Rhythm Heaven

"A Wild, Groovin' Ride Unlike Any Other"

What if every once in a blue moon came a game truly perceived by the overly bias masses—or let alone by one measly fan—as the bona fide epitome of flawless perfection? After all, so few developers these days take the necessary time to properly assess what is expected of their products, and even fewer manage to deliver titles one can pick right up and thoroughly enjoy for a fraction of a minute to the total expanse of countless entertainment filled hours. But lo and behold: The fine folks who make up Nintendo's WarioWare crew have tackled that seemingly impossible task head on and formed it into a reality not once, but for a second time with their Nintendo DS successor to the Japanese-exclusive Game Boy Advance music/rhythm game entitled Rhythm Tengoku, similarly known in the West this time around as Rhythm Heaven. Bringing with it a plethora of all-new content including fifty original minigames and plenty of unique improvements over the previous installment, Rhythm Heaven—regardless of the general public's stigma towards the term—may have deservingly nailed the unachievable label of "perfection" more so than any game before it in a great while.

Much like the WarioWare series by which it's inspired, Rhythm Heaven focuses on quick, simplistic gameplay with catchy tunes spliced in. What sets it apart in spades from other members of the modern musical genre such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and even Wii Music is the depth and ingenuity applied to each level. Instead of hitting a variety of instrumental notes to play along with or manipulate a song, Rhythm Heaven has the player harness the tempo, beat, and ultimately the overall rhythm of each piece in order to guide himself or herself through the multiple stages of booty-shakin' bliss. By tapping, sliding, and flicking the stylus in time with the music and onscreen cues, they'll fulfill each objective laid before them in some of the zaniest ways imaginable; they'll clap along with an audience of monkeys, rock 'n roll with a trio of ghosts, pop dumplings into a hungry monk's mouth at a breakneck pace, synchronize swim on the backs of dolphins, and help carry on a doo-wop style duet between lovestruck moai head statues—all amongst other wacky and highly addictive activities!

Upon completion of each game, a rank will be assigned to the player based on his or her performance: An OK rank is required to pass on to the next stage and a Superb rank will earn players a medal. Every so often a game will be selected at random to offer up a chance to bestow the ultimate Perfect rank which, in addition to unlocking that level's music and thus allowing the player to listen to the track at any time, will paste the corresponding level icon on the game select menu with a literally perfect stamp of approval. The catch, however, is making it through the randomly chosen game without tarnishing the procession by making a single mistake, and only three attempts are granted. As players progress, a special final score indicating just how consistently he or she has fared compared with the typically upbeat, ever-changing rhythm throughout the course of the title—known as "flow"—will also be tallied up following the conclusion of every minigame.

Aside from the twenty-four main bite-sized games are an array of distinct challenges such as the Remix stages—the bosslike portions of the game which occur every five levels and put the player's rhythm skills to the ultimate test by combining bits and pieces of the previous four minigames and mixing them up into one persistent and normally more rigorous, fast-paced stage. Outside of the main collection of games are the Cafe and Medal corners located on the right and left corners of the game select screen. Enter the Cafe to listen to full music selections that have been unlocked courtesy of each Perfect ranking the player's racked up. One can also consult the barista for tips, hints, and the last-resort ability to skip a particularly tricky game, automatically branding the player with an OK rank for that level. The starting controls tutorials (such as flicking coins at a frog and toy cars) are additionally available as refresher tidbits or for killing time.

Popping over to the Medal corner gives players the chance to access bonus material split into two categories: Endless Games and Rhythm Toys. Based upon how many medals they've earned via Superb rankings within the main games, players can goof-off with these options designed purely for fun rather than competition. The Endless Games consists of simple distractions including flipping a coin with the flick of the stylus and catching it at precisely the correct moment by holding down on the touch screen; repeat without missing or dropping the coin for a higher score. Other games of this nature range from a space age shoot-'em-up based on one of the main stages plus another that features a character riding in a car while tapping on a cowbell in-sync with a musical tempo which disappears and reappears as the vehicle travels in and out of tunnels. The Rhythm Toys, on the other hand, aren't games but alternatively weird and oftentimes pointless doodads simply meant to be messed around with—therefor they're always deserving of a quick peek! Finally there are the Guitar Lessons: Basic and Technical Courses both based upon one of the most engrossing and musically superior main stages of the entire game.

Speaking of the title's forefront, the music, the cuisine of songs forms a spectacular soundtrack that treads all over the map from simple harmonizing vocals and spaghetti western tunes to J-pop and rock. It's difficult to ignore the key factor to getting through each level, so the music tends to stick with the player long after they've finished playing. The hand-drawn visuals do nicely to reflect the mood portrayed by the rhythm and grooves at hand; not too often could a developer get away with what are essentially big-headed stick figures with a black and white pencil-sketched flair, but the moment they begin boppin' to the beat by opening their enormous mouths to sing it becomes obvious that the artists made the right call. The numerous characters and simple animations are clearly reminiscent of the WarioWare series signature style, hence why it's so easy to look past the lack of top of the line CGI and appreciate the way in which the job gets done using only these colorful, and a bit unusual, 2D graphics.

Although its length may not span more than a couple day's worth, Rhythm Heaven is bursting with plenty of excuses to keep playing after the main game is long over. Bonus material aside, attempting Superb ranks or even awaiting a chance to grab an elusive Perfect stamp adds hours of extra tapping and submission to the rhythm. A few of the challenges may even have players cringing in frustration, but all in all the rockingest game so far this year provides one huge, cymbal crashing bang for anyone's buck and should bring ample smiles to the faces of both casual and hardcore gamers alike.

So does Rhythm Heaven justify a mark of absolute perfection? Perhaps not quite as far as everyone's concerned, but to one less-than-humble fan it's worthy of nothing less.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/13/09

Game Release: Rhythm Heaven (US, 04/05/09)