Two Brains Review: Rhythm Heaven

Everyone knows the old saying - “Two heads are better than one.” For the most part, it’s true. Get more people thinking about something, and everyone benefits - you get more and different opinions that might help you shape the way you think about… well, anything. It’s with this mindset that we go into our very first Two Brains Review, where pseudopseudo and Molotov Cupcake have had a meeting of the minds to discuss Rhythm Heaven for the Nintendo DS/DSi.

pseudopseudo: So, I’ll just kick it off and throw a quick explanation of the game out there: basically, Rhythm Heaven is just that - a rhythm game. The gameplay is simple - there really are only two main controls, tapping and “flicking” along to the beat. To me, it was almost like a new “WarioWare” game consisting of nothing but music games. Fair comparison, you think?

Molotov Cupcake: Definitely. While WarioWare may have been erratic and senseless, though, Rhythm Heaven has more of a sense of purpose. If you screw up just a bit, that could be the different between an “OK” rank (squeaking by) or a “Try Again.”

pseudopseudo: That is the truth - I found myself plenty of times replaying some of the stages and finding missing a single beat was the difference between an “OK” and a “Superb”. Which kind of leads me into another point right off the bat - the game gets deceptively hard, and relatively early on! As someone who gets pretty obsessed (dedicated?) to beating as many of the stages as possible with the best possible ranking, that fact became pretty apparent about halfway through the second set of stages.

Molotov Cupcake: Agreed. I’m a real connoisseur of rhythm games, and I pride myself on “Marvelous”-ing, “Perfect”-ing, and 100%-ing the songs or stages in most of the games I’ve picked up and played. But, it’s a real workout in Rhythm Heaven. Your timing needs to be nearly impeccable. However, I managed to get a Superb in a few of the games when I clearly missed a few beats.

pseudopseudo: I have noticed that a couple of the stages are a little more lenient, especially the “Remix” stages, which are easily the hardest of the bunch. To explain a little further: Rhythm Heaven is made up of different groups of stages. You start from the first one, and work through four different stages in each group. When you have at least an “OK” in the first four, a “Remix” stage is unlocked, which utilizes parts of each of the four previous stages. Even though they’re easily the hardest, I think the Remix stages have my favorite music tracks in the entire game.

Molotov Cupcake: The Remixes cleverly combine the minigames with an infectious, full-length instrumental (usually) and you get no practice beforehand. That’s fine, since you should be familiar with all of the minigames you completed already. There’s no room for error, though. It’s bam-bam-bam, right after another, and you’ll have to adapt quickly. I find myself looking forward to them the most rather than the next single game.

pseudopseudo: Absolutely. To be honest, if I could get mp3s or a CD of just the remix tracks, I’d probably listen to them fairly often. Definitely catchy, and they really do an amazing job of blending all the different melodies the game uses throughout.

Molotov Cupcake: I think my favorite definitely has to be the third one, simply because it reminded me of a spaghetti western with its faux-epic melodies.

pseudopseudo: For sure! My favorite was actually number… ten I think it was? It was set in space, and in addition to being one of the toughest ones to medal, it was my favorite to play through just because of the music. Were there any games or remixes you absolutely couldn’t stand?

Molotov Cupcake: Definitely. Lockstep was infuriating to me because I could never get it just right, as well as Big Rock Finish. I didn’t have enough patience to imitate the other ghosts. Luckily, the barista helped me through them so I could make progress.

pseudopseudo: The barista was definitely a help from time to time - and kind of an interesting, quirky addition to the game. Lockstep was definitely tough - I guess you never really think about how difficult it is to switch from keeping on the beat to keeping on the off-beat in a snap. I actually had to do the two Lockstep games with my eyes closed - the visuals threw me off too much.

Molotov Cupcake: Same here. I find that keeping my eyes closed through a bunch of the games helps keep the beat easier. I guess what they say about sharpening one sense when another is dulled is really true. Looking and listening on some of them (namely Fillbots) just threw me off.

pseudopseudo: Fillbots was definitely another tough one. The one that made me the most mad was actually the Moai Doo-Wop. The ONLY game I don’t have a Superb medal on right now is the Moai Doo-Wop 2. I almost threw my DS at the wall a couple of times on account of that one. I haven’t tried the eyes closed angle on that one yet though. Maybe it’ll help.

Molotov Cupcake: Moai Doo-Wop is obnoxious because you have to flick with different pressure levels. I’m also infinitely creeped out by the “Guuuuur- WOP” noises that they make.

pseudopseudo: LOL. That noise haunted my dreams for more than one night. I wish I were lying. So - speaking on the visuals, what were your thoughts there? Knowing that the game was really sound intensive and not visually intensive, I think they were more than good enough. On the same token, it might have been nice to see something a little… more? I’m not sure.

Molotov Cupcake: I think the minimalistic tones really match the feel of the game. Glee Club’s adorable little club members were addictive to me. I didn’t want to screw up and deal with the evil-eye they’d give me when I sustained a note too long. Some of the disjointed and bizarre graphics add to its appeal for me, especially the Remix title cards.

pseudopseudo: The title cards for all the games were especially well done. There were a couple that even looked 3-D and messed with my eyes a bit. The quirkiness level of all the different characters is definitely something people are going to remember after they’re done, right along with the melodies. I’ve gotta say, I enjoyed the “Pop Star” monkeys as well - they did the same kind of evil glare thing when you messed up, and I always found myself either laughing at it, or swearing at them. Ha.

Molotov Cupcake: IIIIIIIIIIIIIII SUPPOSE! YEAH! That brings me to the localization of the English dub. It’s obvious an English track would appeal to English gamers more, but the quality of some of the dubbed vocal tracks is particularly atrocious. Especially the pop star monkey game. The lyrics and the way the girl delivered them was ridiculous. Come on now - “Yeah, yeah yeah.”

pseudopseudo: Ridiculous yes… but hilarious too, I think. Also, I think that the horrible English dubs actually did a better job of getting the songs stuck in my head. I was singing “Hey now, here is my song - for you, yeah that’s right!” to my girlfriend for a couple weeks straight. Pretty sure she wanted to hit me more than a few times.

Molotov Cupcake: I’m guilty of the same thing. My boyfriend does not want to hear “Love you, love you, love you” any more than he has in the past few weeks unless I’m saying it like a regular person. You’re right, though. They’re so bad they’re catchy. I do think they did an excellent job with the singing frogs, though.

pseudopseudo: That song was definitely well done… and didn’t sound like it was written by a first grader, yeah. LOL. One thing that I don’t think a lot of people have really caught onto is how many unlockables Rhythm Heaven has. In addition to the 50 stages, there are actually a ton of things to unlock by earning “Superb” medals and getting Perfects on the songs when you have the opportunity. Some of them are a little lame, but add a lot of personality and that Japanese “quirkiness” to the game - stuff like rhythm toys, and things to read that add a little depth to the characters of the game. There are also things that add a lot of replayability and length to the gameplay as well - mainly, the “Guitar Lessons” that are unlocked after you finish the two versions of the guitar game, and the “Battle of the Bands” that gets unlocked after you finish the Guitar Lessons. Not to mention that you can also unlock a lot of the music tracks for listening, which is a special treat for those of us who dig the music a lot but don’t want to worry about failing a stage.

Molotov Cupcake: The toys remind me of the many unlockables you could find in WarioWare Twisted. I admit that I continued playing that long after finishing the story mode only to get the toys that were available. They were so pointless and bizarre. Though, the music tracks in Rhythm Heaven are a serious boon - having them at your disposal on the go is something I love, though I doubt I’ll ever unlock all of them. It’s important to add that you can’t simply get a Perfect just because you got a Superb. They seem to appear at random intervals.

pseudopseudo: That is one thing that I dislike - like I said before, I have all but one Superb medal, and the Perfect challenges still don’t appear often enough for my taste. There seems to be no way to get the challenges to show up unless you play through individual stages over and over again - when you’ve already beaten each stage a couple times over, it just get to be a little too repetitive.

Molotov Cupcake: I also don’t like waiting around for them to randomly show up. I found that I could turn the DS off the minute I knew I failed the Perfect challenge, but it didn’t always come back when I turned the game off. It’s very much a hassle, and something I wish they had handled differently.

pseudopseudo: I agree wholeheartedly. The Perfects are honestly the only thing I probably won’t 100%, just because of that fact.

Molotov Cupcake: They want to annoy the completionists. Has to be it. Even so, I still go back and replay the games I liked the most just to feel good about myself since I improved throughout the game.

pseudopseudo: Ahh! The one thing we’ve forgotten - the “Flow” meter that measures your progress. Do you remember right off-hand what yours is at?

Molotov Cupcake: It’s sitting at…wow. Something low like 95. I’m not sure how high it goes.

pseudopseudo: Mine’s at 136 after entirely too many sleepless hours of trying to get medals. Well, I think we’ve pretty much gone over everything - any final thoughts? How would you rate Rhythm Heaven?

Molotov Cupcake: It’s one of the best rhythm games that I’ve had the pleasure of playing for a long while. I’m infinitely excited it finally hit America. A lot of gamers will complain that it’s too hard, but then they’d say the same if it were simpler - too easy. There’s nothing “hardcore” about it or anything that “rocks” and it’s not a Guitar Hero spinoff. It’s just fun, quirky, and addictive. I’d give it an 8 out of 10. I’d go higher, but the game has just a few tiny issues I’ve got complaints with.

pseudopseudo: I’d have to echo a lot of those points, honestly - I was actually kind of refreshed at how challenging the game was, and when I get that 50th Superb, I’ll be wearing it as a badge of honor. People who don’t like rhythm games should definitely steer clear, but if you like ‘em even a little bit - you’d be kind of a fool to pass it up. Absolutely one of the best DS games I’ve played lately - I’d give it a 9 out of 10.

Molotov Cupcake: I think it’s unanimous that it’s “doin’ it right,” wouldn’t you say?

pseudopseudo: Absolutely.

Doin It RIGHT: - Amazing, catchy soundtrack that stays with you. - Loads and loads of unlockables. - Decent challenge, even for rhythm game vets.	Doin It RONG: - Completionists will go INSANE. - Playing stages over gets monotonous. - Difficulty may turn away more casual gamers. -Japanese purists will likely complain about the English dub.
FINAL SCORE: 8.5 / 10

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