Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

"Amazing game!"

Rhapsody is a remake of The adventures of the puppet princess'' which was released a while ago in Japan. Luckily we got our version in the game of Rhapsody: a musical adventure. This game is quite unknown, as most people who saw me playing it wondered ''what game is that?'' ... ''Never heard of it''. The game has several shining points, awesome graphics, great sound, cool options, VERY original story line and characters you just love to death. The only flaws in this game come from it being a short game which left me wanting a sequel RIGHT NOW and the cave graphics (shudder), these are repetitive, Dragon Quest I repetitive.

STORY (9 / 10)
============
This is a non-save the world RPG (wow). It is a love story with an almost Sailor moon-ish feel to it. You start out as a commoner and are saved by a prince when a villain tries to rob you. The prince leaves when he hears people looking for him and you never get to tell him your name. Eventually you enter a contest to marry the prince with some snobby girl Etoile (Which is French for star. She kinda grows on you due to her big heart which becomes more apparent as the game progresses). You dance with him (in a hilarious looking costume your little fairy friend picked out at the last second) but a cast of sailor-moonish villains kidnap him. He is then turned to stone and you decide to go on your quest to find him. The story is guided along with FREQUENT character interaction and a Disney-esque break now and then for a musical score. I will not go into the specific quests and story since it will ruin this near-perfect story. It does not disappoint.

MUSIC (8 / 10)
============
The English scores are so Disney they make me sick, however in a burst of originality the game allows you to have the Japanese or English music. Since the English music is on the included soundtrack and is bad, the Japanese version should be your choice. They have the same awesome music but since you do not understand them they seem less cheesy. Why an 8 if the lyrics are either bad or impossible to understand? The music and feeling the music gives you is very, very real and appropriate.

GRAHPICS (7 / 10)
==============
The overworld, villages and cut scenes are beautiful and the character artwork and profiles are just beautiful. The caves however are awful. If you played Dragon Warrior (Quest in Japan) I then you know what to expect, terrible repetitive caves with NO originality or differences. Dragon Quest had an advantage however; it was made in 1986 for the MSX computer system (and eventually on to the Famicom / NES)! This is made in 1999 (released in 2000 though) and for PlayStation. The caves are UNACCEPTABLE.

DIFFICULTY (2 / 10)
================
Ever dream of beating a final boss on the first try? I have, and my dream came true with this game. I never died once throughout the game, never lost a party member and never even needed to heal until the second to last fight. I fought every battle (I tried to run 5 or so times but never could) and by a few hours I was in level 30. I never built levels once and beat the game at level 50 with NO problem at all. This doesn’t take away from the game at all in my mind, since the battles were not really important. Trust me, although I like a challenge (Dragon Quest) and insane final bosses (Star Ocean II), this game did not loose anything based on it’s being easy.

FUN (9 / 10)
=========
This game is awesome and more fun than most any game you have played. It is not a perfect 10 because of 2 things; Dragon Quest is my favourite game and the caves in this game are TEDIOUS. Luckily however, since there are few battles and they are not hard, the caves are more boring than hellish.

FEATURES (10 / 10)
===============
Check out some of the neat options in this game
1. An included soundtrack. I wish it was the Japanese versions, but it is still a bonus
2. Japanese or English music in the game. What a feature, to avoid the cheesy lyrics, use the Japanese versions, they get the message across without words.
3. Sim battles! They are not long and boring like other games, they are fast as a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest battle, but are in a tactical sim way. Very refreshing.
4. The story near the end of the game almost makes you cry if you actually care about the characters. It has been a while since that has happened.
5. Difficulty setting! Yes! Replay value!
6. You will NEVER guess who is on the cover of the game!
7. Illustration mode that grows as the game progresses
8. Music option at title screen (along with illustration mode) to listen to the game music
9. Some crazy attacks that are based on a reward system. If you play your horn for your puppets they become stronger and eventually reward you. This reward is either a full group heal for FREE or a variety of odd attacks (i.e.: the Pancake attack).

OVERALL (8.5 / 10)
(I am aware the review says 8, but I cannot have fractions)
============================================================
This game will likely be over shadowed by other games coming out like Final Fantasy IX but is very much worth a try. If you are picky and want only high-graphic games, this game will probably loose due to its caves. If you want length and challenge, again the game will let you down, but if you want originality, fun and characters you love and a story that moves you around in a most refreshing way, be sure to buy this game. I loved it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/00, Updated 08/05/00