Monkeying Around With Rhythm Heaven Fever

A couple of blogs ago I wrote about my favorite music and rhythm games and I said that if I felt like it, I’d write another blog about Rhythm Heaven Fever. Well, I feel like it so here’s a silly blog with a mini-review and a rundown of the main games featured. So let’s go!

Mini-Review

I’ll start with just a short mini-review and overview of the game. It’s basically a collection of short rhythm based games that only last about two or three minutes long. It’s a little bit like WarioWare, which makes sense because they’re made by the same folks! There was a Rhythm Heaven game on the DS, but as I said in my last blog on the subject, I didn’t like it because of the flicking touch screen controls. Well that’s one thing they fixed in the Wii version because all you use is the A and B buttons, and it works a LOT better. I almost think that at one point, they wanted the game to have motion controls, considering a lot of the games involve typical Wii activities like swinging a sword, using a see-saw, etc. But I think at some later juncture, the makers decided it wasn’t as much fun. I wish other game companies did that when it came to Wii motion games! I would say that sometimes it felt like the game wouldn’t register my button presses, but I don’t want to blame my lack of rhythm on the controls ALL the time!

My main problem with Rhythm Heaven Fever is the same as a quibble I had with the DS version. It’s the challenge level, which I feel was set too steep. You see, the game is a bit misleading in that it makes it feel inviting to play. The box says it has something for everyone, and even in the game they say that everyone has rhythm, even if they don’t know it. But when you actually play the games, they’re not easy and if you are a bit rhythmically challenged, you’ll get frustrated. And even though this game is rated E, I would only recommend it to older kids who have experience with music because I think it would frustrate younger gamers. Yes, you can skip to the next song if you have trouble with one (except for some songs like Remix 7), but I still think a lot of casual Wii gamers will feel off put by the game’s difficulty. I’ve even read some newspaper reviews bashing this game for that reason. If you want a good idea of how the non-hardcore crowd views games, newspaper reviews are a good point of view.

Anyway, so while I do like Rhythm Heaven Fever more than the DS version, it’s still not perfect. It’s very fun, but also very flawed. I wish that the makers would go back to doing WarioWare games, which I liked better. So for my final rating, just as the game always rated my music scores as “OK” and “Eh, good enough,” I’m going to have my revenge and say that the game is OK and eh, good enough. How does that feel, huh, game? Getting a little taste of your own medicine, huh? Oooo, BURN!

More Than Meets the Eye

And that’s my mini-review. Before I get started with the rundown of the main games, I’d like to point out there are more games that what I’m going to list. By performing well on songs you can earn medals, and when you have enough, you can unlock more goodies. Like Rhythm Toys, which let you play around with things like a car or cell phone. There are also Endless Games that keep going until you miss, like a jump rope game over a metronome, or a challenge where you must hit the button at the right time to wake up a cuckoo clock bird. There are also two player games that I haven’t tried yet because no one wants to play Rhythm Heaven Fever with me. I’m so ronrey. Ha ha! Plus there are some extra games from the DS version to unlock as well.

Remixes

Another type of game I won’t go into here are the remixes. After every four stages, you’ll play a song that mixes up those four. Kind of like a boss stage. They also have a different theme, like tropical, prehistoric, outer space, heavy metal, etc. My favorite is Remix 3, which has lyrics. It’s a cheesy song, but fun to play as a game (not sure why it has a chef theme, though). It’s a little embarrassing for me to admit I like it, but here’s a YouTube link if you want to hear the song. Also, when you finish Remix 7 (which you can’t skip), the game shows the credits but you’ll still have games to play. But they’re just ‘sequels’ to the main game with new songs and harder rhythms, so I won’t go into those either. So without further ado, here are the main games and my silly descriptions of them. You can tell I had fun describing some of them.

Hole in One

OK so all of a sudden I’m a professional golfer. I’m pretty darn good, too, as every swing I take; the ball goes straight to the hole. Look out, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods! Only problem is my caddy choices, which consist of a monkey and a mandrill (you’ll soon learn that Rhythm Heaven Fever is obsessed with monkeys). So I have to listen to the cues the two primates give me so I knew when to hit the golf balls they toss my way.

Screwbot Factory

One minute I’m a pro golfer, next I’m working in a robot factory. Maybe I do that in the off seasons? Anyway, this one is a lot like one of the games in the DS version. Hold the button down to screw the robots’ heads in, but make sure to release at the right time so the heads aren’t screwed on too loose or too tight. Different sized robot heads keep you on your toes.

See-Saw

Well I guess my golfing gig didn’t go so well, because now I’ve been reduced to being a playground equipment safety inspector. Me and my partner just jump on see-saws all the time to make sure they’re safe. And then we explode at the end. Watch where you are on the see-saw so you know when to hit the button when you land. Kind of reminds me of Circus Atari.

Double Date

OK so I just met the woman of my dreams and she says she’ll go out on a date with me. Luckily she’s really boring and only wants to sit on a park bench. Looks like I’ll be saving money dating her, too. Before our first date, a weasel comes along and says he’s got a date, too, and wants me to do him a favor. You see, the park bench is near a school playground and the weasel wants me to watch out for stray balls and kick them out of the way so they don’t hit him and his date. At first I wanted to say that he’s just an animal and he can go on a date anywhere he wants, so why does he have to pick HERE? But you know, I don’t want to look like a jerk in front of my date, so I agreed. So I had to kick soccer balls, basketballs, and footballs that bounce in different ways. I did pretty well, so the weasels were happy and my date said she had a good time. Sometimes it would be neat if real life were more like video games…

Fork Lifter

So it’s dinner time and someone is flicking peas at me from a mile away, and I have to listen to music cues to stab my fork at the peas when they zoom past. Even if the peas aren’t perfectly on the fork, I’ll cough instead of making a gulping sound. This is dumb; I’m not going to eat like this again!

Tambourine

So a monkey comes along and wants to play tambourine with me, and I need to repeat the same rhythm he plays. If I miss, he gets the most sickly look on his face and a frog jumps on his head!

Board Meeting

Now I’m a big business pig. Oink! And now I can attend big business board meetings. Apparently these meetings just consist of my fellow business pigs spinning around in their office chairs and stopping at the right time. I’m not sure how this helps our business model or boosts our profit margins. But at least the secretary who counts us off on our chair spinning antics is cute. Oink!

Monkey Watch

What is it with this game and monkeys? I’m a monkey riding on a second hand of a clock, and must high five each monkey that comes out of the numbers of the watch. The animations of the monkeys are very misleading, but it helps to just watch the second hand. It gets hard when you have to high five the purple monkeys on the backbeats. I had a tough time with this game, even on practice.

Working Dough

For some reason, this game reminded me of Mario’s Cement Factory. Balls of dough come out of a conveyor belt, and my co-worker bounces them to me. I then have to repeat his rhythm, and make sure to push the right button to bounce small and big mounds of dough. Kind of like the rhythm challenges in Space Channel 5.

Built to Scale

This is just like one of the first games you play in the DS game. But instead of just flicking at the right time to send a peg into a hole, you have to push the A button to bounce the peg, and then push both buttons to send the peg into the hole as the squares roll past.

Air Rally

So now I’m a pink dog and my best friend is a yellow cat. We both like to fly planes. And play badminton. At the same time! Keep the rhythm to lob the ball back and forth, but you’ll have to listen as well as watch because he’ll hit the ball at different distances, and sometimes clouds hinder your view. When my cat friend sings “Ba-dum-bum-bum” he’ll lob the ball high so you have to hit it at a different rhythm. Fun, but hard.

Figure Fighter

Now I’m a toy called a ‘muscle doll.’ I’m really skinny until you push down on a button connected to a tube, which inflates me and makes it look like I have muscles. Actually that would be a good idea for a toy; I’m surprised someone hasn’t made that yet. Anyway, in this game the muscle doll will tell you how he’ll hit a punching bag (jab, one-two, etc.), and you must hit the button to inflate him at the right time so he punches right when he’s inflated with muscle. Sometimes you’ll even punch the bag right off the hanger!

Ringside

And now I’m a pro wrestler. Man, I’m really buff and HUGE! I’m ten times the size of the lady reporter who is trying to interview me after the match. And I’m all dripping rather unnaturally with sweat, too. So disgusting. Anyway, so depending on how the reporter asks a question, I need to push buttons to either nod my head, flex, or pose for the camera. This is actually one of the easiest games on here, and the first one I scored a “Perfect” on (well, the only one so far). Because of the kookiness of this game, I bet it would be a candidate for a lot of viral videos and internet memes, too. “Wubba nubba nub, is that true?” “Eh.”

Packing Pests

One minute I’m a big business pig, and the next I’m demoted to working in a cubicle packing candy into a box. Man this is one crazy economy! Make sure to toss the candy in the box but swat the spiders away. Don’t ever eat candy made from this company, folks, they have a really bad spider infestation problem.

Micro-Row

Scientists are looking through a microscope at molecules, so now me and my microscopic friends need to dance for them to keep the scientists guessing. Pretty easy, just keep the beat and when you need to scoot three times in a row, the other molecules do a good job giving you a visual cue.

Samurai Slice

This one reminds me of the Samurai Jack cartoon. The main character looks kind of like him, and he fights little ghosts that look like mini-Akus. Swing your sword at just the right time when the ghosts pop out of a black cloud, and push both buttons to do a combo when a crowd of them emerges. There’s a backstory that will hinder your view, so you have to listen as well as watch.

Catch of the Day

What do you call a female fisherman? Fisherwoman? Fisherlady? In this game you’re a cute lady angler and must push the button to pull the line when the fish bites. Each of the three fish has a different rhythm, and you must count in your head to know when to pull up the hook. Those are some tricky fish!

Flipper-Flop

I’m a seal that looks like that little round Pokemon critter. I’m part of a crack team of militant seals, and our Eskimo drill sergeant gives us commands to march and do rolls. Those 9 flipper rolls are brutal!

Exhibition Match

I’m an all-around athlete in this game! Now I’m a baseball slugger. My friend is a cute girl pitcher in a pink uniform, but man, I look hideous! I look like King Hippo or something. She’ll pitch the ball and it goes behind a curtain and I must count in my head to swing the bat at the right time as the ball emerges (just count to four after the pitch). At the last pitch, the curtain rolls up and you find out why the ball has such a delay. A monkey catches the ball and tosses it! Those darn monkeys are at it again!

Flock Step

Now I’m a long-legged bird and must march and jump in time with the other birds in my flock. Try not to trip as it gets really crowded. For some reason, this game was really ‘trippy.’

Launch Party

Different rockets count down to zero in various ways, and you must hit the button when it gets to zero to launch them. You must watch the rocket and listen to the music cues. One of the rockets looks like a bowling pin. Is that an Orbulon WarioWare reference?

Donk-Donk

Even the game doesn’t even try to describe this one. You’re one of three tuning fork things with heads, and you pilot a rocket like a tandem bicycle. You have to alternate between eighth notes and triplet notes in 6/8 time. They don’t tell you that in the game, but I tend to pick apart music game rules sometimes.

Bossa Nova

You’re a caveman named Bossa, and your lady friend name Nova ride on a cloud and lob away flying objects like volleyballs. They come at you in a Bossa Nova rhythm, but it gets tricky when the cloud turns and you must change rhythms on the fly. Make sure not to be off and hit Nova in the back of the head as she hits things behind you!

Love Rap

I’m pretty tolerant towards different kind of music, even genres I don’t like. For instance, I had to learn to tolerate country music since me and a lot of my relatives live in the South in places like Texas and Alabama, where country music is big. But there is one kind of music I still can’t stand and that’s rap. So I don’t like this game much. Depending on the lyrics, you have to repeat what the lady rapper says at the right time with your partner. Not much of a rap song anyway since the lyrics only consist of “Crazy into you” and “Fo’ Sho’.” So yeah, I didn’t like this game, plus it was hard, too!

Tap Troupe

Never been big into tap dancing, myself. Having to push the buttons on the off beats always tripped me up here. So what’s so weird about this game? Well the dancers wear boxes on their heads, and all you see is their legs until the very end when the screen pans out and you see that they are REALLY TALL!

Shrimp Shuffle

So now I’m a shrimp in a low tide dance team called the Shrimp Scampers. The game describes this one like being in a chorus line, but I thought it was more like doing the bunny hop. It was hard because the beats felt a little off to me. If I were a shrimp, I certainly wouldn’t be dancing in this game. Those Japanese do like their tempura. I also imagined that if this were a Kinect game for kids, little ones would love jumping along with the shrimp.

Cheer Readers

You’re part of a pep squad, but instead of being at a game, you’re cheering along students in the library studying! You know how at stadiums sometimes a whole section makes pictures with large panels? Well that’s what you do here with books. Just watch the others and make sure to flip your book at the right time with the silly cheers about studying. Actually, aside from the library setting, this game isn’t too far from the norm. School activities like cheerleading, marching band, and choir use a lot of the skills found in the games in Rhythm Heaven Fever.

Karate Man

In the last game you are a karate dude and must punch trash thrown your way. It’s all in time to the beat of a song, and picture cue will tell you when to hit on the off beats or to perform a combo. And that’s that.

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