History VideoGame / ParappaTheRapper

* EasterEgg: By holding up on the D-Pad in the first game, an easter egg will occur in every stage but the fourth and fifth ones. This was never hinted at in the game itself until the PS4 remaster, which has a trophy for finding all of them.
** The first stage has multiple eggs: An onion student showering behind the dojo doors and hidden ninjas appearing in various places.
** In the second stage, Prince Fleaswallow can be seen on the side of the street.

* OlderThanTheyLook: [=PaRappa=] and his friends have child-like appearances, but the official word is that they're probably teens, hence why [=PaRappa=] can get his driver's license.

* OnceAnEpisode: A song with Chop Chop Master Onion appears in each game.

* LimitedSocialCircle: Notable aversion, but then play straight. Katy's band members Lammy and Ma-san, have never met Katy's other friends. But by the second game they have evidently formed a single social circle close enough to walk into each other's houses without asking.

* DubNameChange: Sometimes [[AvertedTrope averted]] (Teriyaki Yoko, Ma-San), sometimes played straight (Takoyama-san/Hairdresser Octopus, Niwatori-sensei/Cheap Cheap). The "dub" part is [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish questionable]], though.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Ryu Watabe, who is natively Japanese but bilingual, wrote the lyrics for every one of the series' songs, and also voices Chop Chop Master Onion, Joe Chin, and Captain Fussenpepper. All of the dialogue is spoken in English even in the original Japanese versions. Not only that, but it correctly uses slang and colloquialisms; other than some unusual spelling in the subtitles, it could easily be taken as having been written by a native English speaker.

* ClimaxBoss: The Bathroom Rap in the first game, Teriyaki Yoko in ''Um Jammer Lammy'', and Colonel Noodle in ''[=PaRappa 2=]]''. While they aren't the final stages, they do serve to wrap up the plot before the final concert, and are usually the most difficult stages in their respective games.

[=PaRappa=] has appeared in other media as well. There was also an AnimeOfTheGame by [[Anime/ParappaTheRapper the same name]] that ran for 30 episodes and introduced CanonForeigner characters. Before the anime debuted, Rodney Greenblat, the game's illustrator, had created a series of comic books that are decidedly more true to the game than the anime. Later on another anime would air centering on PJ that would also be closer to the games, which was titled ''PJ Berri no Mogu Mogu Munya Munya'', ran for two seasons and was produced to honor the 20th anniversary of the original game and the 15th anniversary of the previous anime.

* AcidRefluxNightmare: Happens to PJ in the first book.

* PottyEmergency: Level 5, "Full Tank", has [=PaRappa=] getting this after eating too much cake. Turns into (implied) PottyFailure if you fail the level. Albeit... [[UnusualEuphemism strangely]] (and humorously too).

[=PaRappa=] has appeared in other media as well. There was also an AnimeOfTheGame by [[Anime/ParappaTheRapper the same name]] that lasted two seasons and introduced CanonForeigner characters. Before the anime debuted, Rodney Greenblat, the game's illustrator, had created a series of comic books that are decidedly more true to the game than the anime. Later on another anime would air centering on PJ that would also be closer to the games.

* BareYourMidriff: Katy Kat's [[LimitedWardrobe usual outfit]] features this.

* PrecisionFStrike: If you access Cool Mode in Stage 5 of ''[=PaRappa=] 2'', Hairdresser Octopus will shout "Caramba!" which is a mild Spanish swear.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: One of the comics centers around Katy winning a free shopping spree. She gets everything her cart can carry, but she runs into some problems. She can barely fit all of what she bought into her cramped apartment, and when she buys a bunch of fancy electronics (a phone, a laptop, a television and a DVD player) PJ notes that Katy will need to buy phone service, internet service, cable service and movies to make them work. Katy is put off by that because she doesn't have enough money to do that.

* AscendedExtra: General Potter only had non-speaking role as Sunny's father in the first game. But in the sequel, he plays a key role in the story. Same with Papa [=PaRappa=].

* EasterEgg: By holding up on the D-Pad in the first game, an easter egg will occur in every stage but the fourth and fifth ones.

[[folder:''RodneyFun Comic Collection''-only examples]]

* LethalChef: Sunny Funny in the second book, nearly literally around the end. When Sunny forgets to buy the ingredients she needs, she decides to [[HilarityEnsues improvise]]. Needless to say, none of Sunny's guests would touch it. (Except for [[BigEater PJ]]) As for the dessert, well... [[AlienLunch Flaming Dynamite Strawberry Onion Cake]], anyone?

The game got a large boost from [=PlayStation=] Jampack [=CDs=] which often included the entire first level (Chop Chop Master Onion) playable.

It is a very short and simple game, but the unique premise, the appealing PaperPeople artstyle, and the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic unbelievably catchy songs]] made it an instant cult classic. It's not only seen as the [[TropeMaker first definitive modern]] RhythmGame, but probably [[TropeCodifier the most influential]]. Pretty much every RhythmGame created since, from ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' to ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' to ''VideoGame/{{Beatmania}}'', owes at least a little to [=PaRappa=], if only for [[GatewaySeries starting things off]]. The game is still highly regarded today, with a 88% on [[http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/198264-parappa-the-rapper/index.html GameRankings]].

* AwardBaitSong: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhEYLjH7a00 Come a Long Way]]" from the second game might count.

* JokeOfTheButt: Dring a song with Beard Burger Master, he says some suggestive stuff in the backing vocals:

* KirkSummation: The entire 7th level of [=PaRappa=] 2 was about [=PaRappa=] trying to convince Colonel Noodles that there are many excellent foods in the world that would be lost if he turned everything into noodles.

* DynamicDifficulty: Rather than the static patterns of the first game and ''Lammy'', ''[=PaRappa=] 2'' features a dynamic difficulty system. If you're struggling, the game will give you easier lines with less buttons and simpler rhythms; inversely, if you're doing well, the game will mix up with lines with slightly more difficult patterns.[[labelnote:how it works]]Each song has ''17'' different difficulty variants; 1 is the easiest and 16 is the hardest, and 0 is the default, somewhere in the middle. When you do well, the game bumps you up a level, and when you do poorly, it bumps you down. When you unlock the yellow hat (see HardModeFiller), you can select which difficulty you start on by holding the right analog stick and moving it in a certain direction when you start a level. Moving it directly down starts you on the hardest difficulty, 16.[[/labelnote]]

* ClumsyCopyrightCensorship: In the PSP and PS4 releases of the first game, PJ Berri and Katy Kat's orders of "a vanilla and a chocolate frosty", respectively, at the burger restaurant mute the word "frosty", possibly because of trademark issues with the Wendy's Frosty.

* DynamicDifficulty: Rather than the static patterns of the first game and ''Lammy'', ''[=PaRappa=] 2'' features a dynamic difficulty system. If you're struggling, the game will give you easier lines with less buttons and simpler rhythms; inversely, if you're doing well, the game will mix up with lines with slightly more difficult patterns.[[labelnote:how it works]]Each song has ''17'' different difficulty variants; 1 is the easiest and 16 is the hardest, and 0 is the default, somewhere in the middle. When you do well, the game bumps you up a level, and when you do poorly, it bumps you down. When you unlock the yellow hat (see HardModeFiller), you can select which difficulty you start on by holding the right analog stick and moving it in a certain direction when you start a level. Moving it directly down starts you on the hardest difficulty, 16.[[/note]]

* BonusStage: ''[=PaRappa=] 2'' has one at the end of every second stage you complete. It's set in Chop Chop Master Onion's dojo, where you press buttons to break vinyl records that the Kotamanegis (student onions) pull out. Your score in the bonus game is added to your score from the stage.

* FakeOutFadeOut: If you complete stage 8 of ''[=PaRappa=] 2'' with a Cool ranking, after the stage does its usual fade-to-black, it fades back in and the music kicks in again. You get to continue the AudienceParticipationSong with the audience for an extra minute or so -- [[RuleOfFun just for fun]], as it doesn't affect your Cool rank or score.

* CallAndResponseSong: The final songs for both the first game and the second have a call-and-response segment with the audience, with the teacher leading the crowd at first and then [=PaRappa=] leading the crowd in the end. This is where the game's usual formula is flipped on its head -- you have to press the buttons first, rather than copying the computer. In the second game, if you improvise during this section, the audience will even mimic the new rhythm.

* FakeOutFadeOut: If you complete stage 8 of ''[=PaRappa=] 2'' with a Cool ranking, after the stage does its usual fade-to-black, it fades back in and the music kicks in again. You get to continue the CallAndResponseSong with the audience for an extra minute or so -- [[RuleOfFun just for fun]], as it doesn't affect your Cool rank or score.