PaRappa the Rapper 1996

Is it still worth playing?

NanaOn-Sha's 1996 rhythm game for the PlayStation, produced, designed and composed by Masaya Matsuura, with art by Rodney Greenblat, in which flat paper like characters live in a 3D world. You press buttons in time with the teacher's lines, shown as symbols on screen, and a U Rappin' meter ranks you Awful, Bad, Good or Cool, with a song ending on Bad or Awful failing. There are six stages, each built around a rap song and finished at Good or better. After the first clear, freestyling when the rank flashes enters Cool mode, where you rap freely for large bonuses, and an Easy mode covers three stages. It set the template for later rhythm games, from Bemani titles to Harmonix's games and Just Dance. Each stage uses a different music genre and is built around one rap, so every song asks for its own timing and still feels distinct today.