Patapost Friday: Pata-tips #1

P-Day 2008-02-26: hordes of Patapon fans storm local shops in search of drumming musical goodness; Thousands (millions?) of people found across the globe hypnotically chanting “pata-pata-pata-pon”.

Ok, so that faux-news bit might be a bit of a hyperbole, but I’d like to personally thank everyone here on the blog (new comers and old timers) on the support, good vibes, happy thoughts and overall positive sentiments towards this little bit of land we call Patapolis… and welcome to the tribe.

Last post, we mentioned that we’ll be answering a few questions on gameplay and offer some tips as long as it doesn’t spoil the ending.

Crossing the Dessert
Many of you are getting fried trying to cross the desert, so here’s a little tip for you guys: hook it up with the Rain JuJu, Don drum and get a’ chantin’…

Rain Juju and Don Drum

• Successfully Defeat the Great Guardian Dodonga.
• Go back into the Patata Plain (first hunting level). March until you approach the totem pole at the beginning of the level (get close enough, but don’t go past it!). Press the buttons indicated in the Totem Pole, and of course, keep to the rhythm!
• Pick up the compass and finish the level.
• Find the secret level now unlocked and battle against the Dauntless Dragon Majidonga! This will give you both the DON drum and the Secret Rain JuJu!

Fever Mode (aka Patapon’s Gone Wild)

• Get your Patapons up to fever mode. This is done by successfully executing a series of commands (6-10) in a chain without breaking the beat.
• Once you hear/read “Fever!!”, chant Don DonDon DonDon. Make sure to keep to the rhythm when you drum!
• You’ll enter into full JuJu mode and get with the rain making!

Final Tip
You can equip different JuJu’s in the HQ, just scroll over to the right with the directional buttons and press the X button to select your JuJu.

Keep the Fever Going
The hardest part is not reaching fever mode, but actually keeping it! This is where the Pata-(wo)men are separated from the Pata-boys (and girls). You must ignore all distractions and keep to the beat! Sometimes the Patapons will start talking and not chant, but you must not let that distract you. One easy way to keep the rhythm is by tapping your feet, or bobbing your head, or humming along… this will make sure you’re always on top of it and it will help you reach Earthend.

Team Patapon
Working on Patapon has been a great experience, something that could not have been done with out the help of our marketing team (Chuck Lacson), PR (Alex Armour) and last but not least, the entire QA team that incessantly made sure that all bugs were fixed… these guys have you guys in mind when they play through the title making sure that everything is on the up-and-up so you guys, the fans, have a great gaming experience. These guys know the game back and forth, from here to Earthend and back – that sort of knowledge is ka-ching… so we’ve recruited Rodger Aladray, our QA lead on Patapon, to help out with some tips here and there as well.

Thanks everyone for the support, keep the rhythm going and see you next week. Get those questions in!