This week on Critical Arcade, Dave and Nick dust off their PS1 nostalgia goggles and dive headfirst into the wonderfully weird and rhythmically chaotic world of PaRappa the Rapper. Released in 1996, this cult classic rhythm game has players rapping their way through everything from martial arts lessons to cake-baking catastrophes—all in the name of love. Our hero, PaRappa, may be made of paper, but his heart is all in, and so are our hosts... kind of.

Join Dave and Nick as they try to help PaRappa win the affections of the sunflower-haired Sunny Funny by proving he can drive, cook, and hold his own in a freestyle battle with a moose in a bathroom line. (Yes, really.) Along the way, they’ll meet an unforgettable cast of characters including the wise and aggressive Chop Chop Master Onion, the laid-back moose, Instructor Mooselini, and the hilariously unhinged Master Baker Cheap Cheap.

But not everything goes smoothly. Dave struggles to stay on beat and ends up rapping like a confused metronome, while Nick becomes dangerously obsessed with the flea market level and refuses to stop quoting it at every opportunity. Can they both “kick, punch” their way into the coveted "Cool" rating, or will they end up hopelessly stuck in “Awful” territory, forever doomed to repeat verses with zero swag?

From its infectious soundtrack to its bold, cut-out animation style, PaRappa the Rapper is a quirky reminder of a time when video games were allowed to be unapologetically weird—and our hosts wouldn’t have it any other way. So grab your beanie, warm up your vocal cords, and remember: you gotta believe!

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