PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It came out for the PlayStation in Japan on 6 December 1996, in Europe on 26 September 1997 and in North America on 17 November 1997. Wikipedia calls it the first true rhythm game, and it helped set the template for later series such as Bemani.
The game was created by Masaya Matsuura, a musician from the band PSY.S. Rodney Greenblat designed its flat, paper-like characters, and the title is wordplay on "paper thin". It was also the first PlayStation game to use motion capture.
PaRappa sold 1.47 million copies in Japan and 214,398 in the US by 2003, and it remained Japan's best-selling music game until Rhythm Heaven Gold broke the record in 2009. It led to the spin-off Um Jammer Lammy and the sequel PaRappa the Rapper 2. A PSP version followed in 2006, and the PS4 Remastered edition in 2017.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | PaRappa the Rapper | PlayStation | Nov 17, 1997 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| NA | PaRappa the Rapper | PSP | Jul 17, 2007 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| JP | パラッパラッパーParappa Rappā | PlayStation | Dec 6, 1996 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| EU | PaRappa the Rapper | PlayStation | Sep 26, 1997 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| JP | パラッパラッパーParappa RappāPort by Japan Studio and epics. | PSP | Dec 7, 2006 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| EU | PaRappa the Rapper | PSP | Jul 6, 2007 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| WW | PaRappa the Rapper Remastered | PlayStation 4 | Apr 4, 2017 | Sony Interactive Entertainment | 3 |
| JP | パラッパラッパーParappa RappāDate from the Wikipedia infobox; the article text gives 4 April 2017. | PlayStation 4 | Apr 20, 2017 | Sony Interactive Entertainment | 1 |
Also known as: パラッパラッパー JP2Parappa Rappā JP2PaRappa the Rapper Remastered WW3
Box art by region
NA PaRappa the Rapper 
JP パラッパラッパー
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayPSP
The PSP version adds ad hoc multiplayer for up to four players and remixed versions of the songs as extra content.1
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GraphicsPS4 Remastered
The PS4 Remastered release renders at up to 4K and includes the PSP's extra songs; homebrew developers found it is the PSP version running in an emulator with high-resolution textures.1
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GraphicsPS4 Remastered
Reviewers noted that the remaster improved the graphics but not the cutscenes and lacked a timing calibration setting.1
Where to play legally today
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PlayStation Store Purchase
PaRappa the Rapper Remastered
PS4 remaster based on the PSP version
Checked: 2026-10-133playstation.com
Reception
The PlayStation original scored 92/100 on Metacritic (the PSP version 67 and the PS4 remaster 61) and won the 1998 Interactive Achievement Awards for interactive design and for sound and music; critics often found it too short. It sold 761,621 copies in Japan in 1997 and 1.47 million there by 2003.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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