.

There's not much to Parappa beyond that. The story is just whatever happens on a day in Parrapa's life, but a recurring theme seems to involve the lovesick puppy trying to win the heart of his crush. The game's graphics won't give you that "Wow!" feeling, but the paper-like appearance of the characters fits well enough. If you dislike bad rap then this probably isn't the game for you. Anyone who feels otherwise, the original Parappa was remade for the PSP, and I picked up a used copy for $10. Just keep in mind that it's incredibly short before you spend your hard earned cash on it.

And with that I shall end my post. Next week I'll break off from games that are little known and that involve main characters who share the same name as the game's title. Instead the discussion will turn to a game from my favorite RPG series; Namco Bandai's Tales of Series.

Next week on I've Been Playing for 40 Hours: Tales of Vesperia