Um Jammer Lammy

(I'm sorry I'm so late with this review, but as the imputent man once said; "I gotta get it up sometime!") In case you don't know, I'm a huge Parappa fan. I've got a Parappa keychain, and a 10 inch Parappa doll and belive me, finding any Parappa import merchandise is extremely hard to find. The original Parappa game had a zen like quality to it that would always put me into a good mood after I played it.

Thus, when hearing that Parappa would not be included in the sequel, I was disheartened to say the least. But, even if it did not include Parappa, it still sounded like an awesome game.

This time instead of repeating the words of your instructor to the proper rythm, you would instead use a guitar to reapeat the beat. Also, there was word of a two player vesus and Co-Op mode. All of that has been included in the final game and more. In UJL, you play Lammy, a rock 'n roll guitar playing lamb with low self esteem and a knack for being late, and getting into trouble. She is a member of a group called "MilkCan" Which features Ma-san, a girl with two big arms who seems to be made of dynamite, and the return of Katy Kat, former dnacer turned Bass Guitarist and vocalist. At the begining of the game Lammy is late gettin gto the concert, as she falls onto the stage, Katy Kat announces the new vocalist, Chop Chop Onion Head! Chop chop's a little worse for wear With ragged clothes, and a sprout goring out of his head. At the end of the first stage, Lammy realizes her guitar is a Vacum cleaner?! She wonders how she cold have possibly played this. Onion head gives her some advice. "Listen, I lost my Dojo. But the Dojo remians in my mind. It even has a casino! Dojo, casino it's all in the mind!" She remembers that in the next six stages as any item she has to use, she looks at as her guitar. "That's rihgt my guitars in my mind!!" Suddenly she wakes up! Her encounter with Onion Head was just a dream. The crazy thing is, the rest of the game is so surreal you'd think it was a dream too. She meets some crazy people along the way to the concert she's running late to (It's the longest fifteen minutes in history) including a fireman dog who likes funk music george Clinton style, a centipede nurse with a rockabilly baby, an extremely nutty pilot who's music is a kick ass blend of Metallica and Black Sabbath (by far the best level in the whole game), a Wierd-ass Beaver, and a Madonnalike rocker from hell (Belive it or not, on this level Lammy dies and goes to hell. In fact they use the word hell alot in what's considered a kids game. I guess it's not looked at as a bad word in Japan.) The final level is MilkCan in concert.

At this point it pretty much sounds like the old Parappa without him right? Well, now is where things start to change. Every time you beat a level, you can replay it a versus mode against you doppelganger from hell. And, when you beat the whole game, you get to play the whole game again as..........(drumroll)....PARAPPA!!!!! Only now the levels have a more hip-hop beat, and the instuctors change the lyrics slightly and rap instead of sing. Also, when you beat every level as Parappa, You'll be able to use versus and Co-op mode with Lammy and Parappa. Unfortunaelty, the music doesn't sound right with this combo, as it keeps going from Hip-hop to rock and roll. Also, for some reason, you can only play the first level (onion Head) in single player mode as Lammy. Also as Lammy, for every level you beat, your instructor gives you an item. You can use this item on your guitar on the next level by pressing select. For those who are concerned about the amouint of Japanese in the game, there's barely any. In fact all talking and singing is in english, and you can put the subtitles in english too! So what the hell are you waiting for? If you liked the first you'll love the second!! Get Um Jammer Lammy on import today, and don't forget to get a gameshark, as it can't be played without the lockout overide code.

Graphics - 90% No imporvement over the last one, but that's fine as the visual style is as great as ever with flat 2-D chracters in a 3-D world. The only complaint ois that for some reason, once it goes to Parappa's levels the computer animated FMV intro's have a much slower framerate. I don't know why?

Sound - 90% The dialog is as corny and funny as ever! And the music is some of the best yet, with the exception of level six, hell. The music is extremly weak and hard to do. That level just sucks all around. Not only that, but I think the hell singer swings both ways. Here's the final dialoge from the level in versus mode.

Hell singer - That was great! Do you want my phone number?

Lammy - Umm......... no but unnh thanks anyway!!!

(But that's about as contresversial as this game gets. It's easy to mistake Lammy for a lesbo. What with the short red hair and being in Rock and Roll.)

Challenge - 80% For Parappa veterans only!! Her motto should be "My PSX controllers in my mind!" It'll have to be in this game as it uses the triangle, square, x, o, L, and R buttons in a fast mix!! Once again, the computer is a slightly sloppy judge. You may think you got it perfect, and it will put you to bad, or you can miv and mash the buttons real fast and suddenly get cool. In fact when you're staring to mess up, just mash the buttons randomly, and half the time it will bring you up a notch.

FunFactor - 100% Except for getting cool on all levels, I have done eveything I could in this game, and keep coming back for more!!

Overall - While not nessiceraly better than Parappa, Lammy is a much bigger more musical, and more surreal look into Rodney Greenblatts colorfull world. So like I said, what the hell are you waiting for get Um Jammer Lammy now. "And I mean..now!" (You'll have to play the game to see where that qoute came from.)

P.S. If you have questions about Um Jammer Lammy, or any other game, E-Mail your Q's to shigamado@earthlink.net, and I will answer them, and post them on this site.