Patapon Drums

In Patapon Legend, the Almighty uses the power of four magical drums (also known as War Drums) to command the Patapon Tribe through battle.

Usage in Gameplay[]

Use of the Drums are required to command the Patapon army to perform desired actions. Merely using the drums is not enough, they must be played to a rhythm in order for the army to perform the actions, and attempting to play off rhythm will cause the army to stop in its tracks and complain about your poor drumming. Various songs can be played using the drums in order for the army to preform various actions.

Playing the drums perfectly will eventually result in Fever Mode being activated, which increases the army's effectiveness. Being in Fever mode is required to activate Miracles or summon Djinn.

Playing the drums perfectly will create different sounds than playing the drums slightly off rhythm or drastically off rhythm. Playing the drums perfectly will create more impactful sounds while playing it drastically off rhythm will create distorted noises. In Patapon 2 and Patapon 3 completing a perfect measure will cause a cymbal to ding. In Patapon 3, a voice can be heard as the drums are played.

The timing leniency in Patapon 2 can be changed by changing the difficulty setting. In Patapon 3, it is by default more lenient than in Patapon 1.

List of Drums[]

The Pon Drum[]

Also known as the Bravery Drum or The Drum of Bravery, this is the first Drum seen in every Patapon game and the main component in almost every command song in the Patapon album; There are only two command songs that don't use the Pon Drum (the jump song and the miracle/summon song). It is blue and has a circle mouth, it is the thickest drum and the second tallest, being only shorter than Don/but sometimes it's the second shortest, even shorter than Pata due to this, it is slightly straighter than other drums except sides/edges.

This drum is the first to be recovered in all three games, received when the player signs the contract to become the Almighty Patapon. It is used to awaken Hatapon at the beginning of each game, prompting the banner-carrying Patapon to give you the Pata Drum. Its main use is triggering the Attack Song, but it forms an integral part of most commands, usually as the last beat.

Songs that require PON[]

Pon Drum

The Patata Plain Secret (Wep) (second and fourth beats)
March of Mobility (fourth beat)
Aria of Attack (first, second, and fourth beats)
Lament of Defense (fourth beat)
Requiem of Retreat (first and third beats)
Hold-Tight Hoe-Down (first and second beats)
Ballad of 1999/Party Song/DonChaka song (second beat)
Leisurely Lullaby (second and forth beats)

The Pata Drum[]

The second Drum to be obtained early at both games. Also known as the Strokes Drum or the Drum of Strength, this drum is a red, deep-voiced drum with a square motif, and it is somewhat shorter than the other drums. It is traditionally in the care of Hatapon when the Almighty is not present, but he will gladly relinquish it to the Mighty One when he hears the sound of the Pon Drum. It can apparently make the Patapons fearless indeed. It is said that the Patapons only ever march forwards(Although this isn't true in Patapon 3 multiplayer). Usually this is the second shortest drum, and sometimes it's the second tallest.

Songs that require PATA[]

Pata Drum

March of Mobility (first, second, and third beats)
Aria of Attack (third beat)
Lament of Defense (third beat)
Requiem of Retreat (second and fourth beats)
Ballad of 1999 (first beat)
Leisurely Lullaby (first and third beats)
Step Back Strut (second and fourth)

The Chaka Drum[]

The third Drum to be obtained. Also known as the Roots Drum or The Drum of Wisdom. Despite being a drum, this drum resembles and sounds like more of a green tambourine with a triangle motif and a high voice. It is the shortest drums of all the drums. This drum is usually taken from the boss, Dodonga, and becomes integral for survival against the deadly dragon.

Songs that require CHAKA[]

Chaka Drum

The Patata Plain Secret (Wep) (first and third beats)
Lament of Defense (first and second beats)
Hold-Tight Hoe-Down (third and fourth beats)
Melody with a Bounce/Jingle of Jumps (third and fourth beats)
Ballad of 1999 (fourth beat)
Step Back Strut (first and third beats)

The Don Drum[]

The fourth and final drum to be obtained. Also known as the Verve Drum or the Drum of Miracles, this instrument is found near the entrance of Majidonga's lair in Patapon and held by Gong in Patapon 2. It is yellow-orange in color, with an X motif and a dull, male voice, and it's the tallest drum than the other drums. It seems to be the strongest of the four drums, holding unique powers that allow for the Almighty to use miracles (or Djinns in Patapon 3), make the Patapons jump incredibly high, or even heal their status ailments.

Interestingly, it is the only drum that has a command song completely dedicated to itself (and its rhythm is the only one with five beats). This drum most likely has a highly important significance in Patapon religion as its the drum used to begin the prayer ritual for miracles.

Songs that require DON[]

Don Drum

Miracle (Patapon 1 and 2) or summonning (Patapon 3) (all five beats)
Melody with a Bounce/Jingle of Jumps (first and second beats)
Ballad of 1999/Pizzicato of Party (third beat)

Trivia[]

Each drum seems to have a personality and a gender, indicated by their voices and names. However they are all most likely male.
Each drums' mouth resembles the button they bind to: Circle (Pon), Triangle (Chaka), Square (Pata) and Cross (Don). The patterns around their "bodies" also incorporates their corresponding buttons.
There is a special, rare drum which is owned by Queen Kharma called the Zigoton Drum. It is the only Drum to be owned by a different person or Tribe.
The Ballad of 1999 is the only command that uses all four drums.
In Patapon 3, you gain all the Drums at the beginning except the PATA Drum (which you earn in the prologue).
The song, DON-DODON-DODON, is the only song that has five Drum beats, and it also has to be timed differently.
In Patapon 2, there is a glitch where the Don Chaka song can be played in three beats: Pata PonDon Chaka.
In Patapon 3, there is a similar glitch where all commands can be played in three beats, by combining their last two consecutive beats (e.g. Pata Pata PataPon, Pon Pon PataPon, Don Don ChakaChaka, etc). However, the second part of the "combined beat" is counted as an imperfect hit, so you will not enter Hero Mode if you enter an activation command. Also, the chance that the last beat will be missed is much greater than the chances in the Patapon 2 glitch.
The Pata and Pon drums changed their size in the emoji collection

Patapon Wiki