When most think of genres for video games, they usually think of First Person Shooters, Action/Adventure or Role-Playing games.
One category that gets much flak, however, is the Rhythm game genre. Next to the Puzzle genre, Rhythm games are my absolute favorite, especially the quirky ones. “Rhythm heaven,” “Parrappa the Rapper,” “Theatre Rhythm;” name it, I love it. So, as one can imagine, when I heard that Game Freak (the company behind the “Pokémon” series) I was beyond words. A charming game to play as a boy on his way to becoming a HarmoKnight, fighting his way through a multitude of rhythmtastic worlds to save a princess? How could such a simple concept fail? When “HarmoKnight” was released on the 3DS E-shop, I paid my lot. I played it and I was left with a single feeling summed up in a single word: Meh.
To start with, I have to give the game some credit; the art style was cute and fit the stories simple theme well. The whole world is based upon music, and everyone has music related names to boot. But, its cutesy tone is where the really good things end. Everything else about the game is just mediocre. The cut scenes are boring, the characters bland and the sound is probably the worst part of the whole game.
What is the most important part of a rhythm game? Ask anyone, no matter who, and they will say it is the music and sound. In each world, the same song is used in that world for every stage, which is okay because the songs aren’t to bad. But because all the songs are only okay, the music begins to become repetitive and basically annoying. Game Freak tries to make up for the repetitive songs by using different musical effects for each move the player pulls off, similar to another rhythm game, “Bit.Trip Runner.” Again, though, the problem here is the lack of communication with the player through the cues. Most rhythm games give some sort of cue for the players that gets them into the rhythm flawlessly; most times while playing I find my self having to rely more on my eyes then on my ears and instincts, and where’s the fun in that?
To be honest, “HarmoKnight” isn’t even that bad for what it is; it just lacks in some of the important areas. It is the epitome of lost potential. Since it is a new game, the price is $14.99, which is steep for a game like this. It would probably be better to just look at this game rather than play it; spend it on a better E-Shop game like Mega Man or Pushmo.
