Latest news with #HiroyukiKotani
Engadget
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Ratatan, a spiritual successor to Patapon, hits early access on September 19
We have some great news for fans of rhythm games. Ratatan hits Steam early access on September 19 . This is a spiritual successor to one of the most renowned rhythm games of all time, Patapon . The designer behind the original game, Hiroyuki Kotani, is involved. The mechanics here are similar to Patapon and its sequels, but look to be more elaborate . The game tasks players with rhythmically controlling cute little soldiers called Cobuns, but directing these warriors while avoiding damage is easier said than done. We said it felt like "the gaming equivalent of patting your head and rubbing your stomach." The developer also announced some new features coming to the game. It revealed two new worlds, including a jungle and a garden that's been frozen over, along with new soldier and weapon types. This is 2025, so the game also features a roguelike element, as players can encounter unique power-ups and buffs during each run. There's still a lot we don't know about this title, including the price and when it'll eventually come to gaming consoles. The developer has a livestream planned for September 14 hosted by voice actor Tomokazu Sugita. The stream "will feature the latest updates, our post-launch roadmap and information on upcoming events." Patapon originally came out all the way back in 2007 for the PSP. It was followed by a handful of sequels, all originally for Sony's first portable console. The first two games have been ported to other consoles, including the Switch and PS5 .
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. With the release of Astro Bot last year, the world got a reminder of just how many beloved first-party franchises PlayStation was responsible for in its glory days – and how few of them are still alive today. While Sony itself seems interested in pursuing little beyond a handful of mega-franchises from its biggest studios, it's apparently increasingly willing to license out those series to other publishers: notably Bandai Namco, which announced new Patapon and Everybody's Gold games during the Nintendo Direct for March 2025. First we saw Patapon 1+2 Replay, a remastered collection of Sony's two beloved PSP rhythm strategy games. Patapon helped form the peak of Japan Studio's reputation for delightfully offbeat games, and it was among the more popular parts of that lineage, spawning not just one, but two sequels. There's little else like it to this day – aside, of course, from designer Hiroyuki Kotani's spiritual successor, Ratatan, which is due to launch in 2025. Patapon 1+2 Replay is set to launch across PS5, Switch, and PC on July 11 courtesy of Bandai Namco, and that's not the only Sony game the publisher's handling. Bandai Namco also announced Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots today, which also due out on PS5, Switch, and PC sometime this year. Everybody's Golf was once known as Hot Shots Golf in North America, but whatever title you recognize it by, it's a cute, accessible golf game with roots going all the way back to the PS1. This one is perhaps an even weirder comeback than Patapon – here we have a brand-new entry in a Sony-published series that got a new entry as 2019 with Everybody's Golf VR. Bandai Namco kicked off this whole thing with the release of Freedom Wars Remastered earlier this year. That Monster Hunter-style action-RPG was once a PS Vita exclusive and yes, a first-party PlayStation game. There hasn't been any formal announcement of a partnership between Sony and Bandai Namco, but clearly the two companies have worked out some mutually beneficial IP agreements. As much as I'm confused by all this, I'm mostly just happy that other publishers are willing to give us the smaller IP revivals that Sony's unwilling to. There's already some Bloodborne copium in the ether as the result of all this, but what I want are Sony's greatest obscurities. After these years, please: sickos like me are demanding a new Tokyo Jungle. You owe it to the world, Bandai Namco. Let that little Pomeranian stalk the streets once more. Preparing for the Switch 2, Nintendo announces "Virtual Game Cards" you can move between consoles and loan to friends for up to 2 weeks.
