Rhythm Heaven

"Can you feel the rhythm?"

Rhythm Heaven is a rhythm/music-based game for the DS which is actually a collection of fifty minigames, each with its own special tune and way of playing. It's got a lot of variety, ranging from building simple "widgets" in the factory to eating dumplings with a monk and being a backup dancer in a frog music show.

Gameplay:10/10 - The gameplay in Rhythm Heaven is simply amazing. The controls are easy to pick up and match the game well, from flicking your stylus to shoot a pipe in a factory and controlling a karate man to kick, to moving up and down in order to shake love potions in a lab. It's fun, easy, and simple to use, and you've got to progress through each game to unlock the next one. Also, every four games, there is a "Remix", which is a special tune designed to fit all four previous songs, and they're all bundled into one level, in which you must do tasks from four songs, switching back and forth between games, which means you've got to memorise the controls, which aren't that hard. After playing through the first thirty games, you can unlock the V2 of it, in which the tune is faster, more complex, or there is more controls.

Sound:10/10 - The sound in Rhythm Heaven is great. It was meant to be a music game, after all. The songs range from techno-electronic style in a space shoot-em-up, to a pop song in which you clap along with monkeys, to the Do-Re-Mi tune in the very first level. It matches each level great, and is really fun to listen to over and over again, there is a huge variety of songs.

Graphics - 8/10 - The graphics are well done, suited to the game, sort of cartoony and a mixture of 3D. There's only one drawback, is that they're sort of sketchy, and they could have done more with the 3D apart from one level.

Story - N/A - There is no story, it's just a bunch of minigames.

Replayablity - 10/10 - Like I said above, there are V2's of games, and 10 remixes, with the last remix, being a collection of every single game. You can constantly replay them to get a "PERFECT" on each one and recieve a medal, which you can use to unlock minigames, or time waster toys. You could play over and over again and not get tired. At least for a while.

Overall - 9.5/10 - I would round this up to 10, as it is a great game, almost perfect, but just missing out on one drawback, graphics. If you have the chance, pick this great game up for the DS, it's not to be missed and you'll play it for a long time. And if not, at least for a longer time than most other games.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/09

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