Update: Project Rap Rabbit has been confirmed for PC, and has launched a Kickstarter campaign asking for £855,000 (approximately $1.1 million).
Further details on what the action rhythm game is all about feature on the project's page—which, at the time of writing has surpassed £22,000—including information on how its battle mechanics mimic the dialogue wheels found in RPGs like Mass Effect and Fallout.
"There are no wrong routes through our songs," says producer Keiichi Yano, "the heart of Project Rap Rabbit's gameplay mechanics still involves rhythmic beat-matching, but different paths through each battle will unlock bespoke bonuses and outcomes."
Stretch goals include a versus mode, localisation and extra difficulties—the latter of which stands at an ambitious $4.95 million.
Backer rewards, on the other hand, range from a $4 shout out on the so-called 'Backer Wall' section of the game's official website; to a $7,950 trip to Japan (travel fare not included) to have dinner with the devs, participate in PRR's launch and go head-to-head with the game's creators at karaoke.
Original story:
PaRappa the Rapper and Gitaroo Man never made their way to PC, but the creators of those two seminal rhythm games have teamed up and are making a game that just might come this way.
PaRappa creator Masaya Matsuura and Gitaroo Man creator Keiichi Yano are working together on a game currently called Project Rap Rabbit. Not much has been revealed about it, aside from a minute-long teaser video (above) that shows a couple characters, a historical Japanese setting, and various things in the background, like a UFO abducting a cow. It looks and sounds great.
However, we will learn more soon. The Project Rap Rabbit Facebook page said earlier today that more about the "key gameplay mechanics" and "planned formats" would be revealed in the next day or so. I'm guessing the latter means what platforms we'll see it on—keep your fingers crossed for PC. We'll report back when more is announced.
Matsuura and Yano have impressive resumes when it comes to rhythm games. Most notably, Matsuura also created Vib-Ribbon, while Yano designed the excellent DS-exclusive Elite Beat Agents. Some of these games might not have aged well, but they're classics for a reason. It's exciting to see the two creating something together.
As for rhythm games, they seem to have largely rode off into the sunset. Rock Band 4 didn't light the world on fire: the crowdfunding campaign for a PC version fell short of its goal, and on top of that, hardware maker Mad Catz ended up shutting down, after the company told investors it needed Rock Band 4 to be a success. Activision's Guitar Hero hasn't fared much better: the Call of Duty company sold Guitar Hero Live developer FreeStyle Games to Ubisoft this past January—this doesn't necessarily mean Guitar Hero is done, but it's not a good look.
However, there have been a handful of excellent rhythm games from indie developers. The dungeon-crawling Crypt of the Necrodancer and violent audiovisual experience Thumper are both fantastic, unique takes on the music genre. And if you have an HTC Vive, there's always Audioshield, which has you blocking music as it flies towards you. Rhythm games might not be the most populated genre these days, but there are still some gems out there. And I hope Project Rap Rabbit will be one of them.
