I believe there hasneverbeen a better time to be a fan of rhythm games. This is thanks to a resurgence of gameplay styles inspired by earlier waves of rhythm-based classics, weaving tried-and-true designs into contemporarysystems.
If the first wave includes titles such asPaRappa the Rapper,Dance Dance Revolution, andGuitar Hero, and if the second consists of games likeHatsune Miku Project: DIVAandRhythm Heaven, then we’re seeing a callback in this third, current era withScratchin’ Melodii,Bits and Bops, andMelatonin.
I was a late adopter to ‘Heaven-likes,’ as my first experience withRhythm Heaven Feverwas in 2022. But I fell head-over-heels for this silly little game thatnearlydrove my roommate at the time to kick me out over the sound effects —if you know, you know. I rapidly consumed everything this 2011 Nintendo Wii-era rhythm game had to offer, and, while I knew it unlikely, I hoped for a new game to come soon.
Little did I know at the time, but that sentiment washardlyunpopular. In fact, two separate indie studios were working on bringing their ownRhythm Heaven-inspired games to life in the form ofMelatonin, a dream-based rhythm game focused on one character’s existential angst, andBits and Bops, which takes the wacky and playful aesthetic of its inspiration and turns it up to 11.
Feeling Sleepy
Half Asleep Games releasedMelatoninin December of 2022 forPCandNintendo Switch. It is one of — if not the only — rhythm games I have played to lean heavily into using lo-fi hip-hop beats to study/relax to as its main draw. And, while it definitely works with the vision the game presents, the soundtrack has the potentially unintended, but wholly ironic, side effect of making some people fall asleep. It’srelaxing!
The main gameplay loop manifests as a set of hub worlds with four ‘dreams’ about various millennial concerns, such as food, followers, and technology. Each ‘dream’ tasks you with pressing a button or set of buttons to the beat of the song, and scoring you based on how well you kept up. Then, in trueRhythm Heavenfashion, the fifth level of each hub world is a difficult mashup of the four preceding dreams.
It took little convincing for me to buyMelatonin. I mean that literally — I don’t know if I even finished the trailer before I was looking it up in the eShop, ready to pay whatever amount I needed to add it to my growing cavalcade. Thankfully, it’ll only set you back $14.99 on either platform, so … yeah.Get it.
Bitting Those Bops
And now for somethingcompletelydifferent. As I said,Bits and Bopscarries the torch ofRhythm Heavenbrilliantly,especiallywhen it comes to the wacky, cartoonish aesthetic. It even follows in its inspiration’s footsteps of adding a title card and short jingle to every level, which makes meirrationallyhappy.
UnlikeMelatonin, which utilizes a light story to carry its music-based minigames along,Bits and Bopshas no such thing. It takes the bold — but genius — move of expecting players to know what they’re getting themselves into when they launch the game, which makes a definitive impact,especiallyto those with a background inRhythm Heaven.
In fact, it’s so similar (in the best ways) that it boggles the mind that — as far as I can tell at the time of writing — it hasno formal connectionsto the team at Nintendo.
Bits and Bopsis still in development, but a demo has been made available viaSteam.
A fan can dream
I would love it if Nintendo were to open the next Nintendo Direct with an announcement thatRhythm Heavenis making a comeback. Even if it’s just a remaster or compilation of the previous games released on the Switch, at least it’ssomething. I can’t see it happening anytime soon, however.
But hey — I could be wrong. I never in a million, quadrillion years ever expected the return ofSamba de Amigo, and withParty Centralreceiving a scoreof 6/10 from Destructoid’s Chris Penwell, the jury’s still out on whether there’s a place for AAA-developed rhythm games. In the meantime, I’ll just be over here with indie darlings likeBits and Bops,Melatonin, andScratchin’ Melodii.
