PaRappa The Rapper

Sony looking to grow their game library was in a position to take a risk to introduce a radically new game concept in order to attract consumers to their video game console.  A Sony Computer Entertainment producer suggested that Matsuura work with artist Rodney Greenblat to create a unique experience for their PlayStation video game console. 

By the time Greenblat started to collaborate with Matsuura the underlying structure of the game was already formed.  Matsuura provided Greenblat with outlines which were to be used as a basis to create characters for the game.   Greenblat was able to incorporate several pre-existing characters that he created into the game, including PJ Berri and Katy Kat as both characters seemed to fit the vision Matsuura was looking to implement.  One of the first designs Greenblat created from scratch specifically for the game was that of the main character, PaRappa.

Matsuura had the idea to make the characters flat, similar to the art style found in the Paper Mario series.   All the characters within the game were created as two-dimensional paper cut outs while all surrounding items were created as three-dimensional objects.  This art style influenced the name of the game as the game’s title is a word play referring to the flat characters.  The term “PaRappa” is a variant of the Japanese word for “paper thin”.

All lyrics were written by Matsurra in Japanese and then translated by rapper Ryu Watabe while he was freestyling.  When the game reached near completion Sony Computer Entertainment found it challenging to find a way to promote the game.  PaRappa The Rapper was a new style of gameplay and there were no games to compare it with.  The marketing team struggled to identify what gameplay genre to market the game as many of the employees were unsure if the title even qualified as a game.

Despite the difficulties with finding a marketing approach for the game, PaRappa The Rapper became massively successful when it release in December 1996 in Japan.  The success of the game prompted Sony Computer Entertainment of America to localize the game for release in North America in 1997.  The game proved to be just as successful in North America as the game received high praise from critics for its music, story, animation, and gameplay upon release.

The success of the game spawned two follow-up titles, a guitar-based spinoff titled Um Jammer Lammy for the PlayStation and a direct sequel, PaRappa The Rapper 2 for the PlayStation 2.  The original title was ported to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2006 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the game.  For the game’s 20^th anniversary, a remastered version of the title was released for the PlayStation 4 in 2017.