Ratatan, the spiritual successor to the rhythm action game Patapon, has been successfully crowdfunded, making over ten times its goal.
Those who fondly remember the best PSP games will want to keep Ratatan on their radar as the newly funded title harkens back to Patapon in its core design and visual aesthetic with many of the original developers at the helm. The Kickstarter campaign had a respectable goal of ¥20,000,00 (around $136,000) which was exceeded to later raise ¥219,314,335 (just shy of $1,500,000).
A backer post writes: "It's been a marathon but we reached the finish line. During the whirlwind workflow it's been your kind words, support, and glorious fan art that really kept us going. You really are the best community and we are honored to be able to develop this game with you on our sides." Ratatan also exceeded every single stretch goal barring a "secret" one. The game is expected to launch in April 2025 for Xbox Series X, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch and previous-generation consoles.
Ratata Arts appears confident that it can deliver the game on time to PC and console versions now that the stretch goals and budget have been set: "We are actually quite far along in the production cycle and feel very confident in getting everything into the game by April 2025!" With just under three years to go, there's a bit of a weight for this upcoming game yet.
From everything that's been revealed on the extensive listing page, Ratatan looks to embody the spirit of the Patapon series well. This is evidenced by the fact you'll need to "feel the beat" and use rhythm commands in time with the music to direct your "Cabun", this game's version of the Tribes of Patapon. The visuals from the background art to the animations of the characters also look the part, too.
Patapon was a smash-hit success upon its release back in 2007 on PSP, garnering critical acclaim. The title then spawned a sequel a year later with Patapon 2 in 2008, and then became a trilogy as Patapon 3 hit the scene in 2011. The first two games were later remastered for PS4 and are available as digital downloads, however, the final game in the series has yet to receive this treatment. The series has been dormant for over a decade, so it's no surprise that fans jumped at the chance to get the spiritual successor funded to keep the flame alive.
There's still a fair amount of time before Ratatan arrives, so we recommend filling the void with some of the best PS5 games, the best Nintendo Switch games, and the best Xbox Series X games.
