I was so pleasantly surprised by this game!
The only experience I'd had with the series previously was Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii and I enjoyed it enough, but I wasn't sure how the series' worldwide debut would compare.
As a Rhythm game there are really two critical elements that need to be nailed for a satisfying experience: the music needs to be good and the controls need to be responsive enough that losing feels fair. Needless to say, Nintendo SPD nailed both. The tracks in the game vary in terms of how fleshed out the music is, but I always found them catchy and it was always easy to understand what beats the game wanted me to hit. This was in no small part due to the call-and-response style that the game sticks with throughout its run time. The controls are simple and responsive: tap the touch screen and/or flick it depending on the action required. I never felt like my inputs were missed or registered without me touching the screen.
With the fundamentals out of the way, why else do I love this game so much? For one, the game has a sense of absurd humor that pervades everything from the characters (the chorus boys are by no means the wackiest cast members) to the game over screens. Visually, the game is also stunning: all of the pixel art is crisp and the polygonal elements are used sparingly. Once you've explored the rest of the game, there's side content that's pretty engaging but is obviously meant as a distraction.
Something worth mentioning is that the DS is held on its side, like a book, for the entirety of the game. Some games adopted this as a gimmick but I feel like it genuinely enhances the experience of the game here by making the flicking motion much less restricted.
This game also deals with difficulty in a fascinating way. After playing for a certain length of time, a level you've previously beaten is highlighted and you're incentivized to shoot for a perfect score on it. However, the catch is that you only get 3 tries after which another level gets highlighted. This ups the stakes when you're going for completion and de-incentivizes grinding a particular level until you happen to get one perfect run by chance.
Anyone who has a DS owes it to themself to give this game a go. If you're into rhythm games or love the absurdist humor of the Wario Ware series you have even more reason to check this gem out.
The only experience I'd had with the series previously was Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii and I enjoyed it enough, but I wasn't sure how the series' worldwide debut would compare.
As a Rhythm game there are really two critical elements that need to be nailed for a satisfying experience: the music needs to be good and the controls need to be responsive enough that losing feels fair. Needless to say, Nintendo SPD nailed both. The tracks in the game vary in terms of how fleshed out the music is, but I always found them catchy and it was always easy to understand what beats the game wanted me to hit. This was in no small part due to the call-and-response style that the game sticks with throughout its run time. The controls are simple and responsive: tap the touch screen and/or flick it depending on the action required. I never felt like my inputs were missed or registered without me touching the screen.
With the fundamentals out of the way, why else do I love this game so much? For one, the game has a sense of absurd humor that pervades everything from the characters (the chorus boys are by no means the wackiest cast members) to the game over screens. Visually, the game is also stunning: all of the pixel art is crisp and the polygonal elements are used sparingly. Once you've explored the rest of the game, there's side content that's pretty engaging but is obviously meant as a distraction.
Something worth mentioning is that the DS is held on its side, like a book, for the entirety of the game. Some games adopted this as a gimmick but I feel like it genuinely enhances the experience of the game here by making the flicking motion much less restricted.
This game also deals with difficulty in a fascinating way. After playing for a certain length of time, a level you've previously beaten is highlighted and you're incentivized to shoot for a perfect score on it. However, the catch is that you only get 3 tries after which another level gets highlighted. This ups the stakes when you're going for completion and de-incentivizes grinding a particular level until you happen to get one perfect run by chance.
Anyone who has a DS owes it to themself to give this game a go. If you're into rhythm games or love the absurdist humor of the Wario Ware series you have even more reason to check this gem out.