Parappa is one of those games that represents the best aspects of the Playstation 1 era, when lots of games with moderate budgets were being made that had the professional polish of studio games but the experimental heart of modern indie. It is one of the earlier rhythm games, but also a game that really leaned into the graphical limitations of the Playstation 1 to create an art style and world that legitimately looked great, along with an unforgettable soundtrack that made full use of the space CDs provided for audio.

It is also a game that's hard to play on modern systems because of increased input lag.

I'm excited that they're making a new version that will presumably be a bit more forgiving on timing (I had no trouble clearing the demo, which definitely brought me back) and will allow a new generation to enjoy the music and fun of the game. Parappa 2 is already on PS4, and if they add Umjammer Lammy to the mix I'll be happy. I don't necessarily want a new Parappa game (not unless the music was perfect, which it probably wouldn't be) but I'm glad the old one is getting a refresh and I will happily buy a copy if it's $20 or less.

Now that I think about it, I'd love a new Parappa game. Think about it. With a good budget, you could get some truly good hip hop music in there. Would be nice.

Anyway, how's the remaster? Is it just a remaster?

From the demo it seems great. I think it might be a full remake but it's a little hard to tell. At the very least they seem to have cleaned up the textures considerably and put it into high res. I also think they did something to account for modern input lag so I imagine they dove into the code there. I got through the Chop Chop Master Onion demo part with a U Rappin' Good on my first try, and I haven't played Parappa in at least 15 years.

It seemed like everything I was hoping for.

Looks like the cut scenes are original (they're in a window) but the game itself seems new.

I tried playing the original Parappa a few months ago on an LED TV and found the lag made it no fun at all (can play fighting games fine on that TV, for example) and even getting past the first stage was difficult.

First run through the new demo and I got a Good.

Hey, guess what? The remaster still has latency issues and you can kinda only get through the fourth stage by sheer luck, if even that. I don't know why I expected better, maybe because of the word "remaster"?

The comic below is still relevant and works as a review.

• Destructoid 5.5/10
• Gamespot 6/10
• Playstation Lifestyle 6/10

This just shows how we have gotten used to play games with laggy controls. I remember when I got my first led TV and how frustrated I was with the lag. I did play Parappa 2 on it and it was less then ideal. My newer 4k screen is not a lot better on this front then my old tv either and I understand that oleds can be even worse.

I have a feeling they never fixed the latency issue because then you would probably beat the game in under an hour. I hope they fix umjammer lammy though because the hell stage is nearly impossible.

Finally got around to checking it out (I never played it, I just remember going to my cousin's house and watching it being played there.) It's really charming, but maybe not an especially great rhythm game? I don't know yet. Also, there's a weird bug that doesn't let me go past the first area. After the tutorial, it just stays on the loading screen and doesn't do anything. I've done it twice now. Might try deleting and and re-downloading to see if it fixes the problem.