Patapon 1–3

Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon. Just four beats on the drum and a whole little army of black eyeballs with a single glowing eye starts to march. Patapon is one of those miracles that could only have come about on the PSP and only in the heads of people who weren't afraid to mix genres that, at first glance, don't belong together at all.

The principle is brilliantly simple and yet deep. You don't command your units directly, but through rhythm. Each command is a four-beat sequence of drum hits: Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon means march forward, Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon means attack, Chaka-Chaka-Pata-Pon means defend. When you hold the rhythm long enough and precisely, your army enters a Fever state, in which they attack harder, run faster and the whole screen pulses with joy. The moment you lose the rhythm, the combo falls apart and you have to start building the tempo again.

What could have been just a cute little gimmick gradually grows into a surprisingly complex strategy. You gather materials, craft and upgrade units — spearmen, archers, riders on giant beasts — and advance through the world in pursuit of the enemy and the fabled land of Earthend. The second and third entries in the series deepened the mechanics further, adding new classes, heroes and a more elaborate camp system, so the trilogy forms a coherent and ever-richer whole.

The visuals are unmistakable. The flat silhouette style, where tiny black figures move against pastel backdrops, feels like an interactive picture book. The music and sound aren't merely accompaniment — they are the gameplay itself, because the whole game is essentially a rhythmic composition you play with your own hands.

Patapon remains one of the most original titles ever released on Sony's handheld, and to this day it has no real equivalent. It's a game that gets into your head, and you'll catch yourself tapping out its rhythms long after switching it off.

Why play it: A hypnotic, addictive and adorably original blend of rhythm and strategy you won't find anywhere else — short sessions ideal for handheld play.