A successor to a cult classic PlayStation title has smashed its Kickstarter goal in less than an hour

Patapon
(Image credit: PlayStation)

The developers of PlayStation cult classic Patapon are back with a new rhythm-based game, which was funded via Kickstarter in less than an hour.

If you were playing games on the PSP back in the early 2000s, you're sure to be familiar with Patapon. The rhythm strategy game saw players take control of a group of anthropomorphic eyeballs called Patapons as they battled against various enemies in time with a sequence of drum beats. The game - as well as its sequels - was later remastered for the PS4, so it's garnered a lot of fans over the years. 

Patapon has so many fans in fact that new studio Ratata Arts (which is made up of some of Patapon's former devs) had absolutely no problem accumulating the funds for its successor Ratatan, another rhythm game with roguelike elements and side-scroller action. This might be the quickest I've ever seen a Kickstarter campaign gain the funds it needs, as a mere 47 minutes after the campaign was launched, it had already managed to meet its ¥200,000,00 / $140,182 goal.

Don't worry if you didn't manage to back the project in those 47 minutes, as it's not too late to show your support. At the time of writing, Ratata Arts has managed to raise over $360,000, surpassing the project's second stretch goal - which was to raise enough to add an online mode to the game. If the project continues to gain traction it could mean we'll get a console version of the upcoming game as well as more features like mini-games.

As for when we can expect Ratatan, according to the project's FAQ page, the team is "actually quite far along in the production cycle" and so "feel very confident in getting everything into the game by April 2025." If fans continue supporting the game and it manages to reach its console release stretch goal, we can also expect to play it on Xbox Series X, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. 

Find out what other exciting projects are on the way with our upcoming indie games list. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Read more
Screenshot from Mindwave
This weird WarioWare-like's demo got thousands of positive Steam reviews, and now its Kickstarter's $40,000 goal has been smashed 11 times over
Three players stood on an asteroid in Stars Reach.
Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies' "spiritual sequel" smashed its $200k Kickstarter target in under an hour, and the sci-fi fantasy MMORPG is now on track to double its goal
Kero Quest 64
After 12 years making custom Super Mario 64 levels, dev helps build an N64-style platformer whose demo sold me in seconds
Key art for Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE showing the Prince rolling a Katamari as the King of All Cosmos sits at a livestreaming setup.
The first all-new Katamari Damacy game in almost 8 years is trapped in Apple Arcade jail, and I can only hope it follows in Hello Kitty Island Adventure's footsteps to eventually escape
A character t-posing in to a T
Katamari Damacy creator's next game is all about being normal while stuck t-posing at the same time
Screenshots of Possessor(s) gameplay
Smash Bros meets Metroidvania in Possessor(s), Heart Machine's new side-scrolling opus
Latest in Games
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says