Rhythm Heaven
Encyclopedia
Rhythm Heaven, known in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 as Rhythm Paradise and in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 as is a rhythm
Rhythm game
Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to press buttons in a sequence dictated on the screen...

 video game-exclusive for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 handheld
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...

 video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...

. It is the sequel/successor to the Japan-only release Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...

 title Rhythm Tengoku
Rhythm Tengoku
is a music video game developed by Nintendo SPD. It was released in Japan on August 3, 2006, and was the last game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The game received an Excellence Prize for Entertainment at the 10th annual Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006...

. Rhythm Heaven was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 on 5 April 2009, along with the release of the 3rd generation Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 system, Nintendo DSi
Nintendo DSi
The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...

. In Japan and PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...

s, the game is published under the Touch! Generations
Touch! Generations
is a Nintendo brand used for the Nintendo DS and Wii showing games created to appeal to a broader audience than the traditional gamer. Nintendo have announced that they will be retiring the brand with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS.-Games:...

 brand. It also has an iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 visualizer
Visualizer
Visualizer may refer to:* Visualizer , a special position in advertising to assist Art directors, in producing quick and good quality artworks for presentation.* Music visualizer, a feature found in some media player software....

 at its official website. A sequel called Rhythm Heaven Fever
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Rhythm Heaven Fever, known in Europe as Rhythm Paradise and in Japan as , 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...

 was released in 2011.

Controls

Rhythm Heaven only uses the touch screen as the control method and requires the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 system to be held vertically. Different ways of using the screen (such as touching, swiping, flicking, etc.) affect the gameplay in many different ways. The only button used in all games is the START button, that when pressed pauses the game. In the mini-game Rockers 2 and in the Technical Guitar Lessons found in the medal corner, you also use the L/R button, depending on your dominant hand.

Rhythm Games

There are 10 sets of rhythm games with 5 sub-rhythm games per set, calculating up to a total of 50 rhythm games. Each set consists of 4 original sub-rhythm games, with the 5th and final rhythm game of a set being a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

 sub-stage that combines the rhythm mechanics of the previous sub-stages of a set in a new visual context with new music.

In stages 7 and above, the game has second versions of most of the earlier stages with a higher difficulty level.

At the end of a rhythm game, the player's rhythm is rated and given one of 4 ranks: SUPERB, JUST OK, OK, and TRY AGAIN. If the player is given either a SUPERB, JUST OK or OK rank, the next stage is unlocked. If the player fails the stage and gets a TRY AGAIN rank, the level has to be redone. Once completing a particular rhythm game, getting an JUST OK or OK rank marks a silver frame on the game's icon and unlocks the next rhythm game, while getting a SUPERB rank marks a gold frame on the game's icon and awards the player a medal.

Accumulating these medals unlocks additional mini-games, including endless games, rhythm toys and guitar lessons (Basic and Technical courses). After getting a medal for a stage, the game may randomly select it, giving the player a chance to earn a Perfect by clearing the stage perfectly. Three attempts are allowed each time a game is selected for a perfect challenge. If successful, the stage gets "Perfect" written below it. A bonus item (song, lyrics sheet, or character info) corresponding to the stage is then unlocked and viewable from the coffee shop. If the player fails to complete the stage perfectly within three tries, the opportunity is lost until another stage gets marked for a perfect challenge.

When the player returns to the stage select screen after completing a stage, the 'Flow' level changes depending on player's performance, which can go up, down, or stay the same. If player gets "Try Again" 3 times on a stage, that stage can be skipped by going to the coffee shop for the cost of a few flow points. Also, once a player gets a superb on every game, they will have a chance of a Perfect every turn.

Music

Rhythm Heaven uses original music composed by Tsunku
Tsunku
, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...

 and Masami Yone, with vocals by TNX artists including Canary Club, The Possible, and Tsunku himself (credited as Occhama). These vocals were re-recorded in English for the Western version by other vocalists (most notably Ayaka Nagate
Ayaka Kimura
, currently known by her stage name as Ayaka Nagate , is an actress currently signed to Tristone Entertainment...

, a former member of the Tsunku-produced Coconuts Musume
Coconuts Musume
is a group from Hello! Project that was formed and promoted as the "girls from Hawaii". After nine years, the group officially disbanded when Ayaka Kimura graduated from Hello! Project.- Members :* 1998–2008 –...

), as were some of the voice cues. There were plans to include the Japanese songs in the music player section, but they were removed due to space restrictions. Soundtrack albums for the game have been released in Japan, but not in North America.
The European version has been fully translated in Spanish, English, French, German, and Italian language, including the songs.

Development

Rhythm Heaven was developed by Nintendo SP&D1 with the assistance of Tsunku
Tsunku
, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...

, a music record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, both also worked on the original Rhythm Tengoku
Rhythm Tengoku
is a music video game developed by Nintendo SPD. It was released in Japan on August 3, 2006, and was the last game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The game received an Excellence Prize for Entertainment at the 10th annual Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006...

. The conception of the game is credited to Nintendo programmer Kazuyoshi Osawa who previously worked on Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...

and WarioWare titles.

A Rhythm Heaven game for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 is in development; Nintendo president Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata
is the fourth president of Nintendo, succeeding the long-standing previous president of the company, Hiroshi Yamauchi in 2002. He was responsible in great part for defining Nintendo's strategy both before and during the release of its Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001, a vision which...

  saw potential in the game in people's living rooms: "When you see others play with the game and notice that he or she misses out on being perfectly in rhythm, it can also be surprisingly fun."

Reception

The game received a score of 34/40 in Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...

. As of 11 January 2009, Rhythm Heaven had sold 1,568,000 copies in Japan. It was also the sixth best-selling game of Japan in 2008. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 gave the game 9.0 and an Editor's Choice award, praising its creativity and gameplay, but criticizing the dubious localization of some of the songs. The game received an 8.5 from Nintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report is a Nintendo-specific video game website that covers Nintendo's current consoles, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, and Wii.-History:...

 where they praised the game's addictive and challenging gameplay. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

 gave it 7.5, saying its high difficulty limits its appeal. Gametrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...

gave the game 8.7.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK