PaRappa the Rapper[b] is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation.

During gameplay, a "U Rappin'" meter determines the player's performance, ranking it as either Awful, Bad, Good, or Cool.

In this mode, the teacher will leave the stage, allowing the player to rap freely and earn some large points.

If the player successfully times the first line of a pair but fails on the second, the rank meter will not blink Bad or Awful.

The player takes on the role of PaRappa, a paper-thin rapping dog, determined to procure the heart of a flower-like girl he has a crush on named Sunny Funny.

However, he is intimidated by the presence of Joe Chin, a rich, self-centered dog going overboard making efforts to obtain Sunny's attention.

In order to win Sunny, PaRappa learns to do karate at a dojo, and earns a driver's education course to get a license.

Matsuura hated appearing in music videos and began working on interactive software as an alternative outlet.

[9] The game's title is a wordplay referencing the flat characters; "PaRappa" is a variant of the Japanese word for "paper thin".

One of the first designs Greenblat created specifically for the game was that of the main character, PaRappa, who initially took the form of a shrimp.

Many staff members at Sony felt that PaRappa did not qualify as a game and Matsuura himself recalls initially being unsure as well.

[17][24][31][33][42] Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly commented, "Several of the tunes are so catchy, you'll be singing them for days.

[17][24][33][42] GameSpot remarked, "All of PaRappa's characters are comically animated paper dolls moving against colorful 3D backdrops, a simplistic and charming visual design that never would have worked but for the game's theme and some brilliant camera motion.

[17][24] Next Generation summarized that "The game is so well-produced and carried out that you won't even notice that the gameplay itself is based on the most primitive of concepts.

This works very much against PaRappa's favor as there's an extremely noticeable lag throughout each of the levels, causing havoc when trying to hit the notes on time.

"[47] Stuart Andrews of Trusted Reviews wrote: "I love PaRappa and his 'I gotta believe' attitude, but this early rhythm action game no longer holds up.

[50] The game featured a new cast of characters, multiplayer modes and focused on guitar play, but very similar gameplay.

[52] Several media adaptations outside of the video game industry were also developed, including an eponymous anime television series which aired in Japan between April 2001 and January 2002, which served as a tie-in to PaRappa the Rapper 2.

[53] PaRappa the Rapper was released for PlayStation Portable in Japan in December 2006 and in North America and Europe in July 2007 for the game's tenth anniversary.

[54] The port, developed by Japan Studio and epics, features ad hoc multiplayer mode for up to four players and the ability to download remixed versions of the existing songs.

[55] In a 2008 Famitsu interview, Masaya Matsuura revealed that a brand new song created for the PSP release, "Believe in Yourself", was cut due to development time constraints.

[57] Homebrew developers found that the PS4 port was actually the PlayStation Portable version running inside an emulator and with high resolution textures.

[58] In 2016, Sony's mobile studio ForwardWorks announced they were working on a version of the game for smartphones; no further details have been released since then.