Game Review: Rhythm Heaven

Okay, this game’s a month old, but I’m reviewing it anyway because I have a feeling it sort of slipped under the radar and went unnoticed by a lot of DS owners. If you’re itching for a new DS game and haven’t played Rhythm Heaven yet, do yourself the favor and read on for the full review.

When you hear the phrase “rhythm game” you probably think of something like PaRappa the Rapper of Dance Dance Revolution. At it’s core, Rhythm Heaven is similar to those games, but it’s more or less a bunch of mini games similar to the quirkiness of Wario Ware.

In Rhythm Heaven, you don’t tap arrows with a beat. You’re not pressing buttons to a beat. All you do is tap and slide on the DS’s touch screen. You hold the DS like a book, tap, and swipe. That’s it. For every game. And it never gets old! The beauty of Rhytm Heaven is the huge amount of variety and depth in each game and the learning curve that actually makes you better at the game as you play it.

If you have no sense of rhythm, this game will kick your ass. No joke. You have to tap and flick right on the beat or else you’re forced to replay the song over and over again until you’re allowed to progress onto the next stage. Some of the songs might actually be easier for some people play with their eyes closed, this way there’s no graphics to be distracted by. Still, other mini games require you to pay close attention for visual cues that let you know whether you should tap or flick the screen.

Each “stage” is broken up into four mini games and a remix mode that takes what you’ve learned in the previous four stages and turns it up a notch by mixing all the mini games together into a fast-paced challenge that might actually make you sweat from all the pressure. But don’t worry, it’s good pressure. Fun pressure.

You can’t unlock a stage until you’ve completed the previous one. There’s six stages in all and once you’ve beaten them, you unlock another four. Combine this with the extra mini game you unlock after watching the end credits and you’ve got a whopping 51 rhythm games at your disposal!

One thing Rhythm Heaven has going for it is replayability. At random moments you might be prompted with a message saying that you’ll earn double the amount of coins for getting a “perfect” ranking on a particular min game. Coins can then be exchanged for endless versions of games you’ve already played, rhythm toys, and guitar lessons for the game’s various songs. The only down side is that earning coins isn’t easy and a lot of the extras require a lot of effort to save up for.

Aside from the addictive gameplay, this game has some of the most charming and funny design that I’ve seen in a while. Whether it’s big-headed, big-mouthed characters that look like they were drawn in MS Paint, or artsy, pixelated characters with bright, colorful backdrops, there’s always something that’ll have your eyes moving across the screen and possibly even contemplating which character you want tattooed on your body… or maybe that’s just me.

Seriously, if you have a DS and haven’t played Rhythm Heaven yet, give it a try. Even if you don’t consider yourself a rhythm game person. There’s enough of an entertaining challenge in this game for the casual and hardcore alike and there’s plenty of extras to keep you coming back.

Awesome:

• Sometimes you’ll find yourself playing certain mini games over and over just because they’re fun or you like the song.
• If you’re stuck on a particular challenge, there’s plenty of extras to buy and play with and you can even hang out in a coffee shop and practice your taps and flicks.
• This is the perfect “bathroom” game. Each challenge is quick enough that you can bang 2 or 3 out during a good poop and be satisfied for the day. From the gaming, not the pooping, but the pooping’s satisfying too.

Not Awesome:

• While some of the songs are catchy and — dare I say — good, others are just plain godawful. To make matters worse, it’s usually the bad songs that wind up getting stuck in your head.
• Some of the mini games are hard. Like, really hard. It doesn’t help that some of the games misinterpret your taps and flicks properly, causing you to lose even though you’re doing the right thing. This only happens on a few of the mini games, but it makes them some of the hardest ones in the whole game.

Platform: Nintendo DS™
Price: $29.99
Launch Date: April 5, 2009
ESRB: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Game Type: Rhythm
Players: 1
Developer: Nintendo