In the American release, the endless game “Manzai” is replaced with “Mr. This is probably the best of the original trilogy, though it’s outdone by the ultimate game in the series, Rhythm Heaven Megamix for the 3DS. You’re just given a handful of songs from the game, and need to repeat the riffs. The drum lessons are gone, replaced with guitar lessons, which aren’t nearly as complicated, and thus not quite as fun. There are still a number of bonus Endless Games and toys to play with, and they’re a bit more fleshed out than they were in the original. The sound quality is definitely a step up, but Rhythm Tengoku was pretty damn good for a GBA game, so it’s not vastly improved. Graphically, it’s about on par with the DS game but at a higher resolution, although a scant few games use 3D visuals, and some of the remixes show off more varied graphics. This one feels like it relies a bit too much on Space Channel 5-style “Simon Says” type games, whereas the original had a better mix. The music itself is outstanding, although honestly, the characters, songs, and levels in the first game are a bit better. Thankfully, the “coffee” option is still there if you need to skip a game just to get on to the next one.

Maybe it’s just the touch screen mechanics or maybe the grading has just gotten harsher, but some of them get pretty brutal. This game also seems significantly harder than the original. It’s an executive board meeting of pigs, where you need to impress your clients with your chair spinning abilities.

In addition to the usual assortment of Endless games, there are also a few songs to unlock from the older versions. There’s also a multiplayer mode similar to the arcade game, where you match your rhythm with a friend on two-player variations of certain games. There’s also an option for a demo so you can hear how the beats are supposed to sound, which is vital to at least one of the games. The setup is identical to the previous games. Many games also have a “goal”, by hitting certain segments of the song, which will grant you an extra congratulations on the ranking screen. It works much like the GBA game, where you tape the A button to most beats, except occasionally you’ll also have to press both A and B at the same time. And thankfully, having learned its lessons from the shiftiness of the stylus controls in the DS game, there are absolutely no motion controls at all. The series has never had a problem artistically, but now the graphics are much sharper, and the sound quality much clearer. Rhythm Heaven heads to the Wii with the third installment, and it’s nice to have it on a big screen, especially since the arcade game never saw release outside of Japan.

Wrestler interview rhythm heaven