Tap any button to match the rhythm as your little pair of balls rotate along the track, very simply to pick up and learn. Where this game shines is it's final stage in each level. The previous stages have all taught you various rhythmic patterns, building you up step by step, to unleash you on a map that mixes and combines those previous patterns testing your full abilities. This final stage isn't exactly easy, but it certainly makes you feel like you're skilled when you get through it, even if you have to rely on some memorization to do that.

The music isn't too bad either, ESPECIALLY on the furthest levels, bonus levels, and modded maps (there might also be dlc? idk). Although, the bonus and modded maps are extraordinarily hard compared to the normal stages, so it may not feel like the same gameplay experience, however they're still fun as hell when you get them correct, and replying hard maps you know is super cathartic.

Not entirely sure what happened, but I lost all steam and have no more interest in continuing it. The combat is actually good, especially compared to what I thought it'd be (ni no kuni 1 is turn based but this is action combat). They have this unique mechanic where, since you wield 3 weapons, they each have a meter that charges up during battle and you switch to a weapon that's "fully charged" to use a strong special move -- that being the way to most efficiently do damage. Not sure why they default to having that work automatically, it's a super simple system and just makes you feel like you're doing more in fights if you turn it to manual control.

The story (at least the start) is kind of interesting, same with the characters, although they should be a lot more interesting than that for a game as slow burn as this. I'm just not up for sticking with it, especially once I got to the tactics focused army battles, and the idea of having to slowly build a whole kingdom.