And it's a good thing, too, because without this surge it's unlikely that a game like Patapon would have ever reached our shores, and that'd be a damn shame. Not only is Interlink's Patapon one of the best representatives of the rhythm genre, it's also one of the finest games yet created for the PSP.

Pata-pata-pata-pon
But it's difficult to explain Patapon, to muscle it into a term or two based on first impressions. Glancing at its gameplay might have you a little perplexed, despite its deceptive side-scrolling simplicity. Even among its rhythm-based peers it's a smidge confusing, as the goal isn't to coast through Free Bird on expert mode or rack up an insane score--it's to conquer.

The Patapon themselves, much like the game that is built around them, are a misleading bunch. Though they appear to as cute, one-eyed 2D characters on the outside, the Patapon people were once a band of mighty warriors. After defending their homeland against any who would seek to encroach upon it, they eventually fell to the evil Zigaton tribe, who divided and consumed their lands. Lost and without hope, the Patapon were even abandoned by their god, a spirit who had pounded sacred drums to rally the Patapon to action.

Assuming the role of said deity, the player comes upon Hatapon, the last of his people to still hold faith in his god and hope in his cause. Taking up a banner at the reappearance of his deity, Hatapon and the player rally the remaining Patapon for a mighty march back into their homes and to the ends of the earth, and in so doing reclaim their heritage and honor. It sounds a bit heavy, but it's adorable--the most adorable holy war ever.

Pon-pon-pata-pon
Patapon owes its success to a devilishly simple gameplay scheme: Using four drums mapped to four buttons, the player must pound out beats along with a persistent rhythm in order to stir his or her legion into action. The digital pad is used for camera control. And that's it. What goes on beyond your button pressing, however, is where the bulk of the gameplay unfolds. Basic strings of four beats can command your legions to march forward, attack, defend, or invoke miracles to change the tide of battle.

Once rallied, your troops sing along to the beats of the sacred drums, answering your circle-circle-square-circle with "Pon-pon-pata-pon!" and unleashing hell upon the nearest enemy. Racking up combos--that is, commands pulled off in a specific sequence--can send the Patapon into Fever mode, in which volleys are more frequent and stats are boosted substantially.

The benefit of Fever mode is such that keeping to the rhythm with your beats is absolutely crucial, particularly against bosses and in the later stages of the game. Control and combat in Patapon is ridiculously basic and indirect, but in the heat of battle it can feel almost as tense as a real-time strategy game.

Levels are structured in a linear, side-scrolling fashion, with battlefields stretching on for quite a ways and populated with a variety of enemies, creatures and fierce boss monsters. As you slay the opposition and progress through a series of quests, your forces can collect money--in units of the appropriately-named currency Ka-Ching--equipment to outfit your troops, and materials to build better soldiers.

These levels tend to unfold the same way, requiring the player to lead forces in, slaughter, and leave victoriously. Occasionally the game tosses some special scenarios your way in which the use of the game's miracles--invoked by pounding a particular beat sequence and playing a follow-up minigame--are required to progress. A scorching hot desert must be quenched with rain, a massive forewind to be beaten back with a strong gust, that kind of thing.

The strategy inherent to the gameplay experience, then, is wrapped up in the ordering of your units, the weapons and other items you equip them with, and your ability to master pace and rhythm to use them effectively. By and large, this is pulled off without a hitch; there's little in the way of frustration where direct play is concerned. Each type has its own particular application and use in a variety of battle circumstances, and a big hunk of the strategy is figuring out the best combination of units, items, and miracles for a given situation.

Those who have lusted after the various screens and videos already know how beautiful this game is. Patapon's visuals, while by no means a technical achievement, are certainly an artistic one, featuring silhouetted characters over basic but striking backgrounds. Color is used sparingly but appropriately, highlighting enemies or unique Patapon unit types over their black-and-white counterparts.

One of Patapon's most compelling features is its storybook-like presentation, an aesthetic realized across the board. In tune with the incessant beat, the Patapon dance along with your drums and sing war songs while they battle their similarly adorable adversaries. It's a profoundly unique experience.

Chaka-Chaka-Pata-Pon
What avid rhythm fans might find troubling is that by some bizarre circumstance, backtracking --a mainstay of the action-adventure genre--has somehow wormed its way into this rhythm-action-strategy hybrid. Patapon features some 38 stages and a slew of minigames, but more than once the game will ask you to return to previously conquered grounds to retrieve an item, perform a miracle or solve any number of other objectives prior to advancement. This wouldn't necessarily bother me had I not already been backtracking so often to build up forces, hustle up some cash or find crucial items with which to create new Patapon -- some backgrounds are so familiar to me I could draw them on my back without a mirror.

Item management is another hangup, and factors into the aforementioned backtracking bonanza. Patapolis, your base of operations, home and practical inventory and troop management screen, features no easily accessible means of purchasing or otherwise securing items. As such, weapons and building materials--goods crucial to the growth of your legion--must be gathered on the battlefield, dropped by felled monsters or defeated enemy troops. Several particularly difficult battles will have you returning time and time again to previously cleared stages to improve your chances, and though the action remains addictive and consistently enjoyable, sometimes you just want to move forward.

But beneath this bizarre tableau of tribal warfare, rhythm and action lies one of the most compelling, addictive games released on the system to date. And at a budget price of $19.99, it's an easy purchase for even the most hesitant fans of rhythm... strategy... whatever.