Why Rhythm Heaven Fever is everything a rhythm game should be: A Review

Piano lessons since age 5, band and choir during high school, dance lessons, guitar lessons, jazz band...yeah, you could say music has been a big part of my life. My first encounter with the rhythm video game genre came in the form of Guitar Hero II on PlayStation 2. I was probably 14-ish.

The first Rhythm Heaven game for Nintendo DS, paired with the game Samba de Amigo for Wii opened up my mind to the fact that Guitar Hero and Rock Band aren't the only rhythm video games out there. And they certainly aren't the best.

Rhythm Heaven Fever is the best rhythm game I've ever played. And, hey, I've played my fair share of Guitar Hero. In Rhythm Heaven Fever, everything just comes together in one solid package.

So what is the Rhythm Heaven formula? The player takes part in a variety of rhythm-based activities, each with its own original tune. In Fever, only two buttons are used for this: A and B. This places wonderful emphasis on the music and gameplay. The game isn't bogged down with gimmicky peripherals or imprecise motion control, yet it has a richness to it. This may be due to the copious amounts of sheer charm. While one game will have you high-fiving monkeys from the second hand of a clock, the next might have you playing badminton at an altitude of 8,000 feet, all to the beat of an infectious song. I can assure you that each and every activity in Fever will tickle your giddy nerves in some way.

Fever is set up in a way that promotes maximum satisfaction. What do I mean by this? Well, I'll start with the basics. You'll unlock a single mini-game at a time by getting a rating of at least "OK" on the previous game. The games come in columns of five, the final one being a remix of the first four. Remixes are the greatest challenges of the game, but they form the backbone of what turns out to be an excellent, balanced difficulty curve.

Fever also has a great rewards system. Normally, there are only three simple ratings to achieve on a particular song: Try Again, OK, or Superb. An OK rating will get you past a song, but Superb will earn you a medal. Medals "buy" in-game extras like "Endless Games" and "Rhythm Toys". You can also earn a perfect score on a game, but only when the game grants you the opportunity. Earning perfect scores is not the easiest task, especially considering you only get a limited amount of tries when the opportunity arises. If you miss an opportunity, it will open up again eventually, but perfect scores unlock music and humorous reading material. Unlockables are not offered on a neat little platter to the gamer's face, which fuels a drive to play new games and even replay old favorites. It's a deeply satisfying format.

Rhythm Heaven Fever does offer a two-player mode. However, only a fraction of the main collection of mini-games make their way to this portion of the game. In addition, online function is non-existent in this game. To me, however, these are two minor issues that are more than compensated for in the rest of the game. And with a nifty entry price of $29.99, it's not likely I'll find a bigger bang for my buck in a long time.

Conclusion
Rhythm Heaven Fever gets a Superb rating from me. It offers a simple, uncluttered control scheme and interface to place more focus on what matters: the music, the beat, the rhythm, whatever you want to call it! It does it all with style and a satisfying rewards system. The two-player modes lacks, but at least it's there! Though it lacks any kind of online features, Rhythm Heaven Fever is a can't-miss experience on the Wii console.