My Review of Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy
There are certain games unlike any other you've seen or played before, and games like Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy definetly qualify as some of the most unique.
These games are all about music and have a certain "Simon Says" genre about them. In each game, the characters have to face all kinds of problems, and it's up to you, the player to help rap, or jam their way out of these obstacles. For instance, Parappa faces challenges like learning to drive, getting money, making a cake, and even rapping his way to the bathroom! In Um Jammer Lammy, Lammy must get to her gig in fifteen minutes, but on the way, she must help put out a fire, take care of babies, fly a plane, make herself a new guitar, and even jam her way out of a strange island, or in the Japanese version, to get out of Hell and earn her life back! It's a relatively simple game to play, there's a bar up top that show which button to push (Triangle, Circle, X, Square, L and R) and you must keep up with the beat and press them at the appropriate time. For those of you who couldn't rap, sing, or play an instrument for your life, you're probably thinking this doesn't sound like my kind of game, right? Wrong! Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy are actually perfect for the musically challenged cuz you don't need 2 have an ounce of rhythm (although it helps) cuz it's all about pushing the right buttons at the right time! And these songs are almost guaranteed to have you singing along! People often ask which one is better of the two, but everyone has their own opinion about that. I highly recommend Parappa the Rapper as the starter, since that has much less difficult button patterns, and really is all-around an easier game. Also, I think the songs are a little more catchy in Parappa than in Lammy, but that's just me. Um Jammer Lammy does have some pretty awesome two player modes, has more songs, and Parappa is in Um Jammer Lammy too! You can make him rap to the same songs, which are altered a bit for Parappa's style of music.
If I was to rate it on a scale from 1 to 10, I would probably give it a 9.8 to 10. Definitely no less than a 9. The graphics are awesome, it's like 2-D characters in a 3-D background. Sound quality is superior, clear as a bell! You gotta give it a 10 for originality. If rapping onions, flea market owning frogs, cooking chickens, and chainsaw-weilding woodchucks aren't original, what is? Gameplay is pretty simple, you gotta know where those buttons are! And the game is great for people of all ages, in fact, there are many adults who can't help but get hooked on these games (and they are addictive!)
So, if you're looking for something totally different, not just another shoot-em-up game, something with a cool beat, not too hard yet not too easy, that's unique, zany, and totally phat and fresh, then these games may just be what you are looking for!
