Update: July 31, 2008
«©NCSX» The original Rhythm (Heaven) Tengoku game for the Gameboy Advance sold over 300,000 copies. We recall having to restock the game many times until there was no more to be had from Japan. Fast forward two years and Nintendo releases a sequel which features more simple rhythm games with singular objectives.
In the original Rhythm Tengoku, the mini-rhythm-games were trifling in scope but challenging in practice. To register hits, the button tapping had to be very precise. Any lag was generally registered as a miss as aptly demonstrated in the introductory beat meter exercise. Rhythm Tengoku Gold features another collection of simple yet challenging mini-games that require exacting stylus tapping and swishing.
View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
Relevant Link(s):
Rhythm Tengoku
Region-Free
Japanese NDS games may be played on North American and European NDS handhelds. There is no region-coding on Nintendo DS game cards.
NCS Game Notes:
» Rotate the Nintendo DS 90 degrees counterclockwise and hold it open like a book because you're going to be playing the rhythm games that way.
» At the title screen, the default setting is for right-handed players but if you're left-handed, tap the aqua-blue colored button on the upper-left portion of the screen to bring up a dialog box. If you wish to play the game left-handed, tap on the button on the left to toggle left-handed orientation of the Nintendo DS.
» To start the game, tap on the circle in the center of the screen and then flick the touchpen upwards. You'll be able to select a save-slot and you're on your way.
» A tutorial will start up which shows how to tap the screen to make a disc appear and then flick the touchpen upwards to send the disc flying into a little frog. The frog has six hearts. Your job is to flick the disc at the frog until all of its hearts are gone and it gets knocked down. The next exercise sends blue cars rolling across the screen and your mission is to send the disc into the cars to knock them over. Overturn five cars and you're on to the first proper rhythm game.
» The INITIAL rhythm mini-game has you whacking a pole into two squares which are tumbling towards the center of the screen. Each square has a hole in the middle and they'll meet up in the center of the screen so that the holes line up. Your timing has to be perfect to send the pole shooting into the two holes just as the squares meet up. If your timing is exact, the pole will fly into the two squares and push the whole shebang into a conveyer belt below. Smite the pole too early and it'll fly off the screen or knock the two squares into a jumbled mess below. The squares will move with variable speeds to spice up the action and there's even a point where only the center of the screen can be viewed while the rest is blacked out.
» The SECOND rhythm game is a singing exercise. A conductor stands in the foreground while three singers stand in the background. Watch the first two singers and then mimic their actions. For example, the first singer might sound off for a second and then stop followed by the second singer who belts one out for a second. To mimic them, lift the touchpen off the screen for one second so your singer can make some noise and then tap it back down so that the singing stops. Occasionally, the conductor will request screaming and that's your cue to swish the stylus across the touch screen. You can gauge your performance by watching the expressions of the other two singers. If they appear unchanged, you did well. If their faces shown consternation, you've botched the cues. This is one of the more difficult games in Rhythm Tengoku because you'll have to time the length and duration of each cue accurately.
» The THIRD rhythm game features an assembly line where robots are being put together in drop-down fashion. You control a hydraulic mechanism of some sort which plunges downwards as the robot moves from right to left on the conveyer belt. You'll have to plunge at the right time so that the nozzle of the mechanism hits the top of each robot. Once inserted, hold the touch pen on the touch screen so that a reddish liquid is pumped into the bot until it reaches the top. Once full, remove the touch pen and the mechanism will lift off. If you under fill or overfill the robot, you'll get a nix sound and a miscue signal.
» The FOURTH rhythm game bumps up the challenge - note the vocal instructions are
in Japanese but you can figure out how to play by watching the monkeys. In the preliminary training session, three monkeys have their backsides towards the screen and you'll be performing hand clapping according to the vocal cues. There's a tricky sequence where you'll have to clap followed by two quick claps and a jump. Each cue must be performed by tapping on the touch screen with deft movements or you'll get glares from the two monkeys. Once you get through the training session, a stage appears along with a gang of monkeys who are facing the stage. A J-Pop idol appears and starts singing. You'll basically have to alternate sequences of claps as follows:
^First sequence: Clap four times in a row in the meter determined by the singer's
voice.
^Second sequence: Clap once followed by two quick claps and a jump (stylus swish)
These two sequences will alternate throughout the J-Pop idol's short singing session.
» At the end of the first set of games, you'll play snippets of all of the four rhythm games in rapid-fire succession where each game lasts for about 2-3 seconds before the next game is presented.
» After completing the first set of games and the end-level challenge, the second set of games starts off with a Ping-Pong game that requires stylus swishing action to smack the ping pong ball. The computer-controlled opponent always serves and will send out a series of normal sweeping motions, overhead lobs, and rapid-fire serves. You'll have to time to ball properly and smack it so that it goes over the net instead of to the side of the playfield. Once you get into the rhythm of the back-and-forth action, you'll be able to smack the ball like a fine-tuned automaton.
» Similar to the original Rhythm Tengoku, the Nintendo DS sequel is a demanding taskmaster. Your tapping motions and stylus swishing must be on point, precise, and dead accurate. If you're not, you'll fail the task and have to start all over again. The games are simple but cleverly designed so that they'll have you staring at the screen and responding to the cues with studious concentration. When the first Rhythm Tengoku was released a couple of years ago, there was nothing like it in the market. The game was fresh, original, and addictive. The sequel also presents a fresh and unique perspective on the rhythm gaming genre that probably won't be replicated successfully by another developer.