Rhythm Heaven, as the name suggests, is a rhythm based game released by Nintendo under the "Touch! Generations" branding (in PAL regions). Touch! Generations games aim to broaden their appeal to a wider audience than traditional games, and at first glance this title offers accessible and easy rhythm mini-games. However the difficulty soon ramps up far too quickly, especially for a game that is targetted at children, grandparents, and gamers alike. Despite this, the game has an unusual attraction and charm that is not easy to put into words.
Rhythm Heaven offers linear progression through around 50 mini-games, which are quirky and reminded me of WarioWare micro-games. You won’t be picking noses in time to the music, but your activities will include controlling both animal and human choirs, firing rivets into metal plates, mating lizard-type creatures, as well as eating dumplings – rhythmically. Each mini-game takes place over several minutes, and you are graded on your timing and rhythm, gaining a pass, fail, or a "Superb" medal. You aren’t given any indication of how well you are doing during the game though, which becomes annoying later in the game when you aren’t sure exactly what you are doing wrong to fail.
Rhythm Heaven doesn’t require prior experience of rhythm games or any musical talent to pick up and start playing. Nintendo got that part right at least. There are no "note highways" or other high-speed scrolling visual to induce vertigo in the uninitiated. The game simply requires the player to hold the DS in "book" orientation and tap the touch screen in time to the music. The only other gameplay mechanic, the "flick" is gradually introduced, and from there it is a case of listening to the music and tapping and flicking along with good timing. There are no licensed tracks to play along to, and while the tunes are annoying catchy, some of the lyrics are just downright scary – even more so when they get into you mind and you wake up in the middle of the night singing along to the likes of the following:
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Hey now, here is my song
For you, yeah, that’s right
I wish that I was yours
But I’m too shy, I suppose
If only I could just conjure a spell
Kapow! Hocus, hocus, hocus!
Then you and I would be
Together for all time, I suppose
Is it love that makes my heart go
Boom, boom, boom?
Yeah, I suppose!
Love you, love you, love you
More than yesterday…
I suppose!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah…
The game challenges the thinking that you have to use popular music in rhythm games. After a while the strange tunes start to blend in with the quirky graphical style of the game, and once I got over the fact that the music was highly unusual, I found the gameplay to be reasonably enjoyable. However it isn’t long before the difficult level causes frustration.
Due to the strictly linear progression of the game, expect to find yourself stuck in a number of levels that you just don’t "get". For me, tapping on the "off-beat" is something that is impossibly difficult, and without the motivation and patience to work through those levels I would have been denied access to more than half of the games offered on the cartridge. And that’s for someone that regularly plays (emphasis on plays) rhythm games. I suspect that non-musical casual gamers will definitely end up missing out more than half of what’s on offer from Rhythm Heaven, and that to me just goes against the philosophy of a "Touch! Generations" game. What would have made more sense would have been to unlock groups of mini-games (for example pass 4 out of 5 to unlock the next 5), rather than force frustration upon the inexperienced or rhythmically-challenged.
The mini-games are varied, and the comical art style reminds you not to take things too seriously. It’s a fresh take on the rhythm genre, and should be given credit for the innovation. Gamers with experience in the genre should find a challenge here, but unfortunately many will probably dismiss it on the basis of the childish cartoon graphics as well as the upbeat infectious tunes.
Closing Comments
Rhythm Heaven is one of those games with an identity crisis. Just exactly who was it meant for? The presentation will appeal to casual gamers, but the difficulty curve will make it impossible for them to progress very far. And gamers that are up for the challenge will likely ignore the title due to the "kiddy" connotations. Despite its flaws (predominantly in the difficulty department), Rhythm Heaven is an enjoyable game for anyone with the patience and musical ability to tackle it. It helps not to be self-conscious either – putting on a pair of earphones will mute the music from those that might question your musical taste.
