Rhythm Paradise

Rhythm Heaven Fever Review

Nintendo's Rhythm series made its debut outside of Japan three years ago with Rhythm Heaven for the Nintendo DS. This fun, quirky title proved surprisingly addictive, and instantly became a fan favorite - its outlandish style and simple yet challenging gameplay even appealing to those not usually into the rhythm genre. Now, for the first time, this same idea is being applied to a full console release with Rhythm Heaven Fever. If you loved the original games, prepare for more zaniness where that came from. However, a handful of glaring problems hold the whole thing back. The basic idea is almost entirely unchanged from prior releases. Fever comes with 50 all new mini-games, 10 of which are remix challenges that mash up the gameplay from the prior four levels. Each game has its own set of rules, its own style and its own music. Beat each game with a passing score to unlock the next. The main difference is that instead of tapping and flicking the stylus, the Wii version has you pressing the A and/or B button to the beat. It's simple, to be sure, but the difficulty comes in the timing and execution of each rhythm exercise, and the further you play the happier you'll be that the controls aren't unnecessarily complex.