During Japan’s BitSummit event on July 15, developer Tokyo Virtual Theory (TVT) announced that a spiritual successor title to the 2007’s PlayStation Portable classic rhythm action game Patapon is in the works. Previously revealed only by its tentative name Project JabberWocky, the game is now called Ratatan, an onomatopoeic name similar to its predecessor.
While the game has no current release date, the developer will be starting a Kickstarter campaign for the project on August 1 at 1:00 [JST]. The game’s platforms, release dates, and other information remain still unknown, but more details are to come ahead of the fundraising campaign on July 29.
The developers of Ratatan at TVT include director Hiroyuki Kotani, who designed the original Patapon games; producer Kazuto Sakajiri who worked previously on The Eye of Judgement for PS3; and composer Kenmei Adachi who provided the music to Patapon in the past.
While the game appears to retain its original predecessor’s 2D side-scroller presentation, Ratatan incorporates more colorful character sprites, unlike the monotone color scheme of the Patapons in the past. Illustrator and character designer Nelnal were revealed to be the designer of the new critters briefly shown in the teaser trailer, where Patapon-like small creatures can be seen, with some appearing to be carrying instruments with them, possibly insinuating that the game will be incorporating more than just drums to its rhythm-oriented gameplay!
Released originally for the PSP in 2007, the original Patapon has the player become a deity worshipped by cute, cyclopean creatures called Patapons. A series of 4 beats determine the possible actions of the Patapons as a group, and by pressing buttons in-tempo with the background song, each of the four face buttons on the PSP representing a drum; would produce sounds that create orders for your army to follow, such as advance, attack, defend, and more.