I'm not terribly in sync if this 1001 list is any indication. There have been many different must-play rhythm games for me to practice with, some I like, some I hate, and pretty much none that I'm skilled enough to get anywhere with.
And so Rhythm Heaven sounds like it's going to be a challenge, but as its 1001 write up mentions, it's done by the same folks as the later WarioWare titles, and the accompanying screenshot looks like it's welcoming enough for fools like me, so I am feeling quite positive about it.
How long will that positivity last? At least it looks more interesting than Guitar Hero.
Frustrations
Rhythm Heaven is played on a Nintendo DS held like a book and uses a flicking action with the stylus that I have to replicate with a mouse while my emulation window is sideways because while I can work out how to increase the gap between the two DS screens, I haven't worked out the rotation.
But those are my problems, and my problems included not quite getting the hang of flicking the stylus, which was quite the problem when you can't progress into the game until you manage to do it.
Eventually, I got the hang of my wonky emulation set up enough to play Rhythm Heaven, and despite those problems, it was already interesting to me.
The game takes the form of a selection of mini-games that utilize flicking and tapping on the touchpad in time with the music to perform a given action. In our first game, we're part of the weirdest assembly line you've ever seen, and we need to fire bolts into some holes when 'Do-re-mi' reaches 'sol'.
As you can see, the games have a practice mode where you can get to grips with the actions you need to perform and the timing you need to stick to, and it's here where you realize just how tricky but satisfying it is to succeed in Rhythm Heaven.
Firstly, you're never quite sure of the correct timing. What does 'reaches sol' mean? Do I flick when sol starts, or should my flick end before the 's', so that the bolt has time to fire out and slam into position?
I was never quite sure but decided to skip the practice and see if I could find out in the game itself. You can see from the conveyor belt behind the target whether I was successful or not, and like many rhythm-based games, once you lose the beat, you're often out of luck.
I was definitely out of luck when I effectively put the game down when it masked off most of the screen. I thought this was a cinematic to end the level or something, but no, this was still my test. Fire the bolt through the target on the correct beat without seeing the bolt or the flicker.
Oh, and the beat changes pace or tempo or something too. It doesn't get faster and faster but hops around to make the task a little more musical than a repeated string of 'Do-re-mi'.
Thanks to the tips at the end telling me to not worry about the visuals, I was ready to give it another shot, and sure enough, tuning into the sounds instead worked wonders.
Fun Times
Ok, ok, it didn't work wonders, but average is fine by me, so long as it furthers my progression through Rhythm Heaven, and that it did. I was now able to play the second game, Glee Club, about singing when it is your turn to sing, and shutting up when it isn't.
I don't quite know what it was about this screen, but this was the moment my face broke into a smile, and Rhythm Heaven went from being alright to being awesome. So why don't we watch how well my first attempt went, and then have a head-to-head against P2?
I am easily amused sometimes, and now I want more utterly ridiculous Rhythm Heaven action.
The next game had us filling up robots with fuel, literally. Too much fuel and they get a headache, more than that and they even explode on the production line, but new robots keep coming and need fueling, so you try your best to stick to the rhythm and keep on top of things.
Further Frustrations
Different shapes of robots require different amounts of fuel, but at the end of the day, if you miss their head by a pixel, they'll tilt their head and wonder what on Earth put your timing off to miss them, and then the next robot will come in and you'll know the beat you need to hit, but you'll miss that bastard by another pixel, and the next, and the one after that, and before you know it you're failing yet another attempt at a mini-game in Rhythm Heaven - or by this point, Hell.
At least that's my experience. All the practice in the world doesn't count for much if you don't actually know when you're supposed to thrust a fuel pump into a robot's head. Clunk, clunk, clunk, "Fill 'em up!" beat, pump? "Fill 'em up?", pump? "Fill 'em up?", pause, pump?
The simple art style is nice and universal, but the feedback you get is not enough to know where you're going wrong. Yes, the practice area will say whether you were early or late, but never by how much, and it feels like the tolerances aren't lenient at all - either you did it or you didn't.
Final Word
But I'm not sure I can hate on Rhythm Heaven for the sheer joy that one level has given me in its stupidity and replayability. I was even bopping along in my seat trying to find the beat and sing at the right time, something that generally doesn't happen unless I want it to. Probably the reason why I suck at rhythm games, come to think of it...
There are a few of these Rhythm Heaven games by the look of it, released on a number of Nintendo platforms and handhelds, and I'm seriously going to have to keep an eye out for a physical copy to see whether I can blame emulation for my ineptitude, or whether my failings are innate, it brightened up my day that much.
On the surface, it really doesn't look like much and I don't know how much it has to offer. It seems difficult from the start, but again, I don't know whether it actually is difficult or whether I'm just bad at it. What I do know is that Rhythm Heaven has entertained me today, even though I'm no good at it, and that's fantastic.
Fun Facts
Even the developers had trouble with the flicking, taking two to three months to research it, and another six months to implement it into the game.
Rhythm Heaven, developed by Nintendo SPD, TNX Music Recordings, first released in 2008.
Version played: Rhythm Heaven, 2009, via emulation.