Rhythm Tengoku



Gameboy Advance (JPN)
1 Player
Reviewed on March 25,2008

Everyone needs to play this game! It is a Japanese game, but since it was released on the Gameboy Advance means that it is region free. So anyone can buy it and play it on their Gameboy Advances or Nintendo DSs. Rhythm Tengoku received an Excellence Prize for Entertainment at the 10th annual Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006. It is simple, cute, easy to pick up and fun without any reservations! If there ever was a reason to pick up a Gameboy Micro, this is the game you would have in it so that you can play it anytime and anywhere! The literature translation of Rhythm Tengoku is “Rhythm Heaven” or “Rhythm Paradise.”

I got two of my younger siblings to play it and they absolutely adored it. At first I had to explain it to them how the game worked. Not because they do not understand the Japanese language but more that this was a rhythm game. I found myself the next morning with them asking me questions about how to play a couple of specific levels. Once they understood the general premise they where able to play the majority of the game on their own!

Now Rhythm Tengoku has a style all its own. Made by the same team that made the WarioWare games, there are many similarities between the two. With Rhythm Tengoku there are no bars or life meters. It keeps the illusion that it is not a game but you are watching and experiencing it. It operates on a pass or fail system of “Redo, Mediocre, or High Level.” The results are calculated at the end of the level, so the game play does not ever get interrupted. Each levels range from 2-5 minutes each. Majority of times you will only be using the “A” button but some games will require you to use the directional pad as well. There is only 2 of the levels that actually have you use the Directional pad, A and B buttons in it. Just press the button with the rhythm.

You will fall love with so many levels and their music while playing them. Once you get a high level on any of the levels, you unlock “Perfect Campaign." This mode will automatic choose a level in which you will have only 3 chances to complete a level perfectly. In order to get another "Perfect Campaign" chance, you have to get another high level on any of the other levels. This increases the amount of replay time to motivate you to achieve a perfect in every level!

There are a total of 8 stages with 6 levels in each stage combining to form a total of 48 levels to play! The first 5 levels of each stage are individual and unique. Once you learn how the 5 levels work, the 6th level is a remix involving the previous 5 levels combined. Once you get to stages 6, 7 and 8, each 6th level is remix selection involving all the previous levels played.

The most important part is any rhythm game is the music. This is where Rhythm Tengoku really places itself high on the bar! There are a couple of songs that actually use vocals which is very nice.

The game is very cute and very fun! The way the game is setup the average passerby will wonder what you are doing since it does not look like a game. After completing it exhaustively, I will still take out this game while on the train to kill a good 15 minutes. Also, an arcade version was made in Japan that contained a two-player mode and a “tempo up” mode that increased the game to twice its speed. I shall leave you with the comment, “Go out and buy Rhythm Tengoku; or least check it out!”