The games are always simple, but in keeping them so the focus for more skilled players becomes more about perfect runs than it is just survival. I love Rhythm games anyway, as my hundreds of Rock Band DLC songs can attest, but the simplicity here turns it into something deceptively addictive and lovable. Other games have a visual consistency that matches the music, but then yank that out from under you by removing the visual cue leaving only the rhythm.

Sometimes the game will fade music down to encourage you to count on your own or watch the visuals. The game is well aware of its visual element and uses it well. So entranced was I that on a train a grumpy old man tapped me on the shoulder to whine about my foot-tapping.

You slip into that trance-like state, and suddenly your foot is aggressively tapping along to keep the rhythm. The music is always memorable and perfectly built for the mini-game in question. The linked clips are from the Wii game, but these games are a few of several to make a return here on 3DS.Īll you do in those games is press A and occasionally B, but they're amazing. The same is true of that bloody cat that goes 'Ba bam bu bum'. 'Wubadubaduba is that true?' is something that's been seared into my memory since 2011. One mini-game from the Wii version, Ringside, makes a return here, and I was ecstatic. It's like Rez, really, but rather than psychedelic visuals Rhythm Paradise goes for cute cartoon characters and sound effects. The characters are well-written but simple sketches, often by design walking cliches: and that's because this is really all about the rhythm. Its narrative is instead twee and sweet, and the game has a rather earnest tone that thanks you for playing it repeatedly. The game even acknowledges this at the first, gleefully noting this isn't one of gaming's 'big and serious' stories. The promotion for the game boasts that this is the first time it features a story, but none of that really matters. The series has appeared on the GBA, DS, Wii and now appears here on the 3DS.

'All you do in those games is press A and occasionally B, but they're amazing. Some of you might already know the Rhythm Paradise series, a simple set of games that task players with numerous simple rhythm-based challenges that last a couple of minutes a piece. We're often a bit more focused on the big triple-A titles here on VG247, but every now and then one of us sneaks the time to write a story like this for a game that just bloody well deserves it. It's simple and, dare I say, almost perfect. It gets rid of all the possible complexities and strips everything right back: It's just about a button press. Rhythm Paradise (Rhythm Heaven in North America) is one of the best examples of that out there. Sometimes, the best thing a game can possibly do is focus. This game is tiny, but listen - it's amazing.

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