Battle stations! One of Sony’s prized IPs and one of the PlayStation Portable’s most iconic titles is finally making its way to PlayStation 4 and 5 after 14 years.
According to a post by Gematsu, Patapon 3, the third entry in the beloved rhythm-strategy series from Sony’s Japan Studio, is set to join the PlayStation Plus Premium lineup. This claim was further supported by the recent discovery of an updated SKU for Patapon 3 on the orbispatches.com website.
Gematsu expects this version of Patapon 3 to rely on PSP emulation rather than featuring any enhancements. Some fans initially speculated that it might be a remastered edition, as the SKU details included a “Yes” under the remastered category. However, Gematsu quickly dismissed this theory, noting that the same “Remaster” label appeared on other PSP-emulated games in the PlayStation Plus Premium catalog, such as The Legend of Dragoon and Jeanne d’Arc, neither of which includes actual remastered features.
This marks the final Patapon game to arrive on modern consoles, following the remastered releases of Patapon 1 and 2. Strangely, while the first two games received full remasters, Patapon 3 does not carry that designation — at least, not yet.
It has been 14 years since Patapon 3 debuted on the PlayStation Portable. While it was another celebrated release from Japan Studio and Pyramid, it was often considered the weakest of the trilogy. One of the biggest criticisms stemmed from its heavy reliance on online features for tackling difficult content, as well as the need to grind dungeons repeatedly to obtain the best gear.
Despite its flaws, Patapon 3 was still a great game. However, many fans had already fallen in love with the simpler, more accessible gameplay of the first two entries — possibly explaining why both received remastered versions while the third did not. This could also be a key reason why Patapon 3 has taken so long to make its way to modern platforms.
Sony is expected to announce the February PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Premium lineup this Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. PT / 11:30 a.m. ET. If the leaks are accurate, PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers may finally get their hands on Patapon 3 as part of next month’s offerings.