So I recently grabbed a bunch of new games on the cheap to occupy my time between work hours and also to keep me from contributing to society in any meaningful way. Among the games I picked up, I grabbed a few to play while I'm at work during those half-hour meal breaks that I never eat during. Since a half an hour really isn't enough time to dedicate to RPGs I figured I'd go for the pair of quirky rhythm games people have tried to get me to buy years ago when I first got my Pokedex Nintendo DS. While there are different difficulties for each game, I consider them to have been beaten since I made it to a credit screen so I have no problem talking about these games now.
As I previously stated, Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Heaven are both rhythm games but they use different styles of play. Elite Beat Agents is a jukebox style rhythm game, made up of levels that use existing songs that may or may not be familiar to the player. I say may or may not because I only recognized a couple of them personally; cover bands were used instead of licensing official versions of each track. The genres range from R&B and Pop to...well, it's mainly just Pop, rock and R&B. The game is played completely by tapping symbols or sliding along tracks as they appear, using the stylus in time with the music being played. At the end of each stage, you're given a letter grade and sent off on your next mission. It feels a lot like Guitaroo Man if that helps at all only the difficulty is cranked up quite a bit. The game is pretty short too if you're really good at the genre but it took me (according to the 3DS activity log) an hour and fourty-one minutes to beat. It felt a lot longer though since there were a few songs I failed more than once.
[sub]Khan...is a harsh judge[/sub]
Rhythm Heaven on the other hand plays a whole lot like a rhythm based Warioware title. It seems like you can tap, flick or, rub the stylus anywhere on the touch-screen so long as you remain in-time with the music. Also, this is the first DS game that I've played where you have to hold the console sideways, like a book. There is a lefty-mode in addition to the more traditional right-handed mode so I can't use the old, "I'm left-handed" excuse when I begin failing at these mini-games. Each mini-game has a different song of a different style and, each song lasts roughly a minute, getting more difficult as time goes by. The games are arranged on a grid and you only have one to start, as you beat the games you progress upwards (at first). Each column is 5 games high, the fifth being an amalgam of the 4 you just played made into a remix. The games themselves range from working in factories fueling robots to being a back-up dancer for a rockin' frog singer. There's a ton of variety on display and even if I didn't screw up as often as I did, the 3DS activity log says it took me 4 and a half hours to beat this one. I kind of cheated though because I didn't beat all of the hard-levels or indeed take any guitar lessons (spoiler alert, you can get guitar lessons depending on how many medals you've earned).
Elite Beat Agents features 19 songs in total, three of which are bonus tracks which must be unlocked so it goes without saying that I haven't played those three. The cover bands aren't bad but it took me until level three before I realized I was playing a jukebox rhythm game (that level featuring a cover of the song Sk8r Boi, originally by Avril Lavene...Forgive my spelling errors please). Rhythm Heaven has six sets, each set made up of 4 tracks and a remix at the end before you make it to the credits. Once you've watched the credits, it unlocks a new track and you can begin the first of an additional four sets which makes for 10 sets in total. Sets seven through ten feature the same tracks you've already played only they've been tweaked so as to make them more difficult. There are 24 different games not counting their more difficult counterparts or the air-board game which you unlock by watching the credits. Additionally there is a cafe wherein you can talk to an unseen barista, take guitar lessons and presumably do other things which I honestly didn't bother with.
[sub]Watch me ignore gameplay modes![/sub]
Speaking of ignoring gameplay modes, Elite Beat Agents has a multiplayer mode which I completely ignored. I played both of these games in 15 to 30 minute bursts as a way to relieve some work-related stress. By that scale, both games are good assuming you enjoy rhythm games. The hit-detection is precise enough to make me realize that it's my poor sense of rhythmic timing that screws me over in these games. Both games feature multiple musical style which I personally enjoy. That being said though, I can't deny that I had more fun with Rhythm Heaven. These are both simple games that strongly encourage replaying levels. Elite Beat Agents actually does a little better in that department since each level tells a story depending on how well you do during gameplay. Most of these are pretty fun and quirky but the song You're the Inspiration comes right out of nowhere with a surprisingly sad tale of a widow and her daughter around Christmas. Comes out of nowhere and the tonal whiplash had me nearly shouting "what the fuck" in the middle of my store's seasonal section (after hours of course). Rhythm Heaven however is quirky and fun from beginning to end with no real drama or story or stories to speak of.
[sub]Hello Tonal Whiplash![/sub]
Elite Beat Agents is the kind of game that reminds me a lot of other games like Hatsune Miku's Project Diva or, Gitaroo Man. This doesn't really help it much since I prefer vocaloid J-Pop and the original music displayed in Gitaroo Man as instead of the cover-versions of songs that are either past their prime or, one-hit-wonders outright. Elite Beat has its charm and I'd say it was worth the money (I've spent much more on worse games after all) but I preferred Rhythm Heaven even if it sometimes felt like Hell...well not really, I had a ton of fun with Rhythm Heaven and wouldn't really call it Hellish I just wanted to make the pun. Before I forget, there is one feature of Rhythm Heaven which did annoy me: After losing the game Lockstep 5 or so times, I was offered a chance to skip it outright. That wouldn't have helped me in the long run since I knew it would be in the remix and I knew skipping it then would have caused trouble later. It was the same kind of annoying as the exclamation box in Mario Bros U if you die one-too-many times and the game offers help. I can beat this game dammit, I don't need your help! Rhythm Heaven by the way: Rhythm Heaven was also worth what I paid for it in my opinion.
Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Heaven are both exclusive to the Nintendo DS and by exclusive I mean you can play them on the DS, DSlite, DSi, DSiXL, 3DS and, 3DSXL. If you're playing Elite Beat Agents on the DS or DSlite (ie: the two with the GBA port) Elite Beat Agents is compatible with the DS rumble pack (an accessory I do not yet own). If you're at all interested in the rhythm genre, both of these games can still be found new online on the cheap. Elite Beat Agents is on Amazon, new for $9.60 in the US whereas Rhythm Heaven (also Amazon USA) is available new for $8.60. If Gamestop is more your speed, their website is offering Elite Beat Agents new for $10 and used for $4 and, Rhythm Heaven being new for $20 and used for $8. Personally, I would recommend Rhythm Heaven before Elite Beat but that's just my opinion. If you're interested enough to grab both (like I was) then I would definitely start with Elite Beat just so you get some playtime in with it before you get too into Rhythm Heaven...or...do the opposite if you like the sound of Elite Beat more...or something...eh, I tried.
[sub]You know you wanna dance with us![/sub]
As I previously stated, Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Heaven are both rhythm games but they use different styles of play. Elite Beat Agents is a jukebox style rhythm game, made up of levels that use existing songs that may or may not be familiar to the player. I say may or may not because I only recognized a couple of them personally; cover bands were used instead of licensing official versions of each track. The genres range from R&B and Pop to...well, it's mainly just Pop, rock and R&B. The game is played completely by tapping symbols or sliding along tracks as they appear, using the stylus in time with the music being played. At the end of each stage, you're given a letter grade and sent off on your next mission. It feels a lot like Guitaroo Man if that helps at all only the difficulty is cranked up quite a bit. The game is pretty short too if you're really good at the genre but it took me (according to the 3DS activity log) an hour and fourty-one minutes to beat. It felt a lot longer though since there were a few songs I failed more than once.
[sub]Khan...is a harsh judge[/sub]
Rhythm Heaven on the other hand plays a whole lot like a rhythm based Warioware title. It seems like you can tap, flick or, rub the stylus anywhere on the touch-screen so long as you remain in-time with the music. Also, this is the first DS game that I've played where you have to hold the console sideways, like a book. There is a lefty-mode in addition to the more traditional right-handed mode so I can't use the old, "I'm left-handed" excuse when I begin failing at these mini-games. Each mini-game has a different song of a different style and, each song lasts roughly a minute, getting more difficult as time goes by. The games are arranged on a grid and you only have one to start, as you beat the games you progress upwards (at first). Each column is 5 games high, the fifth being an amalgam of the 4 you just played made into a remix. The games themselves range from working in factories fueling robots to being a back-up dancer for a rockin' frog singer. There's a ton of variety on display and even if I didn't screw up as often as I did, the 3DS activity log says it took me 4 and a half hours to beat this one. I kind of cheated though because I didn't beat all of the hard-levels or indeed take any guitar lessons (spoiler alert, you can get guitar lessons depending on how many medals you've earned).
Elite Beat Agents features 19 songs in total, three of which are bonus tracks which must be unlocked so it goes without saying that I haven't played those three. The cover bands aren't bad but it took me until level three before I realized I was playing a jukebox rhythm game (that level featuring a cover of the song Sk8r Boi, originally by Avril Lavene...Forgive my spelling errors please). Rhythm Heaven has six sets, each set made up of 4 tracks and a remix at the end before you make it to the credits. Once you've watched the credits, it unlocks a new track and you can begin the first of an additional four sets which makes for 10 sets in total. Sets seven through ten feature the same tracks you've already played only they've been tweaked so as to make them more difficult. There are 24 different games not counting their more difficult counterparts or the air-board game which you unlock by watching the credits. Additionally there is a cafe wherein you can talk to an unseen barista, take guitar lessons and presumably do other things which I honestly didn't bother with.
[sub]Watch me ignore gameplay modes![/sub]
Speaking of ignoring gameplay modes, Elite Beat Agents has a multiplayer mode which I completely ignored. I played both of these games in 15 to 30 minute bursts as a way to relieve some work-related stress. By that scale, both games are good assuming you enjoy rhythm games. The hit-detection is precise enough to make me realize that it's my poor sense of rhythmic timing that screws me over in these games. Both games feature multiple musical style which I personally enjoy. That being said though, I can't deny that I had more fun with Rhythm Heaven. These are both simple games that strongly encourage replaying levels. Elite Beat Agents actually does a little better in that department since each level tells a story depending on how well you do during gameplay. Most of these are pretty fun and quirky but the song You're the Inspiration comes right out of nowhere with a surprisingly sad tale of a widow and her daughter around Christmas. Comes out of nowhere and the tonal whiplash had me nearly shouting "what the fuck" in the middle of my store's seasonal section (after hours of course). Rhythm Heaven however is quirky and fun from beginning to end with no real drama or story or stories to speak of.
[sub]Hello Tonal Whiplash![/sub]
Elite Beat Agents is the kind of game that reminds me a lot of other games like Hatsune Miku's Project Diva or, Gitaroo Man. This doesn't really help it much since I prefer vocaloid J-Pop and the original music displayed in Gitaroo Man as instead of the cover-versions of songs that are either past their prime or, one-hit-wonders outright. Elite Beat has its charm and I'd say it was worth the money (I've spent much more on worse games after all) but I preferred Rhythm Heaven even if it sometimes felt like Hell...well not really, I had a ton of fun with Rhythm Heaven and wouldn't really call it Hellish I just wanted to make the pun. Before I forget, there is one feature of Rhythm Heaven which did annoy me: After losing the game Lockstep 5 or so times, I was offered a chance to skip it outright. That wouldn't have helped me in the long run since I knew it would be in the remix and I knew skipping it then would have caused trouble later. It was the same kind of annoying as the exclamation box in Mario Bros U if you die one-too-many times and the game offers help. I can beat this game dammit, I don't need your help! Rhythm Heaven by the way: Rhythm Heaven was also worth what I paid for it in my opinion.
Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Heaven are both exclusive to the Nintendo DS and by exclusive I mean you can play them on the DS, DSlite, DSi, DSiXL, 3DS and, 3DSXL. If you're playing Elite Beat Agents on the DS or DSlite (ie: the two with the GBA port) Elite Beat Agents is compatible with the DS rumble pack (an accessory I do not yet own). If you're at all interested in the rhythm genre, both of these games can still be found new online on the cheap. Elite Beat Agents is on Amazon, new for $9.60 in the US whereas Rhythm Heaven (also Amazon USA) is available new for $8.60. If Gamestop is more your speed, their website is offering Elite Beat Agents new for $10 and used for $4 and, Rhythm Heaven being new for $20 and used for $8. Personally, I would recommend Rhythm Heaven before Elite Beat but that's just my opinion. If you're interested enough to grab both (like I was) then I would definitely start with Elite Beat just so you get some playtime in with it before you get too into Rhythm Heaven...or...do the opposite if you like the sound of Elite Beat more...or something...eh, I tried.
[sub]You know you wanna dance with us![/sub]