RHYTHM HEAVEN ONLINE PORTABLE
RHYTHM HEAVEN ONLINE SERIES

The Rhythm Heaven series has always been home to all things delightful and odd about keeping a beat. It was first released in Japan last year, under the title Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus, later being announced this past March in a Nintendo Direct for a wider release. The series’ newest installment for the 3DS includes 70 stages from the first three games, as well as over 30 new stages. The 2009 Nintendo DS title Rhythm Heaven (also known as Rhythm Paradise in Europe and Rhythm Tengoku Gold in Japan) was the first widespread release for the series. Rhythm Heaven Megamix is the fourth game in the ever-quirky Rhythm Heaven series, which originated in Japan under the title Rhythm Tengoku (2006).

The fact that you can't rely on Fever's grading system for an accurate tell of how you did lowers what is otherwise a great experience.More in common with Parappa the Rapper, than say, Rock Band One of the main draws of any rhythm game is earning and besting your rank. For a series that is now on its third run, and making the move to home consoles, this lingering flaw is simply unacceptable - especially given how fantastically fun the games themselves are. Inconsistencies like that make the grading system feel random, making your frustrating trials a little more frustrating and your accomplishments meaningless. The weird thing is, the next time you try you might miss several cues and get Superb.

Check out the video above for an example of this. The hitch is sometimes you'll play a game and execute it perfectly, save a single misstep, and you'll still wind up with an Okay rating. Collecting medals unlocks extras like the cafe (where you can listen to the game's music tracks), endless play (a handful of games where you try to go as long as you can without messing up), music toys and two-player mode. Simple in theory, a passable run of a mini-game gets you an 'Okay' rating, and a great one gets you a 'Superb' rating and a medal. The second major failure of Fever comes in the form of a flaw that carries over from the prior versions - the broken grading system. It's fun enough to try to best your friend at the included rhythm games, but the lack of unique challenges is a huge oversight, as is limiting play to only two players. There are also only 10 games to choose from, all of which are repeats from the single player selection with minor adjustments. This mode, which has absolutely zero online support, only allows two players to play at a time. Unfortunately, Fever's implementation of multiplayer is one of the game's biggest failures. Fever's addition of a multiplayer mode seemed like just the ticket. The Rhythm series' trademark gameplay didn't really need an overhaul, but it did need something new to push it over the edge and make it feel like at least a minor evolution for the franchise. While the game boasts all of the successes of prior versions, it's a bit surprising that the concept wasn't really expanded in any way for the Wii release.

RHYTHM HEAVEN ONLINE PORTABLE

The real question is how this portable experience was translated over to a home console. All of this is par for the course for anyone who played the handheld versions. The game keeps things interesting the whole way through, and even the beats will have you humming along long after you've turned off your system, especially with rousing tracks like the rock epic of See-Saw (which you can check out in the video above). One moment you'll be a wrestler answering questions and striking a pose, the next you'll be memorizing a monkey's tambourine motions, and the next you'll be slicing monsters with a samurai sword while a narrative overtakes the screen. While the gameplay itself is limited to only two buttons, the variety of mini-games still manages to make you feel like you're always doing something new. The gameplay, while beyond simple (you literally only use the A and B buttons), is actually quite addictive, the absolute epitome of 'easy to learn, difficult to master.' Before long you'll find yourself bobbing your head and tapping your foot to try to sink into the rhythm, and may come uncomfortably close to rage quitting if you go for all the medals. Just like Rhythm Heaven, Fever is quirky, clever and unfathomably adorable. Every inch of the game - from the music to the characters to the art style to the gameplay concepts - is simply brimming with personality. Like the DS version, one of Fever's greatest strengths is its off-the-wall presentation.

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