The Patapons are Back: Ratatan, a Spiritual Successor, Announced by Original Creators
It has been a decade since the last Patapon game was released, leaving fans of the rhythmic real-time strategy series eagerly awaiting another installment. While there is still no official news of a new Patapon game in the works, some of the original creators have come together to announce a spiritual successor called Ratatan.
Ratatan is coming to Kickstarter
The announcement of Ratatan was made at BitSummit, an indie game festival in Japan, according to Video Games Chronicle. The game is being developed by Patapon designer Hiroyuki Kotani and musician Kemmei Adachi, who previously collaborated on games such as LocoRoco and Ape Academy 2. Ratatan’s Kickstarter campaign is set to launch on July 31 at 9 a.m. PT, although the funding goal has not been revealed.
Ratata Arts and TVT, the studios behind Ratatan, have kept details about the game’s release window and platforms under wraps. However, early concept art was teased in March 2022, featuring the adorable main characters that can be heard in the teaser trailer. Although the trailer is light on gameplay footage, the whimsical tone of the voices and the resemblance of the main units to those in Patapon have sparked excitement among fans. In addition, producer Kazuto Sakajiri has revealed that Ratatan will feature roguelike elements and support multiplayer for up to four players.
“The three main game concepts are over 100 cute characters fighting it out on screen, four-player simultaneous battles, and more adventure and roguelike elements than Patapon had,” Sakajiri told VGC.
Kotani expressed his enthusiasm for Ratatan, stating that Patapon was a “really unique experience at the time,” and the team wanted to create “another game like that for the modern age.” While he did not rule out the possibility of a Patapon sequel, he emphasized the studio’s focus on making Ratatan their own game. He also clarified that there are no hard feelings towards Sony, despite the recent changes at Japan Studio, and mentioned the potential for future discussions about a Patapon sequel with the company.
Patapon initially launched on the PSP in 2007 in Japan and gained recognition for its innovative blend of real-time strategy and rhythm-based gameplay. It was subsequently released worldwide in 2008. The sequel, Patapon 2, followed a similar trajectory, launching in Japan in 2008 and receiving a wider release the following year. It expanded upon the original’s core mechanics and systems. Patapon 3, released in 2011, took a different direction by incorporating cooperative and competitive play elements.
After a six-year hiatus, Patapon made a comeback with a remastered version for the PS4 in 2017. The remaster was praised for its visuals but faced criticism for the added input delay. In 2020, Patapon 2 also received a remastered edition for the PS4, but it had the same input delay issue. Patapon 3, however, did not receive a remaster.