is a
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
rhythm video game and the sequel to
PaRappa the RapperPaRappa the Rapper , also known as "PaRappaRappa", and "PaRappa the Rappa" is a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuura and his NanaOn-Sha company. Released in the mid 1990s, it was one of the first rhythm video games of its time...
. Though the game boasts a number of new gameplay elements, it was not as well-received critically and failed to garner similar sales as its predecessor.
The story line of
PaRappa the Rapper 2 centers on PaRappa, a young
puppyA puppy is a juvenile dog, whose size varies among breeds: smaller puppies may weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier...
, and his continuing adventures in overcoming his obstacles through
Hip hop musicHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
. PaRappa has recently won a hundred years supply of noodles and has grown tired of eating them.
is a
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
rhythm video game and the sequel to
PaRappa the RapperPaRappa the Rapper , also known as "PaRappaRappa", and "PaRappa the Rappa" is a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuura and his NanaOn-Sha company. Released in the mid 1990s, it was one of the first rhythm video games of its time...
. Though the game boasts a number of new gameplay elements, it was not as well-received critically and failed to garner similar sales as its predecessor.
Plot
The story line of
PaRappa the Rapper 2 centers on PaRappa, a young
puppyA puppy is a juvenile dog, whose size varies among breeds: smaller puppies may weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier...
, and his continuing adventures in overcoming his obstacles through
Hip hop musicHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
. PaRappa has recently won a hundred years supply of noodles and has grown tired of eating them. PaRappa's girlfriend, Sunny Funny, offers to make him dinner one evening and he gladly accepts. However, when she serves him noodles, PaRappa throws a tantrum, leaving Sunny Funny to call him a baby. To prove to Sunny Funny that he is not immature, PaRappa seeks to complete a number of tasks, such as getting a job at a Beard Burger restaurant or working out to Chop Chop Master Onion's romantic fitness television program.
The plot continues to become more bizarre as the story ensues and it is slowly revealed that all of the food in town is being turned into noodles by a military dictator. He and his friends get shrunk by his father's invention, so he helps coach them back to normal size with the help of Guru Ant. PaRappa gets drafted into the army and must complete a military boot camp training course with Instructor Moosesha. He becomes an amateur barber after customers are being given
afroAn afro, sometimes shortened to "fro", is a hairstyle in which the hair extends out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball.- History :...
s by a
schizophrenicSchizophrenia , from the Greek roots skhizein and phrēn, phren- is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality...
hairstylist caught under a hypnotic tune.
PaRappa confronts the inconsiderate Colonel Noodle by beating an
8-bit video gameIn the history of computer and video games, the third generation began in 1983 with the Japanese release of the Family Computer . Although the previous generation of consoles had also used 8-bit processors, it was at the end of this generation that home consoles were first labeled by their "bits"...
called Food Court, learning the perfect weapon against noodles, sweets. The Colonel turns out to be Beard Burger Master's son, who has become sick of eating burgers. PaRappa convinces him that noodles aren't the only food around. The game ends with a final party with returning hip-hop master MC King Kong Mushi, and PaRappa learns that Sunny Funny already likes him the way he is.
Gameplay
The game plays similar to its predecessor and features 8 stages. The teacher will give a line of rap and PaRappa will have to repeat it, or otherwise improvise it. If he messes up his line twice in a row, he drops a rank from Good, to Bad, to Awful. Performing well two times in a row will bring the player up a rank. Players lose the level if they drop below Awful, or finish the level in the Bad or Awful state.
Parappa 2 handles this a little differently to its predecessors, as upon dropping a rank, the teacher will say 'Getting Worse', and the song will go back two lines, and sometimes altering the lines to make them easier to play.
If the player improvises a rap successfully two times in a row, accesses Cool mode, where the teacher leaves PaRappa to do freestyle by himself. If PaRappa can reach the end of the level in Cool mode, he'll earn a Cool ranking for that stage. This unlocks music tracks available to listen in a music player available at the end of the game.
Between every two levels, there is a minigame in which 'Kotaminegis' (little onions) from Chop Chop Master Onion's dojo hold up plates for PaRappa to break. Hitting the plates earns PaRappa extra points to add to his previous level's score, whilst hitting the Taminegis when they are not ready deducts points.
When a level is completed, a versus mode is unlocked, playable with a friend or against the computer. In this mode, the two players are given a line to rap, and each player must try and improvise to get a higher score than the previous one. Beating their opponent earns a point, and three points win the game.
Upon completing the game, Parappa hat changes color, going from Blue, to Pink to Yellow. When playing through the game again, the lines are remixed. Completing the game unlocks a music player where you can listen to any level with a Cool Rating on. The player can change his hat color on the title screen by rotating the analogue stick, but the line changes will remain, meaning the player will have to start a new game from scratch in order to play the songs in the original layout.
Cool Rating
- Beard Burgers, A Parappa Town Tradition: Beard Burger Master disappears to go 'Rest in Peace', leaving PaRappa to run the burger store by himself.
- Strictly for Adults: Chop Chop Master Onion asks to show him freestyle, and PaRappa enters the show to rap freely.
- Hey! Grab that Remote Control: Guru Ant proclaims he cannot do it any longer, leaving you to grow big and then freestyle on your own.
- We'll Turn You into.... A Real Man: Instructor Moosesha will fly into the air far away letting PaRappa rap for himself.
- You Don't Want Her to Go Through This, Do You: Haircutter Octopus leaves you to sweep up bits of hair, leaving PaRappa to re-style Lammy's hair.
- Parappa Papa's Pastime is Perfected: The Food Court video game switches to normal Parappa style graphics, and PaRappa throws sweets and cakes at the mentors.
- Noodles are the flow, Noodles are the groove: It is time for Colonel Noodle to brush his teeth and he allows PaRappa to keep singing by himself.
- Final Party!: MC King Kong Mushi tells everyone to look at PaRappa and how he has become a man, as PaRappa floats to the ceiling tied to a balloon. At the end of the song, PaRappa gets an extended 'Say Ho!' session.
- Blue includes Beard Burger Master and Colonel Noodle
- Orange includes Chop Chop Master Onion and Hairdresser Octopus
- Purple includes Guru Ant and Instructor Moosesha
Main Characters
PaRappa the Rapper (voiced by Dred Foxx, a.k.a. John Simpson III)
- The hip-hop hero, hoping to become a man in the eyes of Sunny Funny whilst holding off a noodle crisis.
Beard Burger Master (voiced by Ethan Eubanks)
- The deceased owner of Beard Burger, he teaches Parappa how to make beardylike beard burgers in the kitchen during Toasty Buns beard breakout mix.
Chop Chop Master Onion (voiced by Ryu Watabe)
- He appears in the television teaching PaRappa and PJ Romantic Karate in Romantic Love. He also hosts a minigame in between levels.
Guru Ant (voiced by Dean Bowman)
- He's an ant where the people get so small and the legs are long during BIG. He is mellow when small, but is incredibly timid when he's bigger than his normal size.
Sister Moosesha (voiced by Kimberly Queen and Aaminah Hassell)
- She's a moose who is sister to Mooselini from the first PaRappa game
PaRappa the Rapper , also known as "PaRappaRappa", and "PaRappa the Rappa" is a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuura and his NanaOn-Sha company. Released in the mid 1990s, it was one of the first rhythm video games of its time...
. She wears a tutuTutu may refer to:* Ballet tutu, a type of costume for ballet performances* Tutu , poisonous New Zealand plants of the genus Coriaria* Tutu , a 1986 album by Miles Davis* Tūtū, a composition by Liliuokalani of Hawaii...
and military pants.
Hairdresser Octopus (voiced by Freedom Bremner)
- He appears as an upside down octopus head and cuts hair in the barber shop during Hair Scare. He is red when under the influence of Noodle music, but is blue under normal conditions.
Food Court Videogame
The Food Court Video Game was featured with Beard Burger Master, Chop Chop Master Onion, Guru Ant, Instructor Moosesha, and Hairdresser Octopus during
Food Court. Anyone who can't complete it can eat nothing but noodles.
Colonel Noodle (voiced by Andrew Alonzo)
- He's the son of Beard Burger Master and sings "Noodles Can't Be Beat". Colonel Noodle was destined to become a burger shop owner from the day he was born. Unfortunately, his father Beard Burger Master was so into burger research that, similar to Parappa's situation, all Noodle got to eat was burgers. Discovering the noodles and enjoying them better than burgers, he decides to have the noodles take over the world.
MC King Kong Mushi (voiced by Dean Bowman)
- This bug sings with the microphone at the end during Always Love!.
Other Characters
- Sunny Funny (voiced by Lea Alomar) - PaRappa's love interest, who unwittingly calls PaRappa a baby.
- PJ Berri (voiced by Armstead Christian) - PaRappa's best friend who loves food and has a hidden agenda as PJ the DJ. He assists PaRappa on his adventure. PaRappa kisses PJ in Chop Chop Master Onion´s song, leaving the latter looking uncomfortable.
- PaRappa's Dad (voiced by Armstead Christian) - PaRappa's father, who is trying to find a solution to the noodle crisis.
- General Potter (voiced by John James) - Leader of the military and Sunny's father, working with PaRappa's father and training new recruits.
- Milkcan - Katy Kat (voiced by Shannon White), Lammy (voiced by Sara Ramírez
Sara Ramírez is a Mexican-American actress and singer. She won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as The Lady of the Lake in Monty Python's Spamalot, and is a member of the cast of Grey's Anatomy.-Biography:Ramírez was born in Mazatlán,...
) and Ma-san (voiced by Ryu Watabe), a girl group and PaRappa's friends who somehow get involved in PaRappa's mess.
- Boxy Boy (voiced by Freedom Bremner) - A speaking boombox. He shows up in the middle of the opening cutscene of almost every level to offer a practice run of one of the lyrics. Getting three successful runs in a row allows the player to progress, though they can also skip the practice by pressing the Start button.
Censorship
In the North American version of the game, in order to keep an E rating, every reference that Guru Ant makes about himself being called "the Lord" is changed and replaced with Guru proclaiming himself to be "the Man". Also in the North American version, the original line of the Burger store level, "Taste better than wine", was replaced with "You better get in line". These alterations do not appear in either the PAL or Japanese versions.
External links
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased...
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at IGN
IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at PlayStation(Australia)
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website which keeps track of video game reviews from other sites, and combines them to present an average rating for each game. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games. The Ratings show the general critical opinion about a game; thus, Gamerankings has...
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at TopTenReviews
TopTenReviews is a website which aggregates reviews for software, hardware, web services, music, movies, and video games from other sites and publications. Founded by Jerry Ropelato in 2003, TTR is, as of May 2008, one of the most popular sites of its kind by size and traffic, with the largest...
- Game highlights by The Rubber Chicken
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 at IMDB.com
- Instruction manual for PaRappa the Rapper 2