Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure

Blog Post: Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure review: A decent mix of storytelling and rhythm games

The Monster Hunter — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 15:46:00 GMT

Rhythm games haven't always been the most popular. Most stay in a single focused line of featuring a good amount of tracks, with multiple difficulty levels and unlockables. Sega wanted change that with Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, featuring a compete story, and a little bit of puzzles. For the most part this works well for the game, but in others it fails.

When you start the game, you'll be greeted to the main protagonist in the story, Raphel (aka Phantom R) whose been searching for his father after his mysterious disappearance several years before the game begins. He manages to keep on his trail by stealing famous art pieces, finding clues on them, and returning them within three days. However, strange things begin to happen when Raphel gets closer to solving the mystery and he uncovers, a violinist whose violin has a mysterious mark similar to one his father left him and a resurrected Napoleon Bonaparte and his knights.

As you can tell from the synopsis above, the story get more interesting the farther you get in the game. The Parisian setting helps create a perfect setting for the story and makes some historical fiction in the game. Throughout the game, you'll take control of Raphel and traverse a map screen where you can visit a bunch of places in Paris and talk to the many citizens here. The game shows you where you are on the top screen and where you need to go at all times and shows you a detailed look at the area on the bottom screen. The map screen gives the game a bit of adventurous feel to the game. Each of the areas you visit has multiple things to find like coins, and hidden soundtracks for the game

Once you get to the area you need to go, you'll usually be greeted to some of the story and then solve a puzzle. Sadly, the puzzles doesn't do the game justice. The puzzles you have to solve a ridiculously simple to the point when even a monkey could solve it. Most of the puzzles you have to solve is pure memorization, a "Simon Says" type game, or matching game. Although they'll be a few puzzles where it's actually decent, but those 2 to 3 puzzles aren't enough to get over the other terrible ones.

Of course, you'll be spending most of your time playing the rhythm games, and luckily these perform well. The rhythm games provide break in through the story, giving the player a sense of control over the story. The minigame you do is based on what's going on in the story. For example, in one rhythm game you have to hid behind statues to get away from security guards, in another you'll have to win a sword fight, and in another you one you have to chase the security of your til by playing as Fondue (Raphel's loyal pet) and biting the guards butts. As you can see, the games can become very interesting. You'll be playing many new types of rhythm games while also returning to old ones. When you come back to a previous rhythm game, the game usually does enough to shake it up either by increasing the difficulty or the entire beat.

Speaking of difficulty, the game has somewhat of a problem of handling them. You're scored by a little gauge in the top right screen, showing you your grade and how well you're doing. Get "perfect", "great", or "good" will increase the gauge while missing the beat will earn you "harsh". The amount of points you lose when getting a harsh depends on the minigame. In some, it may not as bad, such as the early rhythm games you do. Later on in the game, missing one beat can result in losing two letter grades and missing beats consecutive beats will ensure failure in a matter of seconds. This especially become true when the rhythm game is almost over and you get to third and final section of the game where the beat changes. Often times, getting a harsh here means you won't be getting 'A' sometimes, not even a 'B' or 'C'

However, despite these difficulty issues, Rhythm Thief also provides enough hand holding to counter that. In almost every rhythm game, there's a guide that helps you keep the beat. Then there's always audio cues, character gestures and more to help you out. If this doesn't help then you use the shop before every rhythm game to buy helpful items like decrease the amount of points reduced when getting a harsh, and replenishing the gauge when it empties. These usually help you out significantly, but possibly, not always.

Even though the rhythm game itself may be difficult, the controls never are. In each of the rhythm games, the controls are fairly simple. Some may have you use the touch screen to tap or slide, some will have you only use the face buttons, and some may have you use a combination of both. And then you have the gyroscope rhythm games, which are usually not implemented well. These would've been okay if they weren't forced and were completely optional, but you'll run into a couple games that use gyro in the main story. On the map screen, you control Raphel with Circle Pad or control pad, while tapping for clues, or talking to people on the bottom screen.

For being a music game, Rhythm Thief has a big and nice soundtrack. Although it takes place in Paris, you get a lot of Jazz and J-pop tunes along with classic accordion music. Despite, the types listed before, you won't find other types of music, so you may not like it if you absolutely hate those types of music. Otherwise, you'll eventually warm up to the music and find favorites when playing through the game. Voice acting does help characterize the main characters, but everyone else will sound silly and often times downgrades an otherwise top notch cast of actors.

The graphics in the game are beautiful when you see animated cutscenes. You really see the beauty of the game when you see Raphel and co. run through the city in it. When you transition to the rhythm games, it loses some of this shine, and the character models will look like stiff mannequins dancing around. The 3D modeling gets the job done, but nothing jaw dropping, unlike the 2D sections.

You might have expected this game to be a short game, and you are right. You can blast through the game in about ten hours, however, the game actually feels finished. The story won't drag on and actually end with a huge cliffhanger. For the players who will go after the optional rhythm games, the extra story options when you beat the game, get the highest scores possible, the game can easily last you more than 20 hours.

Conclusion: Rhythm Thief has a lot heart and soul in the game. The story and rhythm games will provide a lot of fun for players, however the game comes with some issues with the difficulty, the super easy puzzles, and the forced gyro controls in some rhythm games. Despite these issues, anyone can have fun with this game if you're willing to give the game the chance it deserves.

Pros & Cons list

Pros

+ 1.5 light hearted, enjoyable story
+ 1 beautifully animated characters and settings
+1.5 variety of great rhythm games

Cons

- 0.75 quirky scoring system
-0.5 super easy puzzles
- 0.25 forced gyro in some rhythm games

7.5/10

Wiki: Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure Guides

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:40:00 GMT

Guides for Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure

Blog Post: Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure: Just Enjoy It!

Princess_Anastasia — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:40:00 GMT

I first heard about this game somewhere in the vastness of the internet around April-May. It was just a little blip on my video game radar that soon vanished, but I had marked it down as a game of interest. Then, my sister downloaded the demo from the Nintendo eShop. I downloaded it too, and got hooked.

The game is a wee bit kitschy and definitely cheesy, but it has an interesting storyline, and memorable characters. In a nutshell:

An American-accented and redheaded Parisian boy moonlights as an art thief known as Phantom R. While trying to find his father, he rescues a blonde, British-accented French girl, sword-fights a Napoleon imposter, and dodges a workaholic police inspector who will stop at nothing to catch Phantom R and send him to jail for life.

Oh by the way, the boy's father is the one who reanimated the real Napoleon Bonaparte's corpse. Sounds like a Professor Layton crossover with Elite Beat Agents + LSD. Yahoo!

The rhythm portions take some getting used to, and beginners might want to play on the first few levels several times to get the idea. The game also uses a gyroscopic (i.e. shake it) movement in a few of the rhythm levels, which makes no sense to me. I can't see the screen long enough to shake the 3DS in the correct direction, and there were several times I was about to chuck the entire system across the room.

The music is catchy, especially the title theme. It will get stuck in your brain! If you enjoy jazz, then this is a game for you. Raphael's dance numbers start off awesome and slightly dwindle as the game progresses on, but there are plenty of good moments. Raphael is a teenager of many talents; from dancing to hand-to-hand combat, he's one step ahead of his opponents but just in time with the beat.

The major downfall of the game concerns the plot. The game could have been made another good 20 hours longer and not had a cliff-hanger. Once all the "extras" have been unlocked, Raphael is no closer to finding his father than he was at the beginning of the game. I really hope that a sequel comes out just so Raphael can find his dad and I can have some closure. I hate half-finished endings. Maybe Raphael will then man up enough to ask Marie out on a real date...

So despite the plot holes, horribly inaccurate French accents, and goofy dialogue ("Hey, its my top cheese!") this game is charming and unique. Throw in a dash of historical fiction in for good measure, plus some really jazzy tunes, and you have a cute game that is just cheesy enough to make you smile and shake your head as you indulge in it like a guilty pleasure. So go and just enjoy it!

Cheers for now!

Blog Post: An Attempt To Revive the Rhythm Genre

Kimberley Wallace — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:32:00 GMT

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure strives to innovate the rhythm genre’s tried-and-true formula by adding an interactive story to complement the gameplay. The result? Sega proves rhythm games can exceed expectations and move into new territory, but not without a few missteps. [Excerpt]

Set in Paris, the narrative centers on the missing casket of Napoleon Bonaparte and a ritual to revive the Little Corporal. The main character, Raphael, takes a special interest in the mystery when his father turns up missing. Fearing a connection to the stolen casket, he assumes a secret identity called “Phantom R,” donning a flashy suit and fedora. The narrative is charming, but doesn’t have the same pull as other graphic adventure titles like Professor Layton or Ace Attorney. The characters are quirky, but not vibrant enough to be memorable. Still, the plot twists and unfolding mystery should keep you tapping to the beats.

Despite a large focus on the story mode, Rhythm Thief never forgets its musical roots and does a great job shaking up its gameplay. The basic structure consists of exploring for clues followed by a rhythmic minigame. These minigames are constantly changing; some are quirky, like using your dog to bite security guards’ rears, while others are intense, like soccer matches. The game also pays homage to some of Sega’s older rhythm games, with stages in the vein of Space Channel 5 and Samba De Amigo. Rarely are minigames repeated, and if they are, they include a variation. The controls follow suit. Some minigames purely focus on tapping the stylus, others use button presses, and a handful even combine the two.

Strategy also constantly shifts between visual and sound pattern recognition, so you must pay attention to every part of the experience, as it could cue you to your next button push or stylus tap. Unfortunately, for a rhythm game, the music is uninspired. The tracks aren’t the driving force. Instead, the intensity of the gameplay and the unfolding story take center stage. The classical tunes for the violin sequences are the best of the bunch, while the kitschy J-pop tunes aren’t catchy enough. The questionable beats are disappointing, especially considering all the creativity infused into the minigames.

Another drawback to Rhythm Thief is that, in its pursuit of variety, it tries to do too much. For instance, some levels use the 3DS’s gyroscope. The idea is well-intentioned, but the controls are more frustrating than fun. This is especially apparent when the gyroscope controls are inverted in a flight minigame. Puzzles are another weakness; they don’t bring anything new to the table and are absurdly easy. That doesn’t carry over to the rhythm aspect, though, as an adequate challenge awaits the musically inclined with a hard mode. Unfortunately, easy mode is absent, so beginners may find Rhythm Thief daunting. The unforgiving difficulty means missing one button tap can knock your score back two letter grades.

The opening scene of Rhythm Thief professes, “Imagination rules the world,” and what it delivers follows suit. For its minor slip-ups, the game still innovates in the rhythm genre by offering a real story. If anything, the final product proves that extra creativity can make a difference, but it needs to be spread through all aspects of a game to make it a top contender.

[View:1775689070001]

File: Rhythm Thief review screens