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Rhythm Heaven
- Nintendo DS
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Music
Common Sense Media says
Rhythm game so unforgiving that it's frustrating, not fun.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a game that will frustrate those who aren't blessed with rhythm, very precise rhythm. That's most of us.The game is being promoted by Beyonce in a TV commercial.
What's it about?
Nintendo has made some wonderful and laugh-out-loud funny minigame offerings for the DS, but this isn't one of them. In Rhythm Heaven, you climb the ladder to sheer heights of rhythm stardom by completing over 50 short, music-based little games, all of which are challenging, to say the least.
Playing the game is so simple a five year old could work the mechanics with ease. As you hold the DS vertically like a book, all you have do is tap the touch screen with your stylus in rhythm to the music or voices. Sometimes, you have to keep your stylus on the screen and flick it to put something together or to hit something. Immediately when the game begins, you're also asked if you're right or left handed, a very handy tool because you're about to play the most rhythmically precise and difficult game of your life.
Is it any good?
There's no reason to beat around the bush. While Rhythm Heaven has a charming minimalist art style, it's a royal pain to get exactly right, even with practice, even in the first levels. You might say, well, this is not a game for the rhythmically challenged. But it may not even be a game for those who are schooled in dance or in rhythm instruments like bass or drums.
You have to be so achingly accurate in the game, you'll rarely get the medals that are achievements for getting high scores. Plus, when you're off rhythm, your cohorts onscreen shoot you a dirty look. While this is at first hilarious, it begins to grate on you because the game is so difficult. Plus, content is locked until you pass a certain level of accuracy, which for some can be a game-stopping road block. If Nintendo had just provided modes like easy, hard, and superhard, Rhythm Heaven would have been a lot easier to like. As it stands, it's nearly a failure.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about rhythm. Do you like rhythm in music, poetry, or dancing? Where else does rhythm come into to play? What could Nintendo have done to make this rhythm game better?
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AGE
It's unforgiving and good at the same time
Rhythm Heaven is a sequel to a totally awesome Game Boy Advance game called Rhythm Tengoku (which was unfortunately released in Japan only). This game's like a mix of WarioWare and Dance Dance Revolution...it's a series of crazy minigames that involve tapping or flicking on the touch screen rhythmically. (The same team behind WarioWare did this game, so it's pretty obvious.) The reviewer is wrong; this game is actually pretty fun if you're in for a good challenge. But the North American version of Rhythm Heaven has songs, cues, etc. dubbed in English (obviously). And while the English dubbing is okay, it just doesn't capture the spirit of the original Japanese game (called Rhythm Tengoku Gold). But that's my only nitpick. If Nintendo put the Japanese songs in this version, this would be a 5-star game. In short, despite the English songs and the hard (but not as hard as the reviewer puts it) difficulty, Rhythm Heaven is a great game.
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AGE
One of the best games EVER ! !
Tap, Flick, and Release your way threw over 50 games.The songs are easy to catch on to and get in your head.( If you have, or are determined to get, good rhythm that is.) The bad thing is that if you can't pass a level the "Try Again" message gets REALLY annoying. I suggest watching the videos (click rhythm games) on there official site, *rhythmheaven* and try to tap along.
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AGE
Teaches perserverance and value of practice
My kids (11 and 8) love this game. Yes, a couple of the levels are difficult but can be mastered with practice. The graphics are adorable and irresistible. Nice mix of music types from primitive to jazz to popular. Use this game to educate children on the characteristics of different musical styles. THEY LOVE IT and so do I.
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AGE
Very suitable, entertaining game for DS owners
I found this game to be very entertaining. As the title suggested this game is all about rhythms. Its also cool that the game starts easy, then gets harder so that way you can get the hang of it. Pretty much anyone 7 and up will enjoy this game in my opinion. There isn't any inappropriate content in this game unless you find doing different task on the DS in a rhythmic sense inappropriate. A must buy.
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AGE
Definitely the best music game for DS (and, really, the only good one) and one of my of my all-time favorites for any system. Simply tapping, rubbing, holding, and flicking your stylus on the screen is all you have to do for all 50 mini games, plus the extra little ones in the bonus room. See, each of the games here feel like they could become their own little adventure that you could possibly download off the DSi Shop or whatever. I guess my only complaints are that the games on this game can be very very challenging for people who first pick it up, resulting in a bunch of "Try Again!" 's. But, if you get at least three try again's in a row, and then you talk to the barista, he'll normally let you skip that level with a silver medal and go on to the next one.
I guess my other complaint is that all the flicking of the stylus leaves scratches on my screen of my DS, so I recommend screen protectors for anyone who's buying this game or who's gonna be borrowing it for a while.
One small note here: the reason I marked "violence" and "language" was because in the game "shoot 'em up" and "shoot 'em up 2", you shoot incoming aliens in the rhythm of the song, which sometimes results in alien blood coming out of the alien for about a half of a second, before it rolls offscreen. The language issue, however, is because all of the songs that have vocals here are love songs, which may concern some parents, but it's nothing really to be frightful of. In the game that actually DOES have a singer who's singing the love song, it's not like she's actually singing to a person, it's just her and monkeys as the audience.
Man, this game really brings back memories. I played this a bunch that one summer I was like really depressed for no reason, and along with a lot of jack Johnson music, and the movie "Up", I was happy as can be. Yes, each mini game here has it's own unique way of showing how great music is, or can be (Miley Cyrus? Mmmm… not so good.) and it really make you want to be there with the little characters on your DS screen. In fact, if it wasn't for this game, I don't think I ever would have found my love for music. I know this because everyone thinks of me as "the music kid" at school, and I'm proud of that.
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AGE
??!?!?
okay soooo whaddya mean most of us arent blessed with rhythm?!? maybe cuz im a dancer and cheerleader im blessed...anyway this game is the best!!! the games are super FUN!!! :D a good variety. its not too easy but not IMPOSSIBLE... jeez... its a good challenge. not for kids who r very impatient.
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AGE
I really LOVE rythem heaven.its SO FUN when u play.u can do over 50 activities inthis game!I would TOTALLY recommend this to anyone.
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AGE
This review is absolutely ABSURD.
Ok, so this game is pretty hard. It is by no means impossible, because with practice you can get a feel for the rhythm in each game. The first few levels are very, very, simple with very, very simple rhythms that don't even require you to look at the screen.
I've given this game to many people and they've all been hooked at the first minigame. To be honest, I'm slightly confused at why they gave this game to such a rhythmically challenged reviewer AND as to why they gave set the rating as 6+ even though they found it so difficult. In summary, if you have no sense of rhythm or musical ability, you probably will find this game so hard and you probably won't be interested in purchasing this brilliant title in the first place.
DO NOT LET THIS GAME PUT YOU OFF. WATCH SOME GAMEPLAY VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE AND SEE HOW SIMPLE IT IS.
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AGE
beyonce
I Think my review is good.I also think that the game is gong to be alsome
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Kid, 12 years old
June 18, 2010
AGE
Educational and fun
I love it I do not play it much though. It's great for teaching rhythm and it's simple to play.
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| Platforms: | Nintendo DS |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Music |
| Developer: | Nintendo |
| Release date: | April 5, 2009 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E for Comic Mischief |
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