PaRappa the Rapper

It’s PaRappa The Rapper this week on The Retrograde!

Andrew and Mikey dust off their gold encrusted microphones as they spin back the turntables for a look at this iconic first foray into the world of rhythm games.

We also discuss the controversial topic of in-app purchases, compare God of War to the superior Hollow Knight, and marinate in the absurdity of Overcooked 2! 

His palms are sweaty. Knees weak, arms are… paper? 

There’s vomit on his sweater already… Sunny Funny’s cake?

The late 1990’s were a strange time. Depending on who you ask, this time was either a renaissance for art, entertainment, and music, or the exact opposite. 

Looking back, it almost appears as though elements of both side of the absurdity which is responsible for the polarization can actually be found in the same product. Where the 80’s aesthetic has largely been dismissed as harmless fun, the 90’s often tried to reclaim that to varying degrees of success.

The result, looking back, is often a piece of entertainment which almost seems unrelatable.

But who gets to decide where on the spectrum these entries into art history fall? Well, as one such memorable figure said:

Kick, Punch, it’s all in the mind.

It’s all in the mind of the witness whether or not, for example, American style gangster rap was all in all a good influence on Japanese videogames.

Whether rhythm games always were, and still are fun, or if our expectations have been so spoiled by the likes of the refined Rockbands and Guitar Heroes of the world.

It’s exactly these two unnecessarily specific questions which will be tackled this week.

Will PaRappa retain his status as Rap God of rhythm games? Or is this beat work skipping?

Find out when Andrew and Mikey Retrograde: PaRappa the Rapper!