Overview
Rhythm Heaven Fever is a rhythm game for the Nintendo Wii and the latest installment in the Rhythm Heaven franchise. Like in previous versions, players are asked to complete zany tasks while keeping in rhythm in each of the game's stages. These tasks range from hitting golf balls to having a badminton match while flying a plane. The European version exclusively features the option for both the English and Japanese songs.
Gameplay
Rhythm Heaven Fever is a collection of rhythm-based minigames, set to music composed by Tsunku, a Japanese songwriter and producer most famous for his work with idol group Morning Musume. Most minigames just require the player to press the A button. However, it is necessary to listen for variations in the game's soundtrack to know when exactly you must hit the button. For example, in Air Rally, in which you play a game of badminton in the skies, the player is usually expected to hit A on every other beat. However, when he yells "Ba-bum-bum-bum!" the beat switches to half time, and hitting the button as per usual will result in missing the birdie. In addition, some games also require A and B to be pressed simultaneously, as in Samurai Slice, in which the player can perform a multitude of slashes when faced with a horde of enemies (again, accompanied by a sound cue). At the end of each stage, the player is graded with one of three grades, "Try Again", "OK", or "Superb." When the player is first progressing through the stages, he or she must obtain at least an OK rating in order to move on. If a Superb rating is obtained, the player gets a medal. After a medal is obtained in a song, the game may prompt the player to undertake a Perfect Challenge, in which the player has three chances to perform the song perfectly. If the player succeeds, a reward is unlocked and the medal changes into a "Perfect medal."
This is the first Rhythm Heaven title that uses button input to see a western release, as the previous and only prior installment to see international release was the stylus-controlled Rhythm Heaven on the Nintendo DS. When asked about why there were no gesture based minigames in the game, Satoru Iwata replied that the Wii remote was not responsive enough to actually keep up with the game.
"-Wubba-dubba-dub's that true? -Yeah!"
Stages
There are fifty stages in the main game, divided into ten tiers of five games, the last of which is always a "Remix", which combines the previous songs in the tier. Below, a list of the minigames, their runtimes (based on the official soundtrack), and short descriptions are provided.
Tier 1
- Hole in One [1:47] - Hit golf balls thrown at you by a monkey and mandrill.
- Screwbot Factory [1:32] - Screw the heads on robots on a conveyor belt.
- See-Saw [1:43] - Test a seesaw as one of two exploding creatures.
- Double Date [2:07] - Kick away the balls which threaten to hit a weasel couple.
- Remix 1 [1:38] - A tropical themed remix.
Tier 2
- Fork Lifter [1:37] - Stab the food with your fork as it races toward you.
- Tambourine [1:17] - Imitate a tambourine-playing monkey.
- Board Meeting [0:51] - Stop your chair in time with the other pig executives.
- Monkey Watch [1:44] - Operate a watch powered by high-fiving monkeys.
- Remix 2 [0:59] - A hard rock themed remix.
Tier 3
- Working Dough [2:06] - Follow the other thing-mover's lead and move the thing.
- Built to Scale [1:21] - Build widgets in time to the beat.
- Air Rally [1:47] - Play a badminton match in your airplane.
- Figure Fighter [1:34] - Help the punching doll punch the bag.
- Remix 3 [2:35] - A remix with vocals.
Tier 4
- Ringside [1:37] - Complete an interview as a wrestler, replete with photograph requests.
- Packing Pests [1:20] - Sort the candy into the box, avoiding the spiders.
- Micro-Row [1:38] - Complete a bacterial synchronized swimming routine.
- Samurai Slice [1:55] - Slice the ghosts as they come at you and retrieve the stolen item.
- Remix 4 [2:08] - A traditional Japanese themed remix.
Tier 5
- Catch of the Day [1:35] - Catch the three varieties of fish.
- Flipper Flop [1:44] - Complete the seal dance routine.
- Exhibition Match [1:46] - Hit the baseballs pitched at you.
- Flock Step [2:04] - Stay in time with the birds' march.
- Remix 5 [1:15] - A "primitive" remix.
Tier 6
- Launch Party [1:18] - Launch the rockets at the end of their countdowns.
- Donk Donk [1:26] - Operate some sort of machine controlled by some sort of creatures.
- Bossa Nova [2:07] - Bat the balls away in a bossanova rhythm.
- Love Rap [1:42] - Be the backup singer for a rapper.
- Remix 6 [1:53] - A carnival themed remix.
Tier 7
- Tap Troupe [2:04] - Complete a tap dancing routine.
- Shrimp Shuffle [1:40] - Participate in the shrimps' dance.
- Cheer Readers [1:32] - Participate in a cheerleading routine in the library.
- Karate Man [2:13] - Hit the flowerpots, barrels, and other objects thrown at you.
- Remix 7 [2:01] - A space themed remix.
Tier 8
- Samurai Slice 2 [1:38] - Slice up more ghosts and retrieve another item.
- Working Dough 2 [2:05] - Move more objects, with quiet parts in the music.
- Built to Scale 2 [1:23] - Assemble more widgets in time with faster music.
- Double Date 2 [2:06] - Kick the balls away on your date down on the farm.
- Remix 8 [1:51] - A nostalgic remix featuring a love song about unrequited love.
Tier 9
- Love Rap 2 [1:53] - Complete another rap song, with much more syncopation.
- Cheer Readers 2 [1:27] - Perform a cheerleading routine inside a museum.
- Hole in One 2 [1:52] - Hit the golf balls thrown at you, this time on a pink stage.
- Screwbot Factory 2 [1:41] - Assemble more robots by screwing on their heads.
- Remix 9 [1:52] - Another remix with vocals.
Tier 10
- Figure Fighter 2 [1:33] - Help the punching doll once more.
- Micro-Row 2 [1:38] - Complete another, jauntier, synchronized swimming routine.
- Packing Pests 2 [1:09] - Sort more candy and bugs, with a kick to the rhythm.
- Karate Man 2 [2:24] - Complete your karate training.
- Remix 10 [3:45] - A remix featuring every minigame so far.
Credits
Plays the credit song in a rhythm. This game is similar to one of the games in the Gameboy Advance version of Rhythm Heaven.
Rhythm Toys
Once medals are collected, content can be unlocked. These are toys that involve rhythm.
Name of Toy
| Toy Name | Explanation | Medals Needed |
|---|
| Toy Car | The player must pull the car and let go to see the car drive forward. | 1 |
| Police Call | Used to hear different characters in the game. The player must type in a code to hear the calls. | 7 |
| Hi Hat | It's a Hi Hat that has options to play 4 beat, 8 beat and 16 beat. | 14 |
| Rhythm Fighter | This is a vs fighting mini game where the rhythm is used to chain punches and kicks together whilst the other player must defend them, otherwise they will count as hits. | 21 |
Endless Games
These games are unlocked via medals. The difference with Extra Games, is that the game can only end when the player loses.
| Name of Game | Explanation | Medals Needed |
|---|
| Mr Upbeat (Only on the Europe and USA version) | A man is stepping over a metronome and must step to the beat. | 3 |
| Manzai Birds (Only on the Japanese version) | Two birds are performing Manzai and the play must time the punch lines to what the other bird is saying. | 3 |
| Wake-up Caller | The cuckoo in the Cuckoo Clock needs help waking up by timing exactly to the correct time | 11 |
| Munchy Monk | The monk must feed Marshal (the mascot of Rhythm Heaven) with peas and eggs. | 23 |
| Lady Cupid | This character must destroy the bomb with her arrows but must strike through the blocks. | 32 |
Extra Games
These extra games are unlocked once medals are collected. All of them are original games from the Game boy Advance version.
| Name of Game | Explanation | Medals Needed |
|---|
| The Clappy Trio | It's about timing the beat to the claps. | 35 |
| Sneaky Spirits | Fire arrows the spirits that are trying to escape | 38 |
| Power Calligraphy | This one is about writing calligraphy to the beat. | 41 |
| Tap Trial | Tap to the rhythm with the monkey partners (with giraffe included). | 44 |
Cafe
A place to see extra content. It gets unlocked after completing the first game.
Talk to Baritsa - He can give advice and also useful for skipping a game if losing more than three times.
Listen To Music - Used to hear the unlocked music in the game.
Read Something - Used to read extra content in the game.
Rhythm Test - Repeats the intro test.
Dual Play
There is also a 2 player mode as well where it compromises of 8 games plus 5 endless games. The 8 games are the same ones seen in single player but it adds an additional player with a few twists to the games itself.
- Fork Lifter [1:37] - Another fork is added and it can alternate between player 1 and player 2.
- Tambourine [1:17] - Another tambourine is added and song requires both players to cooperate with making the music.
- Ringside [1:37] - There are two wrestlers who speak to the reporter.
- Micro-Row [1:38] - The row is increased to 5 Micros which includes the 2 players.
- Flipper-Flop [1:44] - There are two rows of seals, the players are on each row.
- Launch Party [1:18} - The view for each rockets switch between player 1 and 2.
- Tap Troupe [2:04] - Both players are in the row of people. The lights change between player 1 and 2.
- Karate Man [2:24] - The players will switch in shot to attack, then it switches to the other player.
Endless Games
The games require cooperation from the other player to get though the games. Same as single player mode, the game only ends once the players lose.
| Name of Game | Description | Medals |
|---|
| Clap Trap | This game requires both players to stop the attack by grabbing with his hands. Player 1 controls the right hand whilst player 2 controls the left hand. As the game progress the attack changes. | 1 |
| Mochi Pounding | This game is about making Mochi by smacking the rice as quickly as possible. The twist is that there's no rhythm to follow, the players has 15 seconds to create their own rhythm by alernating hits in 15 seconds. There's a number on the bowl that shows how many hits are required. If someone goes out of rhythm, then the bowl breaks and has to do it again. Once complete, the difficulty increases by adding to the number of hits every level. | 2 |
| Kung fu Ball | Both players have to puch and kick a ball back and forth to each other. There are 3 lives in total and can sometimes gain lives after destroying the ball. | 4 |
| Pirate Crew | The game involves rowing a ship but must work in sync to move this ship. When the ship turns left or right, the rhythm changes. | 6 |
| Bossa Nova | Same move as the single player mode with the additional text included in the game. | 8 |
In Kung Fu Ball, the boy looks similar to Young Cricket in the WarioWare series.
Soundtrack
As with the other games in the series, Nintendo released an official soundtrack for the game in Japan. Spanning four discs and containing roughly 4 and a half hours of music, the soundtrack contains all music for the game, including tracks from minigames, endless games, and menu music, as well as "Perfect Versions" for each minigame which includes the sound effects from the game, as if the sound was recorded on a Perfect run-through of the stage.
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