When I heard about Rhythm Thief, a narrative driven rhythm game with a structure similar to the Professor Layton series I had only one thing to say, "Gimme". Rhythm Thief follows an orphaned boy Raphael and his dog Fondue as they steal priceless works of art around Paris disguised as the dashing Phantom R as they try to unravel the secret to his fathers disappearance. Along the way they encounter a young girl who is at the center of the mystery, a resurrected Napoleon Bonaparte and spontaneous dance montages. The core mystery isn't particularly interesting but there is an adolescent romantic tone to the proceedings that make it surprisingly engaging. But down to brass tacks this game is a rhythm game that pays homage to all the greats from the past like Space Channel Five and even modern classics like Elite Beat Agents. But amid the jaunty music and charming characters is an often brutal difficulty with irregular rhythm and a harsh penalty for missing any prompts.
Rhythm Thief excels because of its perfect mixture of different elements, from the 'groovy' soundtrack to the varied rhythm games (there are no more than 3 of any kind) and gorgeous animated cutscenes that convey its charming story. You do spend an unfortunate amount of time not in a rhythm game, instead backtracking across the map solving menial problems for the vibrant denizens of Sega's vision of Paris. This is unfortunate cause the game keeps a good pace, never dwelling on anything for too long and quickly changing up the game types to keep you guessing. But the fetch-quests and general meandering are clearly there for padding and drag down an otherwise well paced game. The jarring swings in difficulty are probably the games biggest weakness as it takes 20 or so well timed beats to raise your rank from a C to an B but only 1 or 2 misses to fall all the way down to a D. It simply seems broken, which makes it even more infuriating when you screw up in the frantic final few seconds of a game and ruin an otherwise perfect run. Also note to any 3DS developers, stop using the gyroscope feature just to add a bullet point to the back of the box, it simply isn't precise enough in a rhythm game likes this.
Rhythm Thief is a breath of fresh air, with the only decent games for the 3DS being published by Nintendo (third-parties are reluctant to develop for the middling install base of the 3DS) it has been sorely lacking the unique and charming games that rocketed the original DS into the hands of any self-respecting gamer. But if this game is a sign of things to come, there is nothing to worry about. The sequel tease at the end of this game suggests further adventures with Phantom R and I cant wait to jump back unto the dance floor with this thieving break-dancer.
(4 out of 5)
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