In a very superficial level, the gameplay system in PaRappa 2
remains unchanged from that of previous games: every song is
divided by lines, and you repeat the teacher's lines as you go -
shake things up by freestyling and you'll achieve Cool Mode.
In reality, however, the gameplay of previous entries has
been expanded upon and refined in order to make both playing
through the game and scoring easier.
The most obvious new mechanic added in PaRappa 2 are the score meters - the Repeat-meter, the Freestyle-meter and the Funk-meter, which reward proper timing, skilled improvisation and shuffle rhythm respectively.
After every other stage is cleared, there's a bonus game.
In this bonus game, you will control PaRappa in order to kick,
punch, chop or block the items which the Kotamanagi hold.
The amounts of points earned.
In addition to all of this, the game has a "circuit system"
in order to motivate you towards 100% completion and more in-game
features. Each following circuit changes the color of PaRappa's hat
to a different one (from blue to pink to yellow following the first
playthrough), but also sets the difficulty of the songs to be
higher.
After completing the fourth and final circuit, you will unlock
a special music video, as well as the Record Store, which will
let you listen to the tracks of each stage and the music video's,
as well as a bonus song in-game.