The RAP of Kenji

The RAP of Kenji is a Parappa-style Rhythm game made by ProtoGame Entertainment, it was Released on January 2, 2021 for the ProtoGEAR and PC, an Arcade version is being developed and it is set to release Early September of 2023

Main Game
16-year-old Kenji Matasuki, who wants to be an animator when he grows up, tries to impress his crush, Mitchell Hart, he gets through Adventure though rapping against someone. (WIP)

Rap for the future DLC
Set in the 4044 where music are now a thing in the past and while habitants can still sing, they felt music is time wasting and, a Cyborg-Human Hybrid named Inazuma, who discovers his ancestors, decides to revive the Music medium

Chapter Mitchell DLC
Mitchell Hart, who wants to be an author when she grows up, tries to gain experience by rapping against someone, while the boy who has a crush on her, Kenji Matasuki is doing stuff in the process

Gameplay
It is similar to PaRappa The Rapper, in which the player must repeat what the opponent does (most of the time, as sometimes Kenji can also have his own lines, Kenji also has a rating meter a la parappa

Swag Meter
The Swag Meter is your "Health", it acts similar to the rating meter from the PaRappa series and unlike the said game, SWAG mode can only be accessible if you are at Boss Episodes, you can still access the SWAG rating in normal episodes, but it only acts as extra hitpoints, more points on freestyling and extra rank points by the end of the level

there are - and + indications to remind you that you are about to drop or rise in ranking respectively


 * SWAG (GRAND in Japanese Version) - The teacher is absent, you need freestyle in boss episodes to keep the said rating, this mode only works properly to the Boss Episodes, in normal episodes, it only acts as extra "health", extra points on freestyling, and more points
 * NICE (COOL in Japanese Version) - the default/starting mode, not much to say, in Boss Episodes you have the opportunity to go to ACCLAIM mode, if you end the stage with this rating, you get a Good Ending like in Parappa, it's also the best rank without freestyling
 * MID (MEH on Japanese Version) - This is the rating you'll go if you messed up in the NICE rating, unlike the Parappa games, ending the stage with this rating will result in a "Bittersweet" ending instead of a Game Over, meaning you get to move on but the ending is not so rewarding
 * CRUEL (BRUH in Japanese Version) - The worst mode you can ever be, screw-up here and you get an instant game over, ending the stage with this ranking is a game over

However, Unlike parappa, pressing the same word and over and over again even with a good rhythm will eventually become poor playing (it is cool at first), the COOL/SWAG mode freestyling is more advanced than the parappa games, also your meter needs to be atl east on "MID" to pass, you need 2 good/bad lines to get your ranking up/down respectively

HUD
TBA

Ranking
Ranking is similar to Scratchin' Melodii (a recent rhythm indie game) which bases on your Hipness (your score during the stage) Obedience (Accuracy to what you need to press) and Your Rank when you finish the stage (Acclaim gives you a 1500pts bonus while Positive gives you a 300pts bonus, you won't get any points on Mixed)

Here are the Grades


 * LRM (Legendary Rap Master)
 * SS
 * S
 * A
 * B
 * C
 * D
 * F

Difficulty Levels
The Difficulty level alters the charting (as well with what the characters line due to adding extra notes)


 * CASUAL - The Softened Difficulty, Lesser notes are given
 * MEDIUM - The Default Difficulty, it gives you the default charting
 * ADVANCED - The Harder Difficulty, it give you a slightly more complicated charting
 * EXPERT - The EVEN HARDER Difficulty, it gives you an even more complicated charting
 * XTREME - Similar to FNF Erect, the songs are faster and more complex, this is an add-on difficulty
 * 1996 mode (Bonus Difficulty Modifier at Options Screen) - Makes the hit detection goofy, like PaRappa The Rapper 1

Freeplay

 * Freeplay 1: You Bastards!

Main Game

 * Tutorial: Debut of a Hero (kenji practicing his rap skills, this also acts as a tutorial level)
 * Pilot Episode: Anti-Theft (Kenji Vs. a random Thief)
 * Episode 1-1: Joke Time! (Vs. Yuka, Class Clown)
 * Episode 1-2: Menace (Vs. Harry, Bully)
 * Episode 1-3 (BOSS): Prom Night! (Vs. Several Classmates)
 * Episode 2-4: Morning Jog (Vs. Carter, P.E. Teacher)
 * Episode 2-5: Arcade Manic! (Vs. James, Arcade Rival)
 * Episode 2-6 (BOSS): Round 2 (Continuation of Episode 2-5)
 * Episode 3-7: Pesticide (Kenji Trying to exterminate flies and mosquitos with a flyswatter)
 * Episode 3-8: BMX Mania (Vs. Joji, Biker)
 * Episode 3-9 (BOSS): Aroma EXPRESS (Vs. Sanjee, Regular cook from a popular pizza chain)
 * Episode 4-10: Rematch (Rematch against James)
 * Episode 4-11: Acrobats (Vs. A group of Professional Dancers)
 * Episode 4-12 (BOSS): Showtime! (Kenji accidentally being a contestant in a dancing contest)
 * Episode 5-13: Catima (Cat Alexander Crossover, Vs. Alexander Forestail, Kenji experiences a VR 16-bit game)
 * Episode 5-14: Arcade Craniacs (Kenji Vs. Parodies of Contra, Fighters Tounament crossover and a parody of 19XX)
 * Episode 5-15 (BOSS): LEVEL UP! (Kenji vs a parody of Final Fantasy)
 * Episode 6-16: Cringe Bruh (Vs. Several Online Influencers)
 * Episode 6-17: Stream Menace (Kenji trying to survive a Squid Game parody)
 * Episode 6-18 (Boss): Jeparody! (Vs. parody of Jeopardy)
 * Episode 7-19: Misunderstood Fear (Kenji in a dark house, battling Frida, an expy of Wednesday Addams)
 * Episode 7-20: Dance In The Night (continuing from Episode 7-19, Kenji dances in the night with Frida)
 * Episode 7-21 (Boss): TBA
 * Episode 8-22: Cloutchaser
 * Episode 8-23: TBA
 * Episode 8-24 (Boss): TBA
 * Episode 9-25: TBA
 * Episode 9-26: TBA
 * Episode 9-27 (Boss): TBA
 * Episode 10-28: Buddy Trip
 * Episode 10-29: Shroom Invasion (Kenji running for his life while the Shroom-like creatures are killing the classmates he was camping with one by one)
 * Episode 10-30 (Boss): 911! (Kenji calling for help to save Howard's (Who is one of the classmates Kenji is with) life by calling an ambulance with the last 2% of his phone battery, then going into the ambulance to the hospital)
 * Episode 11-31: Not Your Fault (Kenji trying to get over his grief over the death of his 4 classmates with the help of their ghosts)
 * Episode 11-32:

Bonus Stages
There are Bonus stages a la PaRappa 2, this game has three bonus stages, it is chosen by the player's choice, and you need to fill a 9-stamp ticket to play, clearing a stage grants a stamp, failing a stamp makes you lose 3 stamps (instead of all stamps)

Shooting Targets
Kenji holds a paintball gun and shoots it at targets held by his peers, Kenji shoot at the direction by the buttons above

(1/2)   (A)    (B)    (X)    (Y)    (3/4)

Kenji gets more points the sooner/quicker he shoots, the more points he gets


 * 50ms or less = 250pts
 * 51-100ms = 100pts
 * 101ms-200ms = 50pts
 * 201ms-300ms = 30pts
 * 301ms-400ms = 20pts
 * more than 401ms = 10pts

the bonus stage only lasts for 30 seconds with no stars (stars given by getting a higher rank after every stage), a maximum of 30 extentions (each star extends 5 seconds to the clock)

Reception
The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews, from music, fluidity of the gameplay, replay value and all

Trivia

 * The game has an web-anime
 * The game boosted the ProtoGEAR sales even further several weeks after release
 * There is a spin-off Maki The Pianist, which stars Kenji's Younger Sister, Maki
 * It's revealed that the protagonist from The Man Of Disco who's now the father of the protagonist here, is named Hidetoshi Tsubasa
 * Arcade Impact's continue screen starts of with the Normal "9", but after 3, it goes to "2 1/2", then "2", then "1 1/2", then "1 1/3", and it's normal again with "0", this is a reference to Um Jammer Lammy NOW!'s continue screen, where Joe Chin counts in fractures, except unlike Um Jammer Jammy NOW!, it does not count back up to "2" after "1", as conpensation however, you still do have plentiful amount of time (each count takes two seconds), inserting a coin resets the timer, giving you 26 seconds to continue without extentions.