Rhythm Heaven Fever

Rhythm Heaven Fever
Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise
Everybody's Rhythm Heaven

North American game cover
Developer(s) Nintendo SPD
TNX Music Recordings
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Ko Takeuchi
Masami Yone
Producer(s) Yoshio Sakamoto
Shinya Takahashi
TSUNKU♂
Artist(s) Ko Takeuchi
Composer(s) TSUNKU♂
Masami Yone
Platform(s) Wii
Release date(s) JP July 21, 2011
NA February 13, 2012
EU July 6, 2012
AUS September 13, 2012
Genre(s) Music
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
Distribution Wii Optical Disc

Rhythm Heaven Fever, known in PAL regions as Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise, and in Japan as Minna no Rhythm Tengoku (みんなのリズム天国 Minna no Rizumu Tengoku, lit. Everybody's Rhythm Heaven), is a music video game developed by Nintendo and TNX for the Wii. It is the third game in the Rhythm Heaven series, following Rhythm Tengoku for the Game Boy Advance and Rhythm Heaven for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in Japan on July 21, 2011, in North America on February 13, 2012, in Europe on July 6, 2012, and in Australia on September 13, 2012.[1]

Gameplay

Like previous titles, the game features various levels with their own set of rules, requiring the player to play in time to the rhythm in order to clear them. These levels range from stabbing peas with a fork, to attacking evil spirits with a sword and playing badminton in midair. The game is played by either tapping the A button, or squeezing the A and B buttons together. At the end of each level, players are ranked on their performance, with at least an 'OK' rank required to clear the level and progress onto the next. Each set of levels culminates in a Remix stage, which combines all the gameplay elements of the previous levels in one stage.

Clearing levels with a Superb/High Level rating earns medals which unlock extra content, including Rhythm Toys, Endless Minigames and levels from the original Rhythm Tengoku. Levels that have been cleared with a Superb rating may also be randomly selected for a Perfect attempt, in which the player can try to clear the level without making any mistakes with the maximum of 3 retries before the perfect challenge disappears. Clearing these unlock bonus items such as songs and lyrics. The game also features a Dual Mode in which two players can play simultaneously. Levels played in multiplayer require players to earn enough points in total to reach the desired rank and clear each stage, with bonus points awarded based on the harmony of the players that can improve the rank. These levels come with their own set of medals which can unlock multiplayer minigames.

Development

Producer Yoshio Sakamoto and Nintendo SPD Group No.1 were responsible for the programming, graphic design, and some of the music in the game. Collaborator and musician Tsunku and his music studio TNX created several of the performed vocal songs found throughout the game. In the English versions of the game, an endless minigame based on manzai routines was removed due to the dialogue focused nature of the game and was replaced with another minigame from Rhythm Tengoku.[2] The European and Australian versions of the game allow players to toggle between English and Japanese voices and songs.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings81.87%[4]
Metacritic83/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1UP.comA-[6]
Famitsu32/40[7]
GamesRadar[8]
GameTrailers8.6/10[9]
IGN7.0/10[10]

The game has received generally positive reviews, currently possessing an 83/100 score on Metacritic. The game sold over 100,000 copies in its first week in Japan[11] and received a score of 32/40 in the Famitsu magazine. IGN gave the game a score of 7.0, praising its fun and addictive gameplay but criticising its multiplayer and grading system.[10] GamesRadar gave the game 8/10, praising its addictive songs and unique art style.[8] 1UP.com gave the game an A- rating, praising its infectious soundtrack and the execution of its controls.[6] GameTrailers gave the game a score of 8.6.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise and Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! heading to Australia and New Zealand this September". Nintendo of Australia. September 5, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  2. ↑ "4. Music Spinning in Your Head". Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven Fever. Nintendo of America. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.destructoid.com/rhythm-heaven-comes-to-europe-in-english-and-japanese-226270.phtml
  4. ↑ "Rhythm Heaven Fever Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Rhythm Heaven Fever Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Otero, Jose (February 8, 2012). "Review: Rhythm Heaven Fever Masterfully Proves the Power of Physical Buttons". 1UP.com.
  7. ↑ Gifford, Kevin (July 13, 2011). "Japan Review Check: Rhythm Heaven, No More Heroes". 1UP.com.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gilbert, Henry (February 13, 2012). "Rhythm Heaven Fever Review". GamesRadar.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Rhythm Heaven Fever Review". GameTrailers. February 21, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Drake, Audrey (February 6, 2012). "Rhythm Heaven Fever Review". IGN.
  11. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (July 28, 2011). "Wii Rhythm Heaven Tops the Charts". Andriasang.

External links