One day back in November I was perusing the Japanese game charts and I came across a little titled called Rhythm Heaven: Gold. It was holding a solid 4th place in overall game sales. I managed to snag a copy and the moment I started playing I was blown away by this game. It has a high entertainment value, and is impressive in its inventive game play. If you don’t know what this title is, I’ll sum it up as best as I can: An interactive DS game that uses rhythm in puzzles. That catch is that you cannot rely on what you see, but what you hear to beat the musical puzzles (muzzles, as I will call them for the purpose of this review).
Story: Well, as far as story goes, there really isn’t one. Since this is a title created by Nintendo, has a lot more to do with the mechanics of the game. I mean, when you get tired of playing the muzzles you can take a coffee break by pressing the cute little coffee icon in the bottom right of the screen. The break room has some random letters from a friend, music to listen to and a barista to talk to. The barista never has anything useful to contribute, and the letters are a lot of rambling. So when you get down to it, there isn’t a story, just a bunch of muzzles.
Game play: The game play is definitely one of the better features of Rhythm Heaven. When the game first starts up there is a practice session in which you practice flicking a coin at targets to get used to how the stylus works. The way the stylus is used is a lot of fun and I’m quite certain I could have spent all day flicking a coin at a speedy little car. In each muzzle the stylus is used to trigger a particular action which then must be done to the beat of the music. You are give clues to know when to get ready, but for the most part it’s up to your ears!
Graphics: If you are looking for something artsy or aesthetically pleasing, then I am afraid that Rhythm Heaven isn’t the game for you. The design and overall feel of the game is OK, but certainly not award winning or spectacular. The game isn’t designed to please your eyes, it is designed to please your ears. There are, however, little faces everywhere and I find them quite adorable.
Sound: My favorite part of Rhythm Heaven by a long shot was the music—it’s wonderful. The songs are catchy and unique, which makes the muzzles all that much better to play. I was instantly in love with this game when I heard the first song. All the songs have a great beat that makes the muzzles really enjoyable. I would spend a lot of time listening to the songs I had unlocked in the break room.
Re-playability: I first got a hold of the Japanese version of this game, and beat it pretty quickly. It’s not an incredibly long game, but getting high scores on it is very difficult, especially for those who have a poor sense of rhythm. For every muzzle, there is an opportunity to earn medals, which in turn unlock mini games. I wasn’t able to unlock all that many on the first time around, so I went though all of them again to try to get as many medals as I could. I wasn’t too successful in getting more medals because of my rhythm impairment, but I still really enjoyed all the muzzles. Final verdict? High re-playability.
Overall: I really, really enjoyed this game. There was a few times I got pretty fed up with it because I wasn’t able to do it as well as I liked, but each new muzzle was always worth the effort. The different stages employ a lot of the same technique (stylus motion), but the creators were able to invent an entirely new use each time. It’s a bit tough to explain, so I recommend you go check it out yourself. The game is entirely charming and worth the extra buck. Overall I was quite impressed with this title, and I urge anyone who enjoys games like DDR, Guitar Hero, DJ Max, Ouendan (Elite Beat Agents), etc. to check it out!
