The beloved Patapon series is finally coming out of obscurity with the announcement of Ratatan. This is a spiritual successor coming from some of the same minds that worked on the acclaimed rhythm strategy games, and is trying to tap on the passionate but somewhat forgotten crowd that loved the series. The first Ratatan gameplay trailer was just released and it perfectly shows how the original concept first experienced in Sony’s PSP console has evolved.

Developed by Ratata Arts, Ratatan’s development is helmed by Patapon’s original designer Hiroyuki Kotani, with the collaboration of Japanese artist Nelnal for the new artwork style. And since this game is mostly about music, rhythm, and battling to the beat, former Patapon composer Kemmei Adachi is once again responsible for the songs, although this time the scope is more ambitious, quite far from the limited “pata-pata-patapon” that fans know and love.

As you can see from the first Ratatan gameplay video, this game features lovingly detailed and animated artwork, as you control armies with over 100 units at a time, unleashing unique character and environmental skills. However, details on the gameplay are slim so far, but we’re surely going to know a lot more when the Ratatan Kickstarter goes live on July 31, 12pm EST.

So far, target platforms for Ratatan remain undisclosed, meaning that we’ll have to wait and see if publisher TVT is looking for a multiplatform release or focusing on a single system.