Musically Inclined

Rhythm Tengoku (translated "Rhythm Heaven") was another Japan-only release, and one that will probably never be duplicated. The best way to describe it is Wario Ware, Inc. meets the rhythm genre—and indeed, it was done by the Wario Ware team, and carried on their trademark wackiness. No Nintendo characters make appearances (thankfully?), and the result was, as fellow N-Sider Brandon Daiker put it, "one of the best three-or-four day non-stop gaming sweet experiences I've ever had".

All of the 48 challenges in Rhythm Tengoku in some way measure your ability to keep the beat. What changes is how you're challenged. In one stage, you'll find yourself exfoliating vegetables (which, of course, makes them very happy) by repeating rhythm patterns. In another, you'll play a lovely young thing in a dance troupe, following the cues of your troupe's monkey leader. Still another challenge gives you the opportunity to do karaoke of sorts, clapping along with the joyous strains of a matsuri festival.


Completing stages perfectly or nearly-so will own you a gold medal, and medaled stages are eligible for the perfect challenge: play it through completely without messing up and you'll earn a perfect heart for that stage. A number of rhythm minigames are also present, including a drumming challenge and Wario Ware-like toys.

Rhythm Tengoku is certainly like no other entry in this genre; in fact, if it weren't based around the notion of following cues and hitting the beat, I'd hesitate to put it in the genre at all. Regardless of what you call it, it's a delightfully bizarre and addictive musical experience that demands you give it a whirl, if only because you'll never see anything like it again. Well, except perhaps the arcade game...


Japan has a curious cultural phenomenon called "ouendan": a cheer squad made up of decidedly manly men who give morale support to those in need. iNiS' Keiichi Yano created a touch-based game concept involving these men and pitched it to a producer at Nintendo who was actually a member of an ouendan. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan was born.

Ouendan's gameplay is entirely touch-based. Hit markers appear on the screen, and shrinking cue circles enclose them to give you an indication as to when you must tap them. Phrase markers extend this by having you trace paths, and gigantic spinning wheels encourage you to wear a circular path on your touch screen to get the most points. Ouendan really shines is on the higher levels, as following the markers begins to feel like dancing with the stylus in your hands.


Nintendo of America took note of the Ouendan import phenomenon and had iNiS make a brand-new franchise out of the same gameplay: Elite Beat Agents. Folded into the new game was, on top of a more Western theme, what are generally regarded as the series' high points in storytelling and chart design. A sequel to Ouendan followed shortly after in Japan, bringing Agents' gameplay improvements back to the original franchise as well as challenges well-suited to the Ouendan master.

Although Ouendan isn't a runaway success alongside the Brain Ages, Zeldas, and Marios that Nintendo pushes, it manages to hold its own quite nicely. Provided iNiS is still interested in making the games, it's likely we'll see more entries going forward.


On top of all these big names, the genre is beginning to make appearances in more unlikely places—prominent among these being games for kids in both Japan and elsewhere. Some examples:

• Movie-based Nintendo DS game Happy Feet has a game that at least resembles Ouendan gameplay on its surface, though the execution doesn't appear to be nearly as good. Also notably missing are the crazy scenarios from both Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents—but maybe, just maybe, it might get kids hooked and get them to upgrade.
• Japanese fans of Pinky Street dolls got a surprisingly good game in the form of Kirakira Music Hour. The game, played holding the DS book-style, puts three panels on the touch screen which you must tap, swipe, and sometimes roll on by swiping left and right, depending on cues and set to synthesized music that partially follows your performance, giving you an aural indication of how well or how badly you're doing.
• Also in Japan, Namco Bandai's Nodame Cantabile anime-based game has a number of not-particularly-challenging but still-fun conducting challenges where you need to tap markers floating across the screen as well as follow paths trailing out from some, set to classical music. A Taiko Drum Master minigame that's also not particularly challenging, but fun nonetheless, makes a smaller appearance.

Where we go from here is pretty clear: the genre is here to stay. Whether we will continue to get wildly great games like some of those detailed here is perhaps less certain. Seeing what Wii can offer the genre going forward will be particularly interesting—Electronic Arts, of all companies, is starting to make some strides in this direction with upcoming all-singing, all-dancing (literally) title Boogie—going so far as to include a USB microphone alongside the software. In the meantime, brush up on your rhythm. You'll be needing it.