Review: Ratatan
The Spiritual Successor to Patapon Finds Its Own Identity
Ratatan is the new project from the same creators of Patapon, a classic that made its mark on the PSP with its combination of music, commands, and strategic battles. The premise sparks curiosity by bringing back that identity with new characters, progression systems, and a structure that blends rhythm, strategy, and real-time action. Here, we control a character who must command their own army while advancing through stages filled with enemies and hazards, balancing orders given to the troops with the need to survive incoming attacks.
GAMEPLAY
Combat is Ratatan's biggest highlight. Through commands synchronized with the music, we must guide an army against the enemies encountered along the way. The mechanics can take some time to understand, mainly because we directly control our character while also issuing orders to allied units. Simply keeping up with the rhythm and executing commands correctly is not enough. We must observe enemy attacks, dodge objects flying toward us, and find opportunities to counterattack without losing control of our formation.
The progression system expands our preparation options. During expeditions, we travel through different rooms and unlock resources that help strengthen our group. Between missions, a lobby offers characters and services that allow us to invest in upgrades, prepare for the next attempt, and adjust our army. We can also edit our formation, equip our soldiers, and choose which units to bring into battle. Cobuns have distinct roles, including soldiers, bombers, and archers, making it important to consider the composition of our group rather than simply gathering whichever units are available.
Our choice of main character also influences how we approach encounters. There are initially eight options, each with their own characteristics, special abilities, and bonuses. Coelito, for example, increases basic attack damage by 10% when landing perfect hits, encouraging more precise command execution. We can also equip accessories on our soldiers and adjust our formation according to our needs. Positioning archers more effectively or reorganizing combat units can make a difference during an expedition, especially when we need to respond quickly to different threats.
Although rhythmic commands are relatively simple to execute, mastering Ratatan requires constant concentration. The game combines pseudo-turn-based elements, rhythm, and real-time action, forcing players to monitor several situations simultaneously. If we focus only on the music, we might miss an attack that requires an immediate dodge or lose control of the situation involving our soldiers. Bosses are among the game's highlights precisely because they take advantage of this dynamic, featuring varied moves that can force us to cross much of the battlefield to escape an attack before returning to find another opportunity to strike. The problem is that this structure starts to feel overly repetitive, making expeditions less interesting as early as the second run.
VISUALS AND SOUND
The art direction is one of Ratatan's greatest strengths. The characters have plenty of charm, the environments possess their own identity, and the animations bring battles to life without compromising the personality of the game's universe. Its presentation is immediately inviting, capable of sparking interest even in players who are unfamiliar with the franchise or have never played Patapon.
Music also plays a fundamental role, as it is directly tied to command execution and the combat system. It is not merely background accompaniment for battles. Instead, it guides our actions and forms part of the gameplay itself. This relationship between soundtrack and gameplay reinforces Ratatan's identity and gives its encounters a distinctive character.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Ratatan features an achievement list that follows much of the game's progression, encouraging players to complete episodes, defeat bosses, and experiment with all eight available characters. Some of the more interesting objectives include clearing World 5 without being knocked down, completing that area with every Ratatan, and defeating the True Goddess with each of them. These challenges reward mastery of the gameplay and encourage further attempts with different characters, giving completionists reasons to keep exploring the available content.
The problem is that much of the list focuses on tasks related to menus and equipment progression. Crafting weapons, leveling them up, unlocking functions at the Support Desk, and upgrading items at the Ratatan Dock account for a considerable portion of the objectives, while few achievements directly explore the mechanics that make combat so interesting. It is strange that a game so dependent on rhythm, positioning, and commanding troops does not make better use of these elements to create specific challenges during battles. It would be far more interesting to see objectives requiring perfect sequences, strategies involving specific Cobun types, or particular ways of defeating bosses, rather than relying so heavily on actions players naturally repeat throughout their progression.
TRAILER OFFICIAL
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ratatan's biggest problem is repetition. The expedition structure becomes predictable far too early, and its reliance on progression systems can disrupt the pace of the experience. To advance, we need to spend time on upgrades, equipment, and troop management, interrupting the flow of our runs to handle preparations. This is part of the progression system, but it can become tiring for players who simply want to start another expedition without constantly worrying about crafting, formations, and upgrades.
Even so, the core mechanic deserves recognition. Controlling a character while commanding an army through rhythmic sequences is a distinctive concept that requires attention and coordination without relying on particularly complicated inputs. Bosses also provide some of the best moments in the gameplay, especially when their attacks force us to move across the battlefield, dodge hazards, and reorganize our actions before striking again. The variety of Cobuns, character abilities, and customization options also leaves room to experiment with different formations and find combinations suited to our playstyle.
Ratatan has a striking visual identity and a creative combat system capable of combining rhythm, strategy, and action in its own distinctive way. The experience offers enjoyable moments and demonstrates considerable potential, but its early repetition and dependence on progression systems ultimately limit its longevity. Greater variety between expeditions and achievements more closely tied to the combat mechanics would help make better use of the ideas that set the game apart.
SCORE: 7.5/10
Review by Gamertag: SCOULZ
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