Toronto Thumbs

REVIEW
Rhythm Heaven

By now, certainly no gamer is a stranger to the genre of rhythm games. Ever since Guitar Hero set the gaming world on fire with its addictive game-play and proved it was okay to play with a tiny toy guitar, we’ve seen more music-based games than we can shake a Wii Remote at.

That’s not to say that rhythm games haven’t been around beforehand. We were definitely sweating to Dance Dance Revolution and rapping along with Parappa the Rapper years before our living rooms became cluttered with fake instruments. Because there have been so many high profile games released in the genre within the last few years, it’s easy to have become burnt out on them. It’s a good thing, then, that Rhythm Heaven still manages to be refreshing while meeting the quality standard many of us have come to expect from Nintendo’s offbeat games (no pun intended).

The game doesn’t even let you start playing unless you can complete a simple but initially tricky task on the title screen: tap on the dot and flick it quickly. The first time I tried this, I failed. But encouraging words appeared on the screen to coach me in the flicking technique. All I had to do was snap quickly with my wrist.

What a strange way to start the game, I thought. Once I started into it, however, I realized the title screen test was actually an introduction to one of the game’s input mechanics: The flick. Each song in the game makes use of the tap, flick, and slide input methods to allow players to play along to the beat.

With the exception of the remix songs found at the end of each song assortment (the remixes feature game-play scenarios used in the songs leading up to them), each song includes a short tutorial, which demonstrates which rhythm method is used, and in what way. It’s important to pay attention during this part because during the actual songs themselves, there is no note chart to show players what to do.

In this manner, Rhythm Heaven is more of a rhythm game than Guitar Hero or Rock Band because those games tell you when to hit each note via onscreen charts. Rhythm Heaven requires players to think about it: once the tutorial portion has ended, it’s up to you to know when to do your part. Although this might sound difficult, the game does a great job of making sure you know what is required of you via its demonstration, but more so during the songs themselves.

Since every input results in both a visible action and sound, and because of the visual and audio cues within the songs, it becomes second nature to play along to them. Ad-libbing along to the music can be a fun distraction in most cases but is detrimental to attaining a good song score (possible scores are “Try Again,” “Just OK,” “Superb,” and “Perfect”).

With the DS held sideways in its “book” orientation, the story/song plays out on the left screen (for right-handers, vice-versa if you’re using the lefty option) while the right touch screen is used to input the stylus commands. During songs, this screen is usually blank save for when contact with it is made. In menu screens, the touch screen is used to navigate. The only time buttons are used is to pause the game (which also brings up the continue/quit menu).

The art style of Rhythm Heaven is minimalist, with many songs sporting bright colours and an almost hand-drawn look. Each song has its own look, sound, and feel yet overall there’s an overwhelming feeling of cuteness, whether you’re singing in a chorus, clapping along to a pop song, or doing kick-ups with a soccer ball while flying through space.

Even more upbeat tunes featuring electric guitar training are accompanied by cute animations for both successfully playing to the rhythm and failing outright. And on that note, another thing that sets Rhythm Heaven apart from other rhythm titles is the concept of failure. Chances are, you’re going to fail a lot of the songs on the first try – but you’re not kicked out of the song at any point. You’re allowed to play through the entire thing, however badly, to become accustomed to its rhythm and pattern changes. This in turn usually results in a much better second attempt.

The game is comprised of over 50 stages (or mini games, really) with each one sporting its own catchy tune by Japanese pop music producer TSUNKU♂. On many occasions while not playing the game, I’ve found myself whistling a tune from it, which only makes me want to pick up the game again.

Typically each song must be played before unlocking the song that comes after it, but if you fail a song enough times the game will give you a free pass and allow you to continue on and tackle the difficult song at another time. Getting a Superb ranking on a song will earn you a medal, which in turn allows you to unlock extras such as infinite games (like those found in WarioWare titles), rhythm toys, and guitar lessons.

A Perfect score can only be attained by completing a song perfectly when the game prompts you to do so, and it does this randomly. After finishing a song and returning to the menu, you will sometimes be prompted to try to perfect your rhythm on a specific song. Typically you’ll be given two attempts at this – mess up both times and the opportunity is removed.

The unlockable mini games are surprisingly fun and I’ve grown quite fond of the space shooter based on the song/stage “Shoot ‘Em Up” wherein you must shoot down enemies in space to the same beat in which they appear. If you’ve ever found yourself air drumming or tapping along to a song, you’ll love Shoot ‘Em Up. In fact, you’ll love the entire experience of playing Rhythm Heaven. Its quirky nature, combined with its cuteness and simplicity makes it a game just about anybody can enjoy.

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Posted in DS, DSi, Features, Music, Reviews |