I could just list all of the faults of this game. How it sometimes feels like flicking isn't the best control scheme for a video game. How the latter half feels sort of lazy with all the copypasted retreads. How there's a .05% chance your palm will accidentaly eject the game cartridge due to how you have to hold the DS for this game. How Moai Doo Wop 2 is a thing that exists. But in reality, the sheer amount of fun you can have with this game more than makes up for any of these little nitpicks and pushes Rhythm Heaven into the upper echelon of video games as a medium.

The DS' immense popularity made it the perfect home for so many weird little games, and Rhythm Heaven is proof of that. While Japan had already received an entry in the franchise for the GBA, this was the first time the series made its way overseas,

In concept, Rhythm Heaven is like a love child of microgame collections like WarioWare and rhythm games without explicit visual cues like Space Channel 5. You're given a minigame to play until you become good enough at it to unlock the next one, then move on until you play through the all the main minigames available. If you do really good at any of them, you get a medal, and collecting them unlocks some extra content like timing tests or that minigame's soundtrack.

Now, what really makes RH shine, is its rather... odd control scheme. Different games utilize the touchscreen in different ways (generally, you have an action for touching the screen and another for quickly flicking across it), and for some minigames it will certainly take a while for you to wrap your head about how you gotta time your touches and flicks. That's what makes it so fun though, especially in specific minigames called Remixes where you will be constantly swapping games and only having a couple seconds to adapt.

Another thing that helps Rhythm Heaven stand out, is the very unique visual and musical style it has. It's hard to put into words, but you'll notice how charming all of the minigames are as you play (and you'll definitely get a few catchy songs stuck in your head for years to come).

While it's not the easiest game to come by this day since it's never been ported outside the DS, please give it a shot if you can. It'll take a bit to get used to the touchscreen inputs but by the time it's over you'll be wishing there was more to play.

don't gel with this as much as warioware for multiple reasons, it needs so much tutorializing, feels imprecise at points because of the flicking motion, has total nonsense ranking standards and is generally less funny (besides the moais) or charming. plus the soccer stages are easier with my eyes shut?? besides a couple songs they're all good but not great. well it's cool and shit sure but besides having more challenge this isn't significantly better than touched and it's way worse than the first two, which can also be played on the first two models of the ds! i'm probably sounding like a hater but i'm keeping it 100

When it hits, it hits pretty hard (Rockers, DJ School, Space Soccer) but a majority of the time, it absolutely does not.
Certain vocal rhythm games are terribly hindered by the practically soulless and unenthusiastic english voices (Fan Club especially), and unfortunately this was before they allowed you to change that in any of the extra menus.
Touch screen controls are fine on some games, not so much on others, Rhythm Rally 2's quick sections were a pain to get through, Love Lizards counting an extra hit whenever I'm trying not to, I just have a lot of issues with the way this game feels and sounds, possibly the last thing you would ever want to hear about a rhythm game.

i also now have something to blame for the existence of lockstep i hate lockstep grr
4/10 for those few games I very much enjoyed, Remix 9 and 10 were pretty fun, too.

Tried out a rom hack called 'Rhythm Heaven Touchless' which lets you play using the A and B buttons. It's a neat and welcome addition, and games like Munchy Monk, Lockstep and Shoot 'Em Up work well with buttons however games where you have to hold and then flick, like Love Lab, Karate Man and Dazzles are awkward to play with this control scheme and made me go back to playing with touch controls. Playing with touch is generally more intuitive for me however the buttons are nice alternative. And hey, Rhythm Heaven is still amazing and I will gladly take any excuse to replay it lol