Endless-play minigames, musical toys, and a virtual cafe for listening to the in-game music tracks are among a standard array of extras to open up. But going back to hone your skills and striving for the highest score ranking earns you medals for unlocking extra goodies. You can get by with just a passing rating and still have a lot of fun.

Playing through and unlocking all of the minigames doesn't have to be a pressure-cooker ordeal. Thankfully, every minigame starts off with its own call-and-response tutorial to give you a chance to learn the rules and try out the core rhythms before throwing you into the fray. It's not always clear where the line between pass and fail is drawn, and even experienced music-minded folks may struggle a bit from the mid-stages onward. Your performance is scored for accuracy after every stage, and missing too many beat prompts forces you to replay the level again and again until you hit the satisfactory score benchmark. Nailing precise timing in the tougher challenges takes some practice, especially during the frenzied remix stages that mash up snippets of previous levels into one zany tune. While the snappy rhythm gameplay is accessible and easy to pick up, mastering it is a different story.Īirborne badminton: just a little taste of the weirdness. They give a tighter, quicker reaction time than when you used the stylus to tap or flick in the original Rhythm Heaven. But as stages quickly get harder and you're expected to memorize more complicated multipart rhythm patterns and faster beats, the simplicity in controls is welcome. All of the music tracks are a distinct, catchy mix of mostly instrumental Japanese pop, rock, 8-bit, and hip-hop grooves that really complement the quirky presentation.įever's ultrasimple two-button control scheme seems a little too basic at first because each minigame only uses the A button alone or the A and B buttons together. Whether you're screwing in robot heads on an assembly line, using a samurai sword to cleave ghosts spewing from a haunted house, or flexing your manly lucha libre muscles for a horde of paparazzi, the clever connection between each unusual setting andits special twist on the rhythm gameplay is simply delightful. You press buttons in specific rhythmic patterns along to the audio and visual cues laid down by the game's vibrant characters. Seeing what wackiness will be thrown at you next is a big part of Fever's humorous appeal, but the endearing presentation is more than mere window dressing, and the onscreen action in every silly scene matches up perfectly with the beat of the music. Each of the 50-plus unlockable activities has its own little musical ditty and unique art style that set it apart from the rest, making every game a different experience. Offering up an all-new mix of button-tapping, laugh-inducing minigames, Fever deviates little from Rhythm Heaven's basic formula.

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